Group Process Made Visible

The Use of Art in Group Therapy

Shirley Riley

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781134943814
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psicología
• Subtopic: Historia y teoría en psicología

This book introduces the reader to the approach and general philosophy of the use of art as an additional language in group therapy. It demonstrates the usefulness of the language of art in enabling group therapists and their clients to understand group members' perceptions of constructs and realities.

1 CHAPTER

The Language of Art in Group Therapy

The concept of group therapy has changed as the services of mental health professionals have changed. The fantasy that often comes to mind for many when the phrase “group therapy” is used is an uninviting room, chairs in a circle, eight to ten persons looking somewhat miserable, and a therapist evoking “painful” material from one member after the other. Another picture is one where the members are the target of a cross-examination by the therapist, interrogated by the other members, and (in the movies) given a hard time. If that fantasy still survives it should be erased. Although the prevailing concept of group therapy is much more benign, few, if any, first-time consumers of mental health services would imagine a group drawing, painting, and constructing art objects—and enjoying the activity while learning from the process and the related discussion.

The therapist of the twenty-first century accepts that group treatment is as flexible as any other therapeutic process and can be reinvented to fit societal and cultural needs. The size of the group is a moot point: For some populations a group of three is helpful. However, because a health insurance plan or state funding demands group treatment for every client, every other day, larger groups may be necessary. To answer such requirements, many candidates are assigned to a group session, sometimes more than the therapist can even focus on. Overcrowding can be managed in ways that are nontraditional; the challenge is to not lose the unique qualities that group therapy has to offer, but instead find creative solutions to the pressures of today’s health care system (Cross, 1994).

This first chapter will address many issues and offer an overview both of basic group therapy processes and the advantage of adding the language of art to group treatment. The following chapters will address specific populations and emphasize how the group approach can be modified to the context of the environment and to the needs of the members.

Group therapy is not individual therapy practiced with a group of people; it is not family therapy, although a family is a group of people; it is not an interpersonal forum for couples solving problems. Paradoxically, group therapy is all of the above in some situations and some contexts. There is nothing static about group dynamics, they are the palpable life of the group and no two groups are exactly the same. Group therapy has many facets; some are brilliant and catch the eye, and others are without that power and conceal their light within.

“Group” is an extraordinary opportunity to look in the mirror of another’s eyes and see one’s own behaviors and prejudices reflected back with a clarity that is hard to receive. Often the reflections are difficult to accept, therefore it is helpful to see these images through a screen that provides protection. Because interactions that take place in group are one of immediacy and are in the here-and-now, they are many times spontaneous and unpredictable. It is important that the therapist and members find a mode of communication that does not distort information but provides enough distance that it may be received without rejection.

Vinogradov and Yalom (1998) offer this brief description of group therapy:

In group therapy both patient—patient interactions and patient—therapist interactions as they occur in the context of the group setting are used to effect changes in the maladaptive behaviors of the group members. The group itself, as well as the application of specific techniques and interventions, serves as a tool for change. This gives group psychotherapy its unique therapeutic potential. (p. 1)

When art is the tool of communication the “techniques and interventions” can take on a singular form that modifies the above description to an extent.

Complexities and Singular Issues

The composition of personalities and group process that constitute a therapy group is formed by countless variations of human traits, discourses, and interactions—a microcosm of the world. The unpredictability of group therapy is creative and challenging, it also may be dangerous and hurtful. In other forms of therapy, such as family or conjoint treatment, the therapeutic balance that is needed is just as crucial but is more easily controlled. For example, in group, spontaneity can be encouraged when it is tempered; impulsivity, on the other hand, may be destructive if it is counter to the growth of the group. If one member is allowed to act out dramatically before the group has become cohesive and can handle disruptions themselves, it can create a problem. There are times that the leader must make decisions that are for the good of the group as a whole, and hope that the individual will continue to be a part of the process.

Relationships are difficult to develop in the manufactured community of group therapy. If the therapist keeps the group action and dialogue in the here-and-now, the risk of being distracted by unproductive remarks is reduced. The goal is to remain in the present tense and bring the interactions and concerns into the group itself where problem solving can become a part of the group dynamics. If a member focuses on past events they are moving away from the group and become unavailable for group discussion. Fear and shame may paralyze a group member and limit the therapeutic possibilities. Such defenses are not useful for the client. Countless interrelational situations will arise in every group and with any age population. The group leader needs all the help that can be mustered to pull all these divergent factors into a dynamic whole that results in a beneficial experience for all concerned.

Introducing Art as an Aid to Communication

Is there a magic panacea to cure problems and establish a cohesive, working group? No, there is not. However, there is a way to bring a mirror into group that is reflective but not confrontive. A creative modality that can keep the members focused on group activity can bring a sense of urgency by using an unfamiliar form of communication. The dictionary meaning of the word “create” is helpful at this point (Funk and Wagnall, 1938): “To cause to come into existence; especially to produce out of nothing; to produce; to be productive” (p. 281).

The goals of therapy also are directed toward having clients bring new interpretations of their difficulties into existence, create new answers, and thus, become more productive in their own lives. The creativity in group rarely comes out of nothing. Group nothing is often an unplanned interaction between members, which activates reactions by stimulating memories, feelings, and connections. When abstract words, such as creativity, are translated into an activity or process, the concept ceases to be abstract and becomes accessible.

When creative thoughts and opportunities for change emerge in the group process, it is essential to anchor them in an observable expression. Using tangible images, self-created by the group member, as the major mode of group communication can help the leader to enhance the group’s overall goals. Too often the opportunity slips by and the chance to verbally explore a vital issue is lost. Visual expressions punctuate a moment in time. Even if the image conveys a significant message, the art allows the image-maker to control and limit exposure, which reduces anxiety around premature verbal disclosure. The art product can be preserved and re-addressed in the future when further discussion can lead to a more productive awareness. These qualities of safety and timing are inherent in careful use of the art expression and provide a means to solve many of the dilemmas of group interactions.

