ART THERAPY CASE STUDY BACKGROUND: CODEPENDENCY
Blake has been experiencing bouts of depression recently. Blake’s girlfriend tells him that he isn’t
supporting her enough with her level of stress while studying at university. She is constantly yelling at
Blake which Blake says is understandable given her stress levels. Additionally, Blake’s mother has also
told him that he isn’t helping her around the house as much since he moved in with his girlfriend. Blake
feels guilty that he is not helping his mother enough. Blake’s girlfriend has told him that he needs to
choose who he spends time with or their relationship is over. Blake recalls this same conversation with
his previous girlfriend who asked Blake to move in with her but he knew his mother wasn’t ready to be
on her own.
This exercise is aimed at helping your client identify the emotions that are linked with current
circumstances in their life. Often when someone is going through a difficult period, they may detach
from their emotions so they can persevere through the moment. By ignoring important emotions,
clients run the risk of ignoring their needs and developing negative beliefs and coping methods which
can compound an already difficult situation.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Ask your client to recall an experience or situation they are currently experiencing. Your client may
want to discuss some of the details of the situation to help them identify present emotions.
After some discussion, ask your client to create an artwork that consists of layers. They can create
the layers as part of the building blocks of the artwork, or they may want to create actual layers
that identify different emotions.
The first layer could focus on a colour that would describe the overall feeling they have about the
situation. For example, it may be a dark foreboding situation, or a vague feeling, or an intense
feeling. All of these feelings invoke different colours.
The second layer should focus on the shape of the emotion. Examples might include large and
circular and never ending. Another example might be sharp and erratic and unpredictable.
After these two layers, ask
your client to add any other
identifying features that
might further detail the
emotions they are feeling.
There may be texture, smell,
or a transition of emotion
from one to another.
Use this time to discuss with
your client any emotions they
feel can’t be described or
represented. Is there a
consistent emotion that
appears throughout the
artwork or does the artwork
contain many representations
of emotions?
ART THERAPY RESOURCES
NOTE: more details can be found at [Link]/codependency
[Link]
Art Therapy Resources >> CASE STUDY CODEPENDENCY [Link]