Are YOU talking to ME?!- Interviews

So what do I and  a transgendered histrionic client in common? Not what you think! Nothing actually. In a roll playing exercise, I was "asked" (Really, They forced me to do it) to be the therapist to a transgendered individual with a flirting problem. It was difficult because it was obviously a fake situation, but because we were trying to diagnose the client. I was unsure of why type of questions to ask, not because I was afraid to ask, but because I was not composed- I don't do well in chaos (I'm trying to work on that!). Had this been a real life situation, I'm sure it would not have been this difficult, but with the rest of the class watching (and laughing) it was difficult- someone else had to finish the session. But I digress-

KFD: Kentucky Fried Drawing?

So in class, we did a Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD). To be perfectly honest- I'm a little skeptical of it. I think that it is interesting, but I feel like I may have been misunderstood. I drew a picture of my family from a memory of one particular moment... a wine pairing (phenomenal!) party for my mother's 50th birthday. I don't draw- I sculpt. So when I draw, I start out sketchy and work the image until it kind of looks like what I want to depict. In analyzing my picture it was mentioned that the family seamed distant with each other and that I focused on some people more than others. All of which I wrote off. If anything, I think more could be gathered from the sketchy quality of the image- maybe I am insecure about drawing ability!? I'll survive.
Truth be told, you can't totally write off the KFD, but the depictions in the art cannot be taken as hard fact. It may be a good jumping off point. With care, it can be a useful technique to gather more information about family dynamics. Avoid jumping to conclusions!

Here We Go!

So here I am- one of only 6% of male art therapists- correction I am just an art therapy student. I'm not there yet. I wonder how many male art therapy student exist- that could be an even smaller number. Not that gender is an issue but I'm just throwing that out there. Enjoy my remarks- dare I say, they are a little off color, but never meant to show disrespect. In this blog is will reflect upon several art therapy assessments you'll be lucky enough to get my opinion!