Interactive Group Process:
The Advantage of the Image

Group interchange can be channeled through the rendering of the art product. Language means different things to different people. This less threatening form of communication provides comfort and reduces confrontation, because the artwork circumvents the quality of the words that may have become toxic, with accrued multiple meanings and meta meanings. The image may also have many meanings, but when it is presented as an artform, it is there for the group, to view and discuss as a concrete feeling; the words are invisible. The group should focus on understanding the explanation and the significance the image has for the art maker. This limits the chance that the members are not simply projecting individual interpretations on a verbalized story. However, there may be exceptions when the artist cannot decode the message in the art because the words that are available to him or her do not seem to “fit” the intended expression. In this case, there may be a delayed revelation or it may remain a mystery.

Ettin (1992) feels strongly that imagery is useful in fostering intimacy and cohesiveness. [I]mages that arise serve to emphasize and reinforce the cohesive ties between the members. Other images may express the difficulties inherent in just this joining process. Some ambivalent images stimulate a consideration of paired opposite reactions, individuation and merger or attraction and repulsion, clearly depicted in within one picture” (p. 188).

The word imagery is often used in art therapy as a condensation of a long explanation of how art expressions are conceived as an image in the brain, scanned and selected to be projected as an art form, and then examined for meaning. Neuro/psychologists use the term image when explaining mind/brain function. Imagery equals an art piece, in many cases.

When art is used, therapy becomes tangible, the action is in the here-and-now, even if the subject matter refers to the past. The members can actually see how tying old beliefs to present behaviors can be unprofitable. This process is demonstrated when the client makes images of past solutions that resulted in an unsuccessful attempt to solve present problems. The therapeutic advantage to art expression is that it can be modified and changed immediately, and alternative solutions can be introduced. Discussion that is directed to the artform helps keep the therapeutic dialogue in the here-and-now; it is more difficult to stray from the subject at hand if the artform is present and the focal point of the group’s efforts.

Adding imagery to group process benefits individual personalities: it allows the silent group member to be expressive through the art product, while the talkative member is silenced when the image takes preference over words. Members who hold on to shame and guilt seldom may find it difficult to maintain these emotions if they see the entire group is part of the same struggle to make images that have personal meaning and reach beyond representational fine arts. Because persons who hold on to shame often feel their emotions are unique, an open discussion of being ashamed about doing a bad job of making art, will show them that their position is a shared experience. Most persons, when they first begin to make marks on paper, are somewhat self-conscious about their art. This quickly passes when the group leader and the other members put value on the content of the representation, not the aesthetic rendering. The “guilty ones” have a chance to see that any mark is valuable if that mark is given respect and attention, that they can contribute without shame.

Introducing the Art

The art product provides the group with an activity that has the potential of bringing new awareness to the art maker and to those with whom the drawing is shared. The art can stand by itself as a statement from the “artist” and verbal interpretation can be added when it is appropriate.

The therapist may wish to educate the group about the concept of “visual knowing,” or non-verbal observations stored in memory that inform the person. The mind has many intelligences, people think cognitively, emotionally, kinesthetically, and visually (Goleman, 1995). From birth an infant learns about the world by observing, and the early visual concepts of the world remain part of an individual’s reactive patterns. Later at about three years of age, the cognitive and visual capacities of the brain are joined, and gradually visual knowing is not considered a primary way of thinking. However, it never loses its power to inform. Consider the many clichés that are based on sight: “Love at first sight;” “He looks like a criminal;” “Don’t look at me that way;” “I can see it in your eyes;” and many more. A short quotation from Pinker’s (1997) explanation of imagery and the brain touches on the complicated process of how vision is organized: “The brain is ready for the demands of an imagery system, information flows down from memory as well as up from the eyes. The fiber pathways to the visual areas of the brain are two-way. They carry as much information down from the higher, conceptual levels as up from the lower, sensory levels” (p. 287). Gaining a biological understanding about vision, and conceptualizing how information works through sight and imagination, reinforces how important the image is in every phase of living and relating. Having a little knowledge, or at least curiosity, about the “pictures in our mind” stimulates the fascination of incorporating visual expressions into the verbal exchange in therapy.

Introducing Art into Group Process

Introducing the use of media as communication into a group does not have to be done with long explanations and rationales about ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• About the Contributors
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• 1 The Language of Art in Group Therapy
• 2 Introducing the Language of Art to Interns and Staff in an Early Childhood Attachment Theory Program
• 3 Psychosocial Support Groups for Children Recovering from the Traumatic Experience of Severe Burns
• 4 Art as an Instrument for Creating Social Reciprocity: Social Skills Group for Children with Autism
• 5 Integrating the Language of Art into a Creative Cognitive-Behavioral Program with Behavior-Disordered Children
• 6 A Condensed Guide to Creating an Adolescent Group: Art Tasks that Address Developmental Interests and the Changing Role of Adolescent Therapy
• 7 Working with the Elderly Population with a Serious Loss of Cognition: Visible Communication as a Mode of Memory Retrieval and Other Functions, Such as Self-Regulation and Social Intercourse
• 8 Groups in Psychiatric Hospitals and Day Treatment Programs: Art as an Entree into Unfamiliar Realities
• 9 Integration of Art, Movement, and Verbal Processing with Women in an Eating Disorders Program
• 10 A Women’s Group Created Around a Theme of Bereavement
• 11 A Group for Therapists Dealing with Secondary Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome Induced by Their Abused Clients’ Art Products
• 12 Some Final Thoughts
• Appendix: Teaching Group Dynamics
• Index