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Re:The Client-Therapist relationship in Expressive Arts Therapies
MR · 07/11/00 at 11:09 ET
Thank for your response to my question. As I mentioned my masters thesis is on the subject of the relationship between client and therapist during an arts process. My inclinations thus far have been that of the therapist being a witness to a process, as opposed to being the process. There is a third relationship being created that makes the client-therapist relationship less significant. It becomes a kind of triangle with both therapist and client viewing something that is created and indeed both having a reaction to it. The transference appears to be in the work that is created and is imposed less on the therapist. The process of creating seems to provide both release and containment for intense feeling. I think it was Lord Byron who wrote that poetry may be the lava that prevents the volcano. Do you agree that this is true of the expressive arts therapies, that in fact they allow for the release of emotion but contain the storm? Do you think countertransference is greater in the arts process because there is often something tangible that one is viewing? And sometimes, often times that "thing" is so incredibly powerful, be it a poem or a piece of art work... One thing that I believe is extraordinarily important about art therapy is that it connects the person with themself. I think this is a major issue since we live in a world where it is difficult to find connections with others. In my own practice I hope to help individuals find that connection that helps them get through the periods of difficulty, the isolation, etc. MR
Martin,
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