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Winnicott's squiggle game: Its diagnostic and therapeutic usefulness
... An adaptation of the squiggle drawing game, created by paediatrician and psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott [42,43] was used to introduce a playful exchange of drawing and guessing. Participants were asked to draw a squiggle on a piece of A4 sized paper with a marker for a few seconds. ...
Arts-based methods are underutilized in violence research and may offer improved means of understanding these phenomena; but little is known about their value, especially in low-resource settings. A pilot study using a cross sectional sample was conducted in rural South Africa to determine the feasibility and acceptability of using arts-based methods in research with adults and children, in preparation for a longitudinal multigenerational cohort study on mechanisms that underly the intergenerational transmission of violence. Four arts-based methods were piloted with young adults aged 22–30 years (n = 29), children aged 4–7 years (n = 21) and former caregivers of the young adults aged 40–69 years (n = 11). A sample of qualitative interviews were audio recorded and transcribed (child n = 15, adults n = 19). Three focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted to understand implementation and lessons learnt with the six interviewers on the study team, none of whom had used these methods in research before. Interviews and FGDs were audio recorded, transcribed and reviewed by the investigative team. Using a rapid analytical approach, our pilot study demonstrated that using arts and play-based methods in multigenerational violence research is feasible and acceptable to participants and interviewers. These methods worked well for nearly all participants regardless of age or ability and offered a comfortable and ‘fun’ way to engage in weighty conversations. They presented benefits in their capability to facilitate disclosure, expanding understanding, particularly around violence that is often a stigmatizing and sensitive experience. Interviewers required increased capacity and sensitivity in using the methods carefully, to maximize their full potential, and ongoing mentorship was indicated. Our study adds to the burgeoning evidence base of the effectiveness of the use of arts-based methods in health research.
... This technique of combining the writing of words and transforming them into drawings is reminiscent of the technique described by Winnicott, in which the patient elaborates a trace that culminates in a figure or vice versa, giving a story understood within the personal history of the individual [29]. This has also been reported to be effective in the context of child therapy [30,31]. ...
Background
Adolescents and young adults are vulnerable to developing mental distress. However, evidence suggests that more than half of the young people with symptoms of depression and anxiety overcome their distress within a year. However, there is little research on the exact resources that young people use and help them to recover. The aim of this study was to explore how arts activities can support the recovery of young people engaged with arts organizations in Bogota.
Methods
We recruited 38 participants from two arts organizations in Bogotá and conducted six focus groups embedded within artistic workshops. The type of activities in the workshops varied reflecting the different teaching methods of the two organizations. The focus group discussions were recorded and analyzed using thematic analysis.
Results
Five themes explained how arts activities can help young people participating in artistic organizations to overcome mental distress: i) allowing the expression of emotions; ii) helping to manage and transform emotions; iii) distracting from problems; iv) facilitating social support and relationships; and v) contributing to the identity of young people.
Conclusions
For young people who participate in artistic organizations, the arts are a resource for overcoming negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, and sadness. The beneficial role of arts activities includes different process of managing, expressing, and distracting from distress, and it differs depending on whether arts are perceived as a professional vocation or a hobby.
... It should be noted that this technique of combining the writing of words and transforming them into drawings is reminiscent of the technique described by Winnicott, in which the patient elaborates a trace that culminates in a gure or vice versa, giving a story understood within the personal history of the individual (23). This has also been reported to be effective in the context of child therapy (24,25). ...
Background: Young adults and adolescents are in stage where their mental health is more vulnerable. In Latin América, there are factors that predispose young people towards an increased risk of suffering from mental illness. However more than half of the young people who manifest symptoms of depression and anxiety are able to overcome these episodes approximately one year after the onset of symptoms. This is related to the concept of resilience.
Methods: The main objective of the study was to characterize the role of the arts in relation to mental health in young people involved in artistic organizations in Bogota. Six artistic workshops and focus groups were conducted, with 38 participants from two arts organizations in Bogota. The type of artistic workshop varied depending on the type of art taught in each institution. The focus group discussions were recorded, transcribed, coded and analyzed using an inductive analysis methodology.
Results: There were five themes that emerged in explaining the role of the arts in relation to the mental health of young people. These themes included i) the management and expression of emotions, ii) the transformation of emotions, iii) the distracting quality of the arts, iv) the arts as a social facilitator and v) the arts as part of the identity and lifestyle of young people.
Conclusions: For young people who participate in artistic activities, the arts are a tool for managing emotions perceived as negative, such as stress, anxiety, depression and sadness. Their perception of the arts as a tool for mental health was viewed differently depending on whether it is perceived as a professional vocation versus a hobby. These findings are relevant within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, taking into account that the participants were exposed to various mental health risk factors, such as an extended obligatory quarantine and social distancing.
... Drawing without intention or direction can alleviate the pressures brought on by high expectations. This art form can be particularly liberating for those without formal art training, with low self-esteem, with a pervasive fear of failure or with difficulty in knowing how and where to start when engaging in the creative process through art making (Hanes, 1995;McNamee, 2004;Steinhardt, 2006;Ziegler, 1976). ...
