However, experiencing the class feedback from the Powering presentation, and discussing my daughters drawing with her, am owe reassured that these are valid and useful therapeutic tools. The Willing Victim My 14 year old daughter, Elise, drew the attached KEF and KITH drawings. Elise is a high functioning child, who maintains a grade point average, plays competitive volleyball, and is the youngest out of my two children. Her sister is six years older, lives at home and attends college at a nearby university.
Due to their age difference, Elise functions in many ways like an only child. Elise is very disciplined and competitive, and often needs to be encouraged to socialize with her friends. She exhibits an element of selfishness, typical of a first born, but this may just be normal adolescent behavior. Like a last born child, she has an excellent sense of humor. This past week she was voted “Most Humorous” in her high school class. She tends to be anxious, and felt that this activity would be beneficial to show different aspects of her self-image.
Powering Presentation I was fascinated With the class discussion Of R C. Burns’ article regarding the symbolic importance of numbers associated with objects in the drawings. When a student’s picture was analyzed, the number associated with an objects appearance often produced an immediate and visceral response in the student, A therapist might miss this significance unless trained to engage in an insightful dialogue with the artist. This was also true for my work with my daughter.
In my daughters drawing, she is in a tree house, I am at the foot of the tree, and there is a twelve rung ladder. Asked her if there was any significance Of the number twelve. She jokingly replied, M,’ell, am 14, but must have been trying to get away from you for the past 12 years. The first two years were probably pretty okay! She assured me that she was kidding, but upon further discussion there was some truth to that statement As she continues through high school, I believe she will become more social with her friends and spend less time with her family.
If am right, this may force her out of her present comfort zone, but will be necessary for her development into a healthy adult. In these simple drawings, it is easy for the therapist to misinterpret what is drawn unless they actively discuss it with the client, For example, when saw a missing door knob in the drawing, initially interpreted this as an indication of a jack of accessibility, However, when I asked her about this, she said that she drew the door completely open.
Therefore, this may indicate a need to receive warmth from the outside world, Interestingly, the pathway to the house in her drawing is tartly long. According to Burns, this is a symbol of lessened availability, which might seem contradictory. Nonetheless, when you look at this from the perspective of an adolescent, the drawing no longer seems paradoxical. No Place like Home Elijah’s drawing initially gave me a feeling of happiness. Noticed that she drew resell significantly smaller than everyone else in the picture.
In reality, she towers above her sister and mother in height. When asked her about this, she stated that she liked being the baby in the family and drew it in such a manner to emphasize that fact. She drew her mother and herself at the table, thereby creating a group. Her father, With his book on Zen Buddhism, stands Off to the side and near our 15 year old sleeping dog, thereby forming a second group. Find that grouping interesting because her father and that dog are both the calm, steady presences in a house that otherwise can be loud and chaotic.
