The Triangular Relationship Method - Essay Example

The Art Therapy

Art therapy is an approach that deals with the mental health treatment, recovery and resilience through a mutual relationship between creative process and the therapeutic relationship. These ideas lie in both art and psychotherapy. The researchers have discovered that the art psychotherapy brings good therapeutic connections predicts the best outcome in psychotherapy. As a form of practice, art psychotherapy shares deeply with community arts and art health approaches (Case, C., & Dalley, T. (2014).). Art therapy creates capacity for creative autonomy with psychotherapeutic, with psychotherapeutic insights and support. The art has the ability to express their experiences and emotions, working safely with depth which is provided by the psychotherapeutic boundaries. The art therapy is dependent on training with the integrity of the therapist, the way they work and the capacity of the mind to the person in the therapy (Edwards, D. (2014)). The experiences in the art psychotherapy are needed for understanding and supervision for psychotherapy abuse. One of the concepts of the art psychotherapy is The Triangular Relationship.

The triangular relationship

This method occurs when within the art therapy field where the artwork mediates the work of the transference from the client towards the therapist because the art uses feelings and emotions in the creations of artwork and uses a lot of energy in it. This relationship is between the client, therapist, and artwork. The relationship between either of the two in the contest is emphasized at any given time (Schaverien, J. (2000)).

The client may redirect unconscious feelings and emotions to the therapist about other people. The therapists may offer a lot of art materials to the client on the effect of the psychotherapy the art has to the client. The therapy patient may see the therapist as the provider of help and the take people feelings who have been this way in the past. The client may use images to express his feelings to the therapist especially at the end of the therapeutic relationship or to respond what the therapist has done or said (Schaverien, J. (2000)). The therapist should be conscious of the effects of his personal feelings to the client to void the effects of counter-transference. The therapist should also reduce stress, anxiety or vulnerability from his client so that the client can avoid defense mechanism when responding to his thoughts and feelings from an artwork. Defense mechanisms include;

• Denial - avoid recognition of his thoughts and emotions.
• Regression – they go back to the earlier stage of development.
• Repression – they tend to avoid awareness by removing their thoughts, feeling, and past issues.
• Projection – showing their unneeded thoughts and feelings to others.
• Displacement – changing their anxiety to less anxiety situation.
• Rationalism – giving a reasonable explanation for a certain occurrence.
• Sublimation – change thoughts and feelings into something useful

The relationship therapy understands the clients need to get these defense mechanisms and the clients thoughts and feelings will be expressed continuously in her artwork. The therapist should not use other languages to interpret the artwork of the client because he may incorrectly interpret elements of the visual communications. A therapist may risk exposing the feelings and thoughts of the client before they are ready and this may make the client feel as if his feelings and thoughts are not his own. The therapist should wait for the client to express his thoughts and feelings when ready to so as to gain a sense of meaning. The therapist and the client should have a therapeutic relationship so as to interact, discuss and suggest the meaning of the feelings and thoughts.

The therapeutic relationship should be based on trust, empathy, and genuineness so that they can affirm to openness, understanding, and safety.

The consequences of a triangular relationship are setting the client and the artwork. The complexities in the transferences and counter-transferences between the client and the therapist are recognized and work within the psychopathology. The artwork creates artistic counter-transferences from both the client and the therapist. There is existence in the artwork that stimulates the creation of the artwork once it’s created. The therapist is most of the interested on how the work is created and the quality of the completed work other than whether the work is good or not. In order to differentiate the distinct aspects of the tasteful responses to images

The images identified are;

Diagrammatic images are a very healthy way of communication rather than like a map. They give written or spoken meaning.

Embodied images are images which are not expressed in words. Exploring this art leads to perceived intentions which are not conscious and bringing unhealthy meanings. The embodied images make the feeling so live in present hence transforming the psychological state of the client. Those images create important parts in healing. Embodied images give clear intensity in their making and presence.

Stages in triangular relationship between therapist, image, and client

• Identification; the images from the client which are non-verbal and unconscious where the therapist witnesses the images offering containment.
• Familiarization – this is where stand back and the process of becoming a spectator of their job starts. Therapist remains to be the witness.
• Acknowledgement – the client feeling and attitude towards the image erupt and the therapist is invited to be the second spectator and give his opinion about the image. The triangle aspects are active.
• Assimilations – this is where the client has new understanding, experience and observes the image after conversations and more art making. Aspects of the triangle are active.
• Disposal – the disposal of the art it is solution-focused to the client in the healing process. Tha image may be the healing point of the client and an achievement by the client. And is the part that can be processed and left with the therapists.

