have the advantage of using unspoken words and symbols for healing. What I have experienced through my personal journey of faith is that it is very difficult to explain what "God" means to me, what it feels like when I know "He" is "present," what faith looks like, what religion looks like, and much more. However, if you were to ask me to draw these answers or use symbols as an explanation, I would be able to do so. With this in mind, should we restrict our clients by not allowing them to express religious/faith/spiritual symbols among all other symbols (earthly, familial, personal, emotional, etc.) that they live by? An important supporting quote:
"Clients...have told us that they want to reflect on their spiritual experiences in therapy, and that they feel fragmented by attempting to delegate psychological, relational issues to conversations with their therapist and spiritual issues to conversations with their priest, rabbi, or pastor." As therapists some of our main duties are to allow our clients to reflect on their life and to help explore parts of their identity. Why, then, do we want to stay away from religious/faith/spiritual conversations if it can cause a client to feel unsupported, silenced, and fragmented? All clients will come to us containing "parts" to their "whole" and religion/faith/spirituality may be one of those parts. Another thing to consider: what about those therapists that do not consider themselves religious, faithful, or spiritual in any sense? Griffith offers a great way of viewing differences in this type of situation. Our assumptions, or as Griffith puts it—"certainties," must be diminished. There is an incredible number of ways that we can judge clients or assume wrongly based just on clients' religious denomination, therapist's personal experience, and overall religious language. For example, following are three links of Google searches using these three titles. As you look through the pictures, note that different symbols, aesthetic qualities, subjects matters, and concepts are depicted.
You can see that no matter the denomination, language used, or historical context, all people view their beliefs differently. We cannot possibly be experts or experienced—nor might we want to be— in religious beliefs, and hopefully, our clients will not expect us to be. However, this is the perfect opportunity for a "competent" art therapist to share in learning more about our clients and enhance their therapeutic experience.
As someone who is not religious but who grew up in a religious family, I struggle with the question of bringing God or spirituality into therapy.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that I would be a good role model for someone who is looking to integrate faith into their lives, but I certainly wouldn't hold that against a client of mine.
I think it has a lot to do with whether or not I can help the person use religion and/or faith as a way to enhance their lives rather than using it as a crutch or scapegoat to answer all their problems for them (which doesn't always happen but can be a way for people to not really deal with issues themselves, instead leaving it up to a higher power).
Does that make any sense? Am I being too cold and insensitive?
Chance, I think it makes sense. And I don't think you are being "too cold and insensitive", but even if you were, that's your perspective and it should be respected. I grew up in a religious family and would consider my own faith to be a huge part of my life, but where it fits into my art therapy practice I am still unsure. I'm guessing, like with most things, it's going to depend on the setting, the client, the facility, the population, etc. etc. Like you said, using a client's religious practice as a way to enhance their lives is something that I feel is required of a therapist, and like Erika said, learning about and sharing these beliefs should not be avoided and will enhance the therapeutic experience. Although I am open to discussing my client's beliefs, I am still hesitant about sharing my own faith in that it may persuade them to follow my lead in or to write me off as a legitimate therapist.
ReplyDeleteI might not the best example...but..ok, belief background--My families are serious Buddhists--all of them... But they go to the temple once a while, definitely on Buddha's birthday.:) Well, I go more often, because I like to hang out and talk with the buddhists nuns or monks... I started going to temples more often few years ago, because I needed more self-encoraged faith in myself. It took be about 2 years to be back like this--whatever who I am now. But think about Buddha-- is not the God. It was me who tried to find myself again. The faith was within me but hard to see at sometimes.
ReplyDeleteReligion was always vague subject to me. My middle school was called Sacred Hearts Girls'--you know what that means, and I went to Episcopal high school. I learned Bible, sang in choir... once tried to read Koran...also, learned about Hinduism, Old Egyptian books ( of course translated) Book of Death.... Tibetan Sacred books.... What I want to say is.....
"I think you should be "OPEN' to the idea of religion itself."
Beliefs and faiths--Why do you think humans need beliefs and faiths and Gods?
Just be open to what you can learn from the other--patient's idea, belief and faith.... which might be different from yours--but just listening and having read the "needs" from them will do the work i think ( if they need God, I think God should be there for the therapeutic process, but we as the therapist should try to expand their views so God and the patient can work the problems together...)
By the way, my patient's mother kept saying, "inshallah" today to me and my supervisor... I think having God on their side help them to go through the rough moment, and I like when they say it to me too, because it's not a bad meaning....that's just me though....:) I also said back because I felt maybe that would be more respectful thing to do...but I should check it out now~~~ :):):)
by the way nice drawing-collage--I mean the artwork!!:)
ReplyDeleteWow! Great responses from all of you!
ReplyDeleteI was especially taken aback by Seyeon's comment: "if they need God, I think God should be there for the therapeutic process, but we as the therapist should try to expand their views so God and the patient can work the problems together..."
A bold statement! But I would like everyone to take a few minutes to reallllllyyyyy hash out any bias' or initial feelings they may have to such a statement. You many be surprised--I was!
Also... I totally forgot to write "artwork credited to Google images." Not mine, but I thought it was great for this post.