So, this week I thought I'd take you through the general structure of an Expressive Arts Therapy session - the architecture of a session, as our theory calls it.
First comes the filling in. This part is pretty self-explanatory; the client talks about what's been happening in their life and if there's a specific thing that they want to work on. Occasionally, this may be all that happens, particularly if it's the first session. Other times, it may take only a minute or two.
Next comes the decentering. We put the things discussed in the filling in to one side, and move into the arts. The options here are endless, using whatever is available to do something that engages the imagination. It can involve visual art, music/sound, movement/dance, theatre, writing (poetry or prose), or any combination of the above. In my thesis, I am arguing that it could also involve the martial arts. It can be extremely simple or extremely complex - from playing with rocks to a full theatrical production that is worked on through many sessions. Often, we will move between multiple art forms during one session - for example, start with a gesture/movement, use the movement to start a drawing, then tell a story about the drawing. Sometimes what happens stays close to what is discussed in the filling in, theme-near; say, writing a poem about the client's fight with their spouse that morning. Sometimes the art-exploration is theme-far, with no perceivable link to the filling in; say, a slow, graceful, meditative dance inspired by the movement of whales, after the same filling in about a fight with a spouse. The therapist might work on the art piece with the client, work on their own art piece next to the client, or simply observe.
After the art-making comes period of aesthetic analysis, talking about making the art. At this point, we try not to go into making guesses about underlying meanings. Instead, we talk look at the creative process itself - what it felt like, if there were moments of particular challenge or particular enjoyment, if the client is satisfied with the result, if it feels done. The therapist might mention things that they noticed, how they felt while the art was being made, or ask the client to give the final result a title. ExA jargon refers to this as "staying on the surface" - looking at just the artwork as its own entity, separate from its creator(s), rather than as a reflection of the client's subconscious (a much more psychology-based approach).
Finally we come to the harvesting, connecting the art work back to everyday life and the challenge(s) discussed during the filling in. The therapist might ask if the art work hold a message for the client, and what that message might be. This is also where we identify resources, and reflect on how they may be applicable to a life challenge. For example, the person who danced like a whale likely has a pool of calm/serenity than they could work on tapping into during future conflicts with their spouse. Sometimes art itself is a valuable resource - doing something simple (composing a haiku, doing a quick doodle, imagining a dance move) can give a bit of distance and perspective when you're feeling anxious or angry. Watching someone make art, or making art with them, can teach you a lot about a person and what traits and resources they have - if they are patient, persistent, experimental, detail-oriented or big-picture, careful or a risk-taker, if they prefer solo work or collaboration, preferred methods of communication, etc. All these things can be considered resources, and can be applied to many of life's challenges. It is also easy for someone to forget these sorts of things about themselves, or that how to apply such a trait to a particular problem. Sometimes the artwork and the resources that come to light during the making aren't applicable to the specific challenge brought up during the filling in, but the insight can be valuable in other parts of life. While largely about harvesting the creative process for resources and learning, this last part of the session must also bring the client back from the imaginal realm where art work happens, and bring them back into the everyday world. By the end, the client must be ready to go back into their usual life, hopefully with a new perspective or approach for dealing with challenges.
Obviously, real life is messy - often, a session won't follow this exact format. Usually, we move in and out between different stages - filling in can continue while we're working on an art piece, some aesthetic analysis and harvesting can begin while still working on the art work. Sometimes entire sections will be skipped, or covered in only a sentence or or two. While we allow for a lot of flexibility and adaptation to each client and each situation, this is the basic framework we start with and work from.