December 2023 - What is Invisible Therapeutic Art Making Intervention

This month’s intervention was inspired by a new group that has been inspiring me on The Therapist Network - Challenging the Dominant Narrative hosted by Chelsea Gunther. A training I attended (hosted by my mentor, Kendra Carlson) recently clicked an art directive into place that feels aligned with what we’ve been chatting about in Chelsea’s groups, and that’s how this months intervention came to be! This is a great way to talk about our identities and experiences that aren’t visible on the outside to others, and it can be a way to build rapport and help clients feel seen

Please note, If you do take any photos of client’s art work, make sure you have a consent form signed for this. I have a Consent to Photograph Artwork Created in Therapy Sessions Form in my products if you need one for your practice. Even with therapeutic art making, it is ethically necessary to have this consent form signed. Also make sure to remove any identifying information from any art work before photographing it, such as names or signatures.

I offer personalized intervention ideas in the clinical consultation and supervision I provide as well! When I work one on one with clinicians, I love being able to create specific interventions tailored to each client and their presenting concerns. Feel free to reach out with any questions to see if creative supervision and consultation would be a good fit for you and your practice!

Process Video:

Age range: 13+

Diagnosis: Any

Supplies Needed:

• Shuffles by Pinterest app, Canva, Adobe Express, or any digital collage creator if done digitally

• Physical collage materials: magazine clippings, images, paper, scissors, glue

Uses: This is a great way to talk about our identities and experiences that aren’t visible on the outside to others, and it can be a way to build rapport and help clients feel seen

Artistic skills needed: None!

Instructions:

1. First ask your client to think about what about them in invisible. I use this as an opportunity to talk about our power, privilege, culture, marginalized identities, and more. I also recommend using the wheel of power and privilege as a visual if that feels helpful (see below for the wheel)! I like to talk about how even in the therapy room my things that are invisible might impact how I look at things and how I would never want to miss something of my client’s that is invisible, and this can help us start or continue conversations about our identities

   • Some things I included in my collage are the grief I carry, my mental health challenges, my culture, my education, and more. These are a mix of my privileges and other pieces of myself

2. If you are doing this digitally, my favorite app to use is Shuffles by Pinterest or you can also use Canva or any other online creation website or app

   • I am SO EXCITED to share that Shuffles by Pinterest is my absolute favorite collage app and it is FINALLY available for Android users!!! I highly recommend this app for collaging, even over Canva!

3. Once they have the blank document open, I encourage them to search through the elements to find images that represent their invisible pieces

   • If they are struggling to start, have them choose a background image. This would also be great to start with a photo of themselves if they want to, but is not fully necessary!

4. Words can be very representative and impactful in this collage, so I encourage clients to search “quotes” “words” or other terms that will pull up what they are looking for

5. I let clients know that they can layer as many things as they want in their image, too, if that is representative of how it looks for them. This collage also can benefit from playing with the transparency of the images making some more invisible/less visible

   • They also can cover things up, show small parts of it, or move things around. They can also animate parts of their digital collage (this is possible on both Canva and Shuffles).

6. After they are done, I like to have them reflect on what is in the collage. I like to ask if the things on the collage feel representative of their invisible identities and how it feels to see it visually. I ask them if there are things they have that are invisible but that they want me to know about or how it can impact our work together

7. The process for a physical collage is the same and straightforward, just using physical materials!

Intervention Example

*A note about examples: Please be careful about sharing an example of the intervention with your client. When a client sees a full example, it can unintentionally influence what they are making and may skew what they are presenting in their art making.