Institute for Clinical Social Work

Graduate Student, Art Therapy

Thesis Title: Contributions of Art-Making to Traditional Psychodynamic Modality of Treatment with Adults

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This qualitative study explored the experience of psychodynamic clinicians using art-making as an alternative modality of treatment within the context of verbal treatment of adult patients.

Participants were psychodynamic clinicians in private practice that had chosen to make use of at least one intervention of art-making within their verbal treatment with their adolescents and/or adult patients. 16 clinicians participated in this study.

The study aimed to understand:

1) why traditionally trained clinicians made an intervention of art-making in their verbal treatment with their patient;

2), when (in the treatment process) clinicians decided to make use of a non-verbal intervention such as art-making in their treatment, and

3), how the use of art-making within the context of verbal treatment impacted the clinicians’ understanding of their adult patients.

The findings of this study indicate that traditional trained clinicians turn to art-making, in conjunction to their verbal treatment when 1) seeking to provide their adult patients with a way to disclose and explore traumatic events, feelings, emotions and the recovery of memories in relation to the trauma experienced; 2) when observing their patients struggling to bring out their inner experience via words but being unable to do; 3) when the treatment seemed to be stagnant or 4) when they were in need of gathering more information about the suitability of the therapeutic team clinician-patient or as to further information obtained via the intake process.

Participants also considered art-making as an important contribution to their verbal treatment because art-making offered them a window from where to pick into the inner world of their patients- their deepest dreams and fears- appealing more to the subjective side of the treatment instead of the intellect to verbally account for their inner experience.

Participants also reported that art-making provided them with an avenue to increase their empathic understanding of their patients.

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