‘You drew my tears’: attunement in making response art alongside the client

ABSTRACT

Background: During lockdown, I began exploring the use of response art while working with individual adult clients in private practice online. At times, the contributions it made to the therapy seemed significant and too pivotal to ignore.

Context: Adult clients in private art therapy practice in the UK.

Approach: An overview of the present discourse on response art is provided, followed by an exploration of related theories including Stern’s ‘attunement’, Winnicott’s ‘holding’ and Bion’s ‘container-contained’. An outline of how response art is integrated into a session is presented and illustrated with three vignettes.

Outcomes: Response art was useful for the clients included in this paper when frozen emotionally or struggling to find words. It helped with restarting art making, trusting the therapist, reframing experiences, and encouraging emotional processing.

Conclusions: Attunement was key in the decision-making and implementation of a creative response. The therapist’s vulnerability in exposing their creative and mental processes appeared to be a valuable model for the client. The sounds (or silences) and gestures made during the making of the response art also appeared to be significant for the clients.

Implications for research: Further research into benefits, risks and influencing factors when using response art would be instructive.

Plain-language summary

Traditionally the art therapist observes the client making art. During lockdown, I began to explore making artwork at the same time as the client. I was working online with individual adult clients in private practice with the aim of responding to what they brought to the session. The contributions that the response artwork made to the therapy seemed significant and too important to ignore. An overview of the current discussion around response art is outlined. This is followed by looking at how it could relate to theory. An outline is given of how it was introduced and used within sessions, and three examples are offered to illustrate. Response art seemed to be useful when the clients included in this paper were stuck emotionally or could find no words. It helped them to restart their own art making and processing. Sometimes it appeared easier for the clients to trust what they saw in the response artwork, than it was for them to trust the therapist. Through the response art I hoped to offer another view point and encourage the clients towards alternate ways of thinking. Empathy is of key importance in art therapy. In the making of response artwork, I attempted to demonstrate my empathy for my clients. I became vulnerable in the process of artmaking, which appeared be a helpful model for the clients. The sounds (or silences) and gestures made by the therapist during the making of the response, also appeared to be significant for the clients. More research into the benefits, risks and influencing factors when using response art would be useful. It would be helpful to have a better understanding about the role of gender in response art and if there are any implications for practice or not.

KEYWORDS:

• Response art; working alongside; attunement; holding; contained; reframing; ambiguity; authenticity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sarah Warren

Sarah Warren is an art therapist and supervisor working in private practice in Scotland. Previously, she has worked in a variety of settings including a counselling centre, schools, hospitals, a hospice, with refugees and veterans, and in a prison. She has taught Art Therapy as part of a module on a medical degree programme. Her student dissertation on the subject of ‘flow’ in art therapy was published in Inscape (Warren, 2006). She holds a BA(hons) in Fine Art (Sculpture) from Goldsmiths University, London, and postgraduate qualifications in Outdoor Pursuits and Art Therapy. She has worked as a sculptor, undertaking commissions and her artwork has been exhibited in a number of joint exhibitions and galleries around Scotland.