Diagnostic Drawing Series Self-Report
In 1982, the Diagnostic Drawing Series (DDS) was introduced by Barry Cohen as an assessment which focuses on form in client drawings, rather than content, to gain insight about a client in a way that allows for greater objectivity. The DDS is supported by extensive research, has reports of high reliability and validity, and is the only art therapy assessment tool that can be linked to the DSM-5 standards (Cohen, 2013).
To begin, each participant is given three pieces of 18”x 24” white drawing paper and a box of twelve-color chalk pastels. Each drawing is allotted fifteen minutes. The first drawing is a “free choice” and the participant is directed to “Make a drawing using these materials”. This drawing may be seen as a representation of the clients’ defense system (Cohen et al., 1994). For the second image, the client is asked to “Draw a picture of a tree”. The tree drawing can be viewed as a symbolic self-portrait, displaying the inner psyche. The final drawing directive is to “Make a picture of how you’re feeling using lines, shapes, and colors” (Cohen, 2013). This drawing offers the opportunity for emotional release, and closure.
Upon series completion, the Drawing Inquiry (DI) form is used as a tool for verbal processing of the pictures. The participant is asked
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She indicated that the colors represent her contrasting feelings- anxious and calm- and how they sometimes exist at the same time. She noted that the image was a representation of her mind: her new experiences were bringing her anxiety to the forefront, and she felt trapped in her own mind, but there were also times that she felt calm and at peace with how things were going. The image had another meaning to her as well, as she stated that she gets shy and insecure and puts up defenses when meeting new people. She titled this image, “Mind
Enter test includes eight stimuli with instructions for that child to make a picture. To encourage an innovative element towards the task, the kid is particularly expected to 'draw an image that nobody else would think of' (examiner's manual, p. 5). Scoring of the subtest is dependent on Guilford's (1959) applying for grants creativeness and analyzes the next elements: quantity of new elements put into the image, originality, if the drawing is changed through location or position, and if the child's drawing provides perspective. This is untimed.
Wayne, transforms this painting into a three dimensional abstract piece of art. The focal point of the painting are the figures that look like letters and numbers that are in the front of the piece of art. This is where your eyes expend more time, also sometimes forgiving the background. The way the artist is trying to present this piece is showing happiness, excitement, and dreams. Happiness because he transmits with the bright colours. After probably 15 minutes on front of the painting I can feel that the artist tries to show his happiness, but in serene calm. The excitement that he presents with the letters, numbers and figures is a signal that he feels anxious about what the future is going to bring. Also in the way that the colors in the background are present he is showing that no matter how dark our day can be always will be light to
For example, adolescents are often forced into therapy by their parents or school as a result of an inability to cope with stress in a socially acceptable way. Patients at this stage are too old to engage in play therapy, where therapists analyze a child’s behavior during play and when presented with toys. Also, patients acting out during adolescence are often too young to obtain the maturity to verbalize their emotions in a socially acceptable form. Art therapy is useful at this stage of development because similar impulses expressed in play therapy are expressed through drawings, meanwhile not requiring verbal communication. Art therapy introduces the mature defense mechanism of sublimation to the patient, guiding them to achieve better self control as they learn to communicate their impulses through art and talking about their art. A particular form of therapy is managed in groups, and adolescents are encouraged to engage in conversation about their drawings while they are creating them. This creates an environment of low anxiety, allowing patients communicate internal conflict and disregard their normal defense mechanisms that are used to conceal these emotions. The defense mechanism of sublimation is apparent in this process, as the use of color, composition, space and shapes to provide an
The composition of this painting forces the eye to the woman, and specifically to her face. Although the white wedding dress is large and takes up most of the woman’s figure, the white contrasts with her face and dark hair, forcing the viewer to look more closely into the woman’s face. She smokes a cigarette and rests her chin on her hands. She does not appear to be a very young woman and her eyes are cast down and seem sad. In general, her face appears to show a sense of disillusionment with life and specifically with her own life. Although this is apparently her wedding day, she does not seem to be happy.