Art therapists help to access and awaken their clients' personal, latent creativity by promoting art making by the client (Snyder, 1997). Art Therapists aid clients by re-establishing creative thought and flow. They encourage the use of art materials, assist with the engagement in the art-making processes, and facilitate reflection on art made in the context of psychotherapy (Lombardi, 2014). Exercising creativity in therapy is an effective way to develop problem-solving and original thinking approaches, and it ultimately enables clients to generalize these skills towards other areas of life (Lowenfeld & Brittain, 1987). It is not uncommon for people to lose touch with creativity as a result of coping with life stressors, transitions or trauma. Through engagement with art making in art therapy, clients can potentially address psychological blockages that might inhibit or prevent access to creative thinking.
This report on Joan Sommers (a pseudonym) describes the case of a young female child who was forcefully raped at the age of six. She had then blocked the traumatic details from her memory, undergone six months of art therapy, and shown improvement; then sessions had been discontinued by the mother at a time that was not in the child’s best interest. Unfortunately, less than two months after art therapy had been discontinued, Joan was readmitted to the hospital for vaginal bleeding and abdominal pain. The hospital examination revealed vaginal lacerations, and suturing was again necessary. Protective Services made an official report on reabuse of this child, and it was believed that the child had been raped a second time by another male. This author was asked to visit her at the hospital. She showed extensive evidence of trauma both in her behavior and in her art work. Additionally, it was suspected that her memory of the first attack had returned, compounding the entire problem.
Absztrakt A tanulmany a kepi kifejezespszichologia vizsgalati eszkozeihez tartozo kozos rajzvizsgalat modszeret ismerteti. Reszletesen attekinti a nemzetkozi es hazai előzmenyeket, majd egy a Karoli Gaspar Reformatus Egyetem Pszichologiai Intezeteben kidolgozott, empirikus kutatasokon alapulo jelolesi es ertelmezesi modszert (Drawing Together Method) mutat be. A vizsgalat egyszerre projektiv es objektiv, mert a kepi produktum is ertelmezhető kifejezespszichologiai modszerekkel, es a tarsas viselkedes megfigyelesi adatai is. A modszer a megfigyelt globalis es specifikus reakciok elemzesere epul, amelyet interakciodinamikai es kommunikacios elemzes egeszit ki. A globalis elemzes a resztvevők viselkedeset elemzi a produktum, a terhasznalat, a vezetes, a kapcsolatkepzes, az erzelmi bevonodas es az analogias jelensegek ertelmezesevel. A specifikus reakciok elemzesenek harom szakasza az előkeszites, a folyamat es a cimadas. A kommunikacios elemzes negy aspektust vizsgal: tartalom, kifejezes, felszolitas es kapc...
In this art therapy adaptation of the squiggle technique, the client draws eight colored squiggles on a paper folded into eight frames and then develops them into images utilizing a full range of color. The client is encouraged to write titles on each frame and use them to compose a story. This technique often stimulates emergence of meaningful graphic and verbal content in the first session. Significant psychological and perceptual aspects of the process are discussed, including the client's tendency to correlate spatial placement with meaningful imagery and the inclination to try to balance opposites. Case examples illustrate some results of this technique from a Jungian perspective.
This paper explores outpatient child art therapy methodology which emphasizes reinforcing parents' strengths, solidifying parentchild bonds, and using child artistic creativity as means of overcoming obstacles to healthy child development. The theoretical framework integrates D.W. Winnicott's (1971) model of parent consultation, child art therapy theories, and contemporary theories of child and brief psychotherapy. A short-term case study illustrates effective symptom management. A longer term case example demonstrates structural change within both the child and the parent-child bond.
Art therapists are "dedicated to the belief that the creative process in the making of art is healing and enhancing" (Mission Statement, AATA, 2/2000). They work in a variety of settings. One setting that has been generally undeveloped is the home; domiciliary art therapists are rare. This article addresses art therapy for homebound people, giving special attention to the set of needs for this environment, the desired personality traits of the in-home therapist, the unique structure of the therapeutic relationship and appropriate art therapy goals. In-home art therapy is based on the idea of enhancing life and is not aligned with cure-oriented therapy. Two case studies of home-bound art therapy are presented; one is with a person who is restricted as a result of multiple sclerosis, the other with a patient who has Alzheimer's disease. Both case studies demonstrate the complexities and possibilities for art therapy services for the adult homebound.
Asserts that evaluations in art therapy lack the clarity and procedural economy of assessment data and theoretical knowledge, and proposes that L. Bellak's (1973) 6 ego functions and object relations theory be used for diagnostic appraisal and treatment recommendations. The concept of triage refers to the sorting of patients for long-term, short-term, or outpatient treatment. The 6 ego functions are reality testing; judgment; sense of reality of world and self; regulation and control of drives, affects, and impulses; object relations; and thought processes. Thought processes, reality testing, judgment, and sense of self distinguish the psychotic from the neurotic and normal ranges of functioning. Quality of object relations, coupled with occasional psychotic thinking, helps to distinguish the borderline from the psychotic level of ego functioning. Three methods of assessing a patient's ego functioning are discussed: the House-Tree-Person, Draw-a-Person, and Kinetic Family Drawing Tests. Assessment of ego functioning occurs in the context of an interaction between patient and therapist. Object relations is of paramount importance in assessing patient's ability to utilize particular treatment forms and depends on the patient's ability to form an alliance with the evaluator. A case example of a female in her mid-20's illustrates the value of assessing a person's level of ego functioning in determining appropriate treatment. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)