By Jane Halverson, BA, DTATI (Cand)
Toronto, ON

Jane is currently a student at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute and completing her practicum at the Mental Health Inpatient Unit at the Toronto General Hospital.

As art therapists, we utilize the process of creating artwork to support our clients in improving their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. In Jungian analysis, this creative process is central, as the psyche itself is creative. Creating artwork can help re-frame issues to manageable proportions, and one can concretize their unconscious to allow a greater understanding of oneself, to come to gentle realizations while being less caught up in the situation and gain perspective. Drawing on theories of the analytical psychology of Jung with special reference to the symbolic language of the psyche, I will examining three pieces of artwork to help understand how the personal process of individuation develops and how images are our bridge to the unconscious. Encouraging our clients to create and discuss images can often be the first step to discovering their inner world which can assist in helping them to heal.  

By carefully using specific tools, we can uncover the unconscious in artwork. We do this by creating artwork borne out of inner images, then trying to distill the meaning from them and then finally allowing them to become conscious ideas and drawing our conclusions. Jung (1961) himself explains his personal experience of this in his Red Book, he states,

“I took great care to try to understand every single image, every item of my psychic inventory, and to classify them scientifically—so far as this was possible—and, above all, to realize them in actual life. That is what we usually neglect to do.  We allow the images to rise up, and maybe we wonder about them, but that is all. We do not take the trouble to understand them, let alone draw ethical conclusions from them. This stopping-short conjures up the negative effects of the unconscious” (p. 192).

By using a new typology proposed by Jung, with respect to attitudes based on introversion (more reflective), extroversion (more outgoing), and the four following functions of ego-consciousness: sensation, feeling, thinking and intuition, we can pay close attention to details within the image and help bring the artwork created into consciousness. Even though we may relate more to one function than the other, we must pay attention to each to fully realize meaning in the image (Abt, 2005). 

In the first artwork, Process, the first sensation I get from the elements of the picture is that it is made with earthy colour pencils and black marker in a landscape style. I see dark marks which are randomly scattered around the picture, and reveal themselves to look like branches of a tree. This may be a symbolic reference to growth or a new beginning. Knowing about symbols is critical in understanding what is playing out in the image to give us a key to the unconscious.  Kast (1992) states, “a symbol is in the first place a common object perceived by the senses, although it also signifies something mysterious; it refers to a meaning and beyond that a meaning which cannot be fully grasped at first”(p. 9). When I created this work, I remember just picking up the marker and drawing the lines in an action painting style—randomly, to see how the marker would sit on the pencil crayon surface. The picture appeared to me very scattered. Upon further examination, the branches are absent of leaves—they need nourishment. They are drawn in black, which can symbolize despair, or something undecided. It is important to remember that these symbols are already shaped by meanings; I cannot give it a random new meanings. I feel like this image drains my energy, there is something about is that is incomplete. I know the catalyst for this image was that it was made during the first few weeks of school and I was feeling like I was ready to learn, but felt overwhelmed and wondered how I would manage with all the new material and coursework ahead of me. The meaning to me as I look at it now is that the dark lines look anxious as though they are branches in need of foliage. The green yellow and brown lend itself new growth and learning. As therapists it may be helpful to familiarize ourselves with the meanings of symbols. We can discuss how these symbols occur in other artwork, fairy tales and other works of literature to support clients in uncovering more of how they are feeling, or how to further express themselves (Kast, 1992).

The second piece of artwork, Journey, a horizontal image with cool, blended watercolours, is painted on a thicker paper which supports the watercolour with no frame. This image feels quite fluid. My body relaxes with the cool muted colours. In the background there is something that resembles a shape of a tornado. A tornado in my mind may not symbolize destruction as much as change. There is a rainbow in the bottom right corner that gives me an intuitive feeling of hope: something good is happening. A sense of “calm” after the storm has passed. Logically, it is impossible for a tornado and a rainbow to occur at the same time. It makes me think that I could be caught between two things, two feelings or two situations. I remember creating this image after the Thanksgiving holidays, which was a particular stressful time with my in-laws, but feeling particularly happy that I had my art therapy course to look forward to and knowing the many skills I was learning would be helpful in dealing with family conflict. The picture feels quite organized in that way, and hopeful.  

Finally, in the third artwork, Celebration of Light, which was done at the beginning of the holiday season, is composed on a piece of black construction paper with chalk pastel. I see a brightness and an almost glowing quality with the depiction of bright colours. The round shapes give a feeling of Christmas lights seen through a foggy car window. This image gives me a very positive and cozy feeling with very good energy. My hunch is of something to look forward to: light which symbolize coming out of the dark, and circles, wholeness of the self. I created this work just before the holidays when everything felt hopeful and full of promise for a new year.  

By examining the psychological catalysts that gave rise to each piece and how meanings are uncovered, I can see how archetypes and symbols can assist in the very personal process and never-ending individuation and integration into a well-functioning whole. Making the creative potential of the unconscious accessible to the conscious thereby transforms the possibilities of art activities. We cannot limit ourselves to rational discussions. We will discover that there is more potential when using creativity to work things out and free ourselves from symptoms through therapy. Brutsch (1999) states, “If somebody is not able to use their fantasy, to work playfully with the therapist at discovering possible meanings to the events in their life or to trust and honor the unconscious and their dreams, then one may consider it doubtful that the therapy will have any effect… the client may receive encouragement and support, but if the feeling for the symbolic dimension is missing, in the end no real change will occur ”(p. 147).  As a student of art therapy, I couldn’t agree more.

References:

Abt, T. (2005). Introduction to Picture Interpretation According to C.G. Jung. Living Heritage Publications.

Brutsch, P. (1999). Images, Meanings and Connections, Essays in Memory of Susan R. Bach. Daimon Verlag.

Jung, C. J. (1961). Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Random House.

Kast, V. (1992). The Dynamic of Symbols: Fundamentals of Jungian Psychotherapy. Fromm International.