Archetypal Art Therapy

Abstract

This chapter presents the theory and practice of art therapy as based in the writings of archetypal thinkers James Hillman, Patricia Berry, Mary Watkins, and Howard McConeghey. Three ideas essential to the theory and practice of archetypal art therapy are presented: (i) archetypal art therapy focuses on paying close attention to the structure and content of images; (ii) archetypal art therapy is an imaginal rather than a symbolic approach to working with images; (iii) archetypal art therapists use metaphorical language to hear images in their own words. Assisting someone into places of reverie is more useful than interpretation or diagnosis, which stops the reverie, the imagination, and the images. While working with gadgets can feel technical, working precisely yet expansively for a long enough time leads to understanding the images metaphorically. Encouraging play with the possibility in an image opens up more possibilities and slows the desire for an answer.

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