Dothan, AL: Michelin Apa Publications, 2010. Print. Moon, Bruce. Existential Art Therapy: The Canvas Mirror.
Drawings and other self-generated forms of visual art produced by people suffering from mental illness sparked the interest of psychiatrists around the end of the 19th century. They were considered “outpourings of the mind in turmoil” (Rubin 6). Fascinated by these samples of artwork, psychiatrists began to study them in an attempt to better understand the creator and the illness. Art therapy is a fluid, adaptable and evolving field. Today art therapists employ a variety of methods and work in a variety of rehabilitation settings, but the focus of this paper is the use and benefits of visual art therapy in correctional settings. Unfortunately, there has been little research to measure the effectiveness of art therapy in prison. Researchers are still in the early stages of understanding what art therapy does, how it does this, and why it is effective. Through art therapy programs, prisoners are able to more fully come to know themselves and are therefore fore able to authentically participate in life and community as well as develop an ongoing motivation towards recovery.
The clients will be asked as a group to recall any other times they have had these feelings, with the therapist validating and normalizing clients’ feelings, explaining interactions between childhood trauma and self-image, expectations of others (including difficulty trusting), and any feelings related to power (Slotoroff, 1994). The therapist will ensure that a thorough follow-up of intense emotional provocations is provided for each client for the rest of the sessions. A recorded musical listening exercise while painting or drawing will close this session, taking pieces that evolve from this potentially angry emotional place to a more contemplative, and then a more joyous
Through the use of personal experiences and intense psychological analysis, these artists have stripped away the fake shell of ourselves we present to the world, exploring the relationship between the human psyche and reality and ‘…the journeys we take to find ourselves’ (
“Art therapy is a form of therapy in making of visual images (paintings, drawings, models etc.) in the presences of a qualified art therapist contributes towards externalization of thoughts and feelings which may otherwise remain unexpressed”(Walter & Gilory, 1992).
Since its emergence over 30,000 years ago, one of visual art’s main purposes has been to act as an instrument of personal expression and catharsis. Through the mastery of paint, pencil, clay, and other mediums, artists can articulate and make sense of their current situation or past experiences, by portraying their complex, abstract emotions in a concrete form. The act of creation gives the artist a feeling of authority or control over these situations and emotions. Seen in the work of Michelangelo, Frida Kahlo, Jean Michel-Basquiat, and others, artists’ cathartic use of visual art is universal, giving it symbolic value in literature. In Natasha Trethewey's Native Guard, Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness,
This approach she felt was prominent during the art making portion of the session. Besides from the art portion of a session, Riley believed the verbal component of art therapy was important. Riley explored the stigma surrounding art therapy and the client's verbal expressions. From the book, Integrative Approaches to Family Art Therapy (Riley & Malchiodi, 1994), Riley states: “Hearing client’s language does not negate the process of looking at the art product. It is a synthesis of two creative means of communication.” Joining these two stories was key in Riley’s
Kinetic Family Drawing was as assessment instruments to draw a person, an object or a situation. That are several early studies of family technique. KFD was a require skilled, trained and the structure of the test. The test is flexibility in administration and interpretation of figure drawings. KFD involves the examiner instructing the child to draw a picture which is themselves, and everyone in his or her family, and there was doing something. The...
One of the disadvantages of art therapy is that the therapist is more vulnerable to misinterpretation in terms of the objective understanding of content. Care must be taken not to make rapid interpretations on the specific piece of art which might prevent or even deny the client the satisfaction of discovering and finding out for herself (Case and Dalley, p. 65). This is because art therapy involves a lot of interpretation, it is understandable that critics about this technique are similar to that of psychotherapy. The client’s images can come across as many things with contrasting ideas, but only the individual themself can explain it. The therapist is urged not to point out obvious red signals, instead they should allow the client to come up with their own interpretations. Their own interpretations alone are something to make note of as it may shed some light on the client's thought process about the
Art can benefit the unhealthy as well. With 34,000 soldiers coming back from Afghanistan as proposed by Barack Obama, there are many who consequently have mental disabilities or post-traumatic stress disorder. To cope with depression, or other symptoms, many doctors have used art programs...