The relationship component in research is very eminent in group psychotherapy, where emotions awareness and change definition problem is more important in the treatment of individuals. Relationship factors should be more important in the therapies as clients attach more on them (Lusebrink, V. B. (1991)). Therapeutic alliance in the group relationship is accountable in comparing the cohesion which is confused with the alliance. The therapeutic relationship brings the sense of trust, support, belonging to the group. The cohesion was referred to as working together towards the therapeutic aim. Cohesion and alliance were closely connected to build up and improve the self-esteem. The relationship between the therapies including the group members was referred to as cohesion. While, alliance, refers to the relationship between the group members and the therapist (Lusebrink, V. B. (1991))

Although therapy is connected to psychoanalysis, the present therapies are using other therapeutic methods to eke out the practice of art therapy. The applications of art therapy extend to individuals, families, and groups and include the solutions-focused therapy, gestalt therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy these developments ensure that art therapy is practiced. The creative process and unconscious interactions are well understood by the therapist.

Triangular relationship method brings out a range of stages, needs, orientations, and contests because there is nothing as typical art psychotherapy sessions. Every therapy sessions are unique. Therapeutic interventions are fitted are fitted to the relationship, context, and resources. Is therapy free from interruptions, is therapy process valued by other professions? Others are about contractual; is the person there for therapy? These are the questions that the therapist should have before the therapy (Lusebrink, V. B. (1991)).

The therapist needs to address on anxiety issues on physical problems and expressions of fear. The therapist should act on the anxiety first and have sufficient containment demonstrated. High guidance is helpful on experiences that will cause anxiety. And working on what will happen ahead of time. Art psychotherapy creates a safe, comfortable and clean place to enable the client to talk in a language they don’t understand; to experience new thoughts and feelings. To shift from distressing past experiences and explore current perspectives to be re-framed and focus on new appearance to come. Working with the context and client group; it is established that using homework can be very helpful and efficient method because it gradually facilitates the development of independent creative life (Skaife, S. (2001)). This provides views in the progress of the value the relationship with the therapist as containing, modeling of emotion regulation, distress tolerance, enabling and self-soothing. Flexibility and negotiated approach in an individual are highly required in the homework due to tasks involved in the art-making. According to the client’s current context, mood, motivation and ability different task are needed (Skaife, S. (2001)).

During the healing process and creative process develop; confidence and self-esteem increase the people who considered remotely artistic engage themselves in solution-focused possibilities and self-task become possible (Skaife, S. (2001)).

The art psychotherapist uses artwork and language to do the psychological work on; containment, learning, expressions, doing things differently, reviewing, practice and familiarization, tolerating anxiety and not knowing.

Conclusion

Art therapy helps us to learn and develop life skills; problem-solving, rehearsal, risk analysis and emotional regulations, adaptive thinking, self-respect, and relationship. Creativity and imagination are very important aspects of life because without imagination we could not remember, emphasize, anticipate or make choices. We are dependent on these functions as our adaptability as human beings. The externalization of internal images brings light to the picture and transformation takes place in the psychological state of their maker. Within the triangular relationship, higher or minor stress may be placed on each axis, the client, and their artwork or within the client and the art therapist during a single session or over time. The therapeutic use of art making, within an acknowledged relationship, by people who experience illness, trauma, or difficulties of living and personalities who seek individual improvement through designing art and exhibiting on the art products and methods, people can increase the experience of self and others, cope with symptoms, stress and traumatic occurrences.

REFERENCE

Schaverien, J. (2000). The triangular relationship and the aesthetic countertransference in analytical art psychotherapy. The changing shape of art therapy: New developments in theory and practice, 55-83.

Case, C., & Dalley, T. (2014). The handbook of art therapy. Routledge.

Edwards, D. (2014). Art therapy. sage.

Huss, E. (2009). “A coat of many colors”: Towards an integrative multilayered model of art therapy. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 36(3), 154-160.

Lusebrink, V. B. (1991). A systems oriented approach to the expressive therapies: The expressive therapies continuum. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 18(5), 395-403.

Holmqvist, G., & Persson, C. L. (2012). Is there evidence for the use of art therapy in treatment of psychosomatic disorders, eating disorders and crisis? A comparative study of two different systems for evaluation. Scandinavian journal of psychology, 53(1), 47-53.

Skaife, S. (2001). Making visible: Art therapy and intersubjectivity. International Journal of Art Therapy: Inscape, 6(2), 40-50.

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Van Lith, T., Fenner, P., & Schofield, M. (2010). Art therapy in rehabilitation. JH Stone, M Blouin.

Berger, R. (2016). Renewed by nature: Nature therapy as a framework to help people deal with crises, trauma and loss. Ecotherapy: Theory, research and practice, 177-185.