Between water and words: Reflective self-awareness and symbol formation in art therapy

Abstract

This article explores the development of symbols in art therapy. It is particularly interested in the moment when art materials are lifted up from their concrete materiality and acquire symbolic significance in the context of the therapeutic relationship. This investigation into symbol formation is explored by comparing two individuals' different uses of water. The first is based on Helen Keller's encounter with water as described in her autobiography The Story of My Life (1903). This account is then compared to the use of water by an adolescent boy with profound autism, in an art therapy session. The theoretical perspectives of art therapy theory and developmental psychology are used to examine the particular interpersonal and intrapersonal conditions that may be required for the development of reflective self-awareness and the emergence of symbol formation. Some implications for practice are explored towards the end of the article.

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