CASE STUDY
In Gestalt Art Therapy (Rhyne 1973), the client may be encouraged to look at specific image within the art, or the art as a whole, and give it a voice by saying, “I am _____.” The following is an example of the utilization of this Gestalt Art Therapy experiment in practice.
Case Conceptualization
Sandra (pseudonym), a 44-year-old woman, entered therapy to address concerns raised by her husband regarding her "excessive" alcohol use. She reported using alcohol to manage anxiety, which she connected to unresolved early childhood trauma. Sandra expressed a desire to reduce her anxiety without resorting to alcohol.
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As Sandra presented in weekly individual sessions, her emphasis was on her sensory experiences and emotions as they unfolded in real-time during sessions. The use of art served as an experiential way to allow her to explore and make contact with her feelings and sensations in the moment, while focusing on self-regulation.
Given Sandra’s history with trauma, paying close attention to pacing of each session aided Sandra with physical, psychological, and emotional safety development, in addition to feeling in control and a sense of empowerment in the space. Sandra’s engagement in art-making can be seen as a trauma-informed practice, where she was given the autonomy to express her inner emotional world in a non-threatening, creative way. This method also helped Sandra to stabilize emotionally by focusing on calming sensory memories and grounding techniques.
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Given Sandra’s interest and observed benefit from creative expression, therapy sessions incorporated meditations, guided imagery, grounding, and breathing techniques to help her manage her anxiety.
Sandra
After having met for a few weekly sessions, Sandra reported ongoing benefit from guided and scripted meditations while at home. She noted that they aided her with feeling that drinking was not the only option to cope with her anxiety and emotions. Despite this, Sandra noted ongoing alcohol use, similar to the amounts she reported at time of admission. To aid Sandra in creativity development, coping skills, and exploration of her goals, during this session, I asked her if she could find a peaceful place within without utilizing a script of directed mediation.
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After she noted that she was able and felt calm, Sandra chose to use crayons and gel pens to create a piece of artwork. Sandra first began by drawing an outline of a heart in pink with pen and then coloring it in orange with a crayon. She then drew water in blue, symbolizing a lake by her childhood home. She returned to the heart and slowly added lines, like rays of sunshine surrounding the heart using glitter gel pens. After creating, Sandra shared, “I imagined myself as a child, back at my parents’ house. I was at the lake, with the sound of the water and the warm sun comforting me. I felt calm.” I asked her where she felt this in her body. She noticed warmth in her heart and chest. “I noticed my slow breaths. I noticed I wasn’t thinking about drinking in this space. I thought of my heart, shining like a buoy in the lake. I felt so light.” I invited Sandra to reflect on the process of artmaking and the product she created. I guided her through the three Zones of Awareness (Perls. 2002) and encouraged her to ask her artwork, “Do you have a message for me?” She waited, and after a moment of thoughtful silence, she said, “It says, ‘I am strong, and have a bright heart. Just take the time to listen within.’” She then added words to her piece: “listen for the calm heart.”
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The breath work and meditation began with helping Sandra to access her sense of calm. Instead of asking her to draw the scene imagined in her calm place, I worked to emphasize how her body was carrying it through building awareness. Exploring the Zones of Awareness helped Sandra access her body’s wisdom. The art creation helped her inner experience become tangible. Asking her to dialogue with the artwork, like an empty chair experiment, allowed for Sandra to make contact with the elusive feeling of calm that she had been searching for.
Perls, F. (2002). Gestalt. In Mastering Counselling Theory (pp. 87–102). Palgrave Macmillan.
Rhyne, J. (1973). The gestalt art experience. Brooks-Cole.