Condensation
As previously discussed, symbols are the cornerstone of art therapy. The nonverbal language of symbols speaks to us on a multiplicity of levels and incorporates not simply one memory, object, or feeling but many, which are united through the unconscious process of creation. This emotion and affect give the art its power. It is in this vein that we arrive at condensation, often classified as a minor ego defense. It is defined as a process by which "several concepts, ideas, or needs are condensed in their figurative representation so that a single symbol, object, or figure serves to stand for them. . . . Through the telescoping operation of Condensation one object, figure, or symbol can represent several" (Laughlin, 1970, p. 455).
In art therapy condensation takes on significance beyond its standing as an ego defense. The created symbols allow access into the unconscious, which frees the clinician to unearth the process instead of remaining tied to the content of a client's verbalizations or behavioral acting out. In this manner a singular clay object, multiplied, destroyed, and rebuilt does not merely become a symbol of the destructive path encountered by one youth; it also provides a safe forum in which to express his guilt, pain, and fears.
Figure 1.10 begins a case study of a late adolescent male who had spent the majority of his life in large institutions or group homes. In addition he was a shame-based, highly impulsive youth who preferred the role of victim in his social relationships. Often he would taunt and antagonize peers and adults until he was rejected. In this manner he recapitulated the familial dynamics of approach and avoidance. This chaos then projected onto his current "family" of peers and adults allowed him to control the ensuing rebuff, thus offering him a sense of power within his environment.
With each passing day, as he approached the age of majority, his fear increased. He made frantic efforts to avoid abandonment through regressive characteristics. He became hostile, rude, and belligerent, with rapid shifts that characterized emotional instability. He refused to attend group therapy and was withdrawn and resistant when seen individually. Unable to cope with impending adulthood, he had regressed to childhood. At this point the treatment team decided that he required less verbal and increasingly tactile interventions that would provide him with a sense of reparative mastery as well as meeting his developmental needs of separation and individuation. Thus, art therapy was introduced. Over the next nine sessions he was given plasticene clay and instructed: "make anything you want."
The client had a multiplicity of color choices but decided to work with blue and minimally added red to the microphone. He did not offer any information about his creations, and the therapist did not question him about them. These early art therapy sessions were simply utilized as a holding environment, while the clay figures were utilized as transitional objects.
1.10 The Blue Man and the 1.11 The Blue Man and the
Anger Microphone Butterfly
1.10 The Blue Man and the 1.11 The Blue Man and the
Anger Microphone Butterfly
In the second session the client retrieved his art production and proceeded to smash the background figure. This was not an unexpected occurrence, as it was certainly in keeping with his identification with the victim as well as being an action related to his feelings of abandonment depression. Thus, each time he destroyed the figure, the therapist quietly remade it. The therapist made no verbal reproach and expressed only toleration for the ambivalent feelings. This cycle continued five times, until the therapist began work on a butterfly. Once this was completed the session ended.
In the third session the client was once again introduced to the clay productions. He spent his time fixing the figure the therapist had initially restored. This exchange was an important one in the relationship. The therapist, having lent her ego to the client symbolically, showed him that nothing was irreparable. The client, having been allowed to vent his anger and aggression without rejection, symbolically apologized through a sense of industry (repairing the damage) instead of assuming the inferior role. At the end of the session the client placed the butterfly on the now-repaired person (Figure 1.11).
At this point the client had not identified the figures, and due to his regressive features he was not pressed for clarification. However, in the fourth session he voluntarily offered an explanation. Figure 1.12 shows all the productions made to this point, with two new additions.
While the client worked on the white figure, the therapist made a second butterfly (found at the white figure's feet). The client stated that the "Blue man's sad." While the white man scolds the blue man for his indiscretions, "He tells him to do the right thing. They fight but they make up." The figure in the foreground he identified as a microphone. He simply stated, "This is the blue man's anger. He's sad when the anger comes out."
At the conclusion of the session the client placed the therapist's butterfly on the anger microphone. Needless to say, his description is replete with symbolism. His emotions and social relationships have been condensed into the clay figure representations. The therapist embodies the butterfly and the white man (superego figures), while the client resides in the blue figure as his anger is magnified through the microphone. Overall, these contradictory emotional states exist not only side by side but also within the client and, in this instance, his transitional objects. This splitting continues to be the cornerstone of his rage, fear, and guilt. The following two sessions (encompassed in Figure 1.13) show his continued compartmen-talization.
In the background a blue home ("where everyone relaxes and plays") is placed in close proximity with the white home ("where they sleep and eat"). A red garage (center) protects the car so the "Blue man can fix it in safety."
In the fifth session the client had made a blue lake; however, after the therapist informed the client that she would be on vacation for a period of two weeks (in the sixth session) he destroyed the lake. It is interesting to note that water, in modern psychology, is frequently viewed as a symbol of the mother or the female side of the personality.
Upon the therapist's return, the project was resumed and Figure 1.14 was completed.
The client worked quietly, with a flat affect, and created a snowman (placed in the background on the viewer's right) and added black clay to the white home. He stated, "This is the place you can go and discuss your feelings." He then began to explore the art room and added a feather and plastic wheels to the car. However, as the session progressed, he became increasingly agitated. He then destroyed the therapist's butterfly and the anger microphone, saying, "I don't need them." This regression is typical
- 1.12 He Tells Him to Do the Right Thing 1.13 Compartmentalizing His Emotions
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