IN THE GREEN SPACE

Bridging Spiritual Direction
and
Relational Psychotherapy
through Spontaneous Artwork(1)
 

by
Jacqueline Fehlner

 
 

This is a digest of a the paper written by Jacqueline Fehlner. At the time of writing, the author was enrolled in a course at the  Institute of Christian Studies, Toronto. Her studies in Relational Psychotherapy and its relationship to faith along with a more Protestant perspective was the context for the following reflections. These studies have helped her to be more sensitive to the needs and experiences of the many clients who come to her from diverse backgrounds.

I. Introduction

Invitation to Service

        Over these past years I have worked as an Art Therapist and also as a Spiritual Director. At times I exercised these roles separately; at other times together. When asked: "How do you distinguish psychotherapy from spiritual direction?" my response has been, "By the intention and statement of the person who comes to see me."

        Long before my spiritual direction ministry I worked in pastoral care and in art therapy. Even then I discovered that, for healing to take place, God had to be part of the picture -- at the least in my life, as the helper in the pastoral-care or art-therapy helping relationship. Otherwise, hope fades and frustration and despair creep in; perspective is lost and energy is placed on immediate solutions or goals; the passion for life erodes into predictable routines, which sap the spirit and interfere with a new vision for self and others.(2)

       Psychotherapy is about relationships -- relationships with the self and others and how one has connected with the past and how one continues to connect, disconnect and reconnect with others and the authentic self.

        Spiritual direction is also about relationships -- relationships with self, with God, and with God's people. It is about how those connections are made and nurtured by the word of God and how disconnections may occur and be reconciled through prayer. It is only very recently that psychiatrists and psychotherapists have been willing to admit that there is a place for God in their work with clients.(3) Hungry for something more in their life or aware that their prayer life has become dry or so routine that it has little meaning or nourishment for them, some people today are open to searching for an adult faith rather than stay with their childhood beliefs. (4)

        A psychology which is open to spirituality gives its adherents permission to be their authentic selves and openly draw strength and hope from the deepest roots of their faith. Perhaps, The Beautiful Risk: A Spiritual Psychology of Loving and Being Loved by James Olthuis will alter that fear for some who have avoided seeking help in the past lest they be shunned and stigmatized by their family or Church community. This book certainly will give permission to those people open to a postmodern worldview to approach therapy from a different stance. It also gives an invitation and challenge. For therapists, it is to allow one's faith experience into the healing process. For their clients it is to bring God into the picture and re-enter the scene with Jesus as part of the healing journey to new hope and new life.

II. Explanation of Technical Words.

        The term "spiritual direction" and the words related to it are not understood in the same way by everyone. Hence, at this point I will clarify my terminology. In its broadest sense, "Spirituality is an entrance into solitude and reflection where one is called into relationship with Someone greater than oneself in order to become unconditionally loving and free."(5)  As a practising Catholic Christian I understand that that Someone is God and specifically, Jesus, who has shown  the way into unconditional love and freedom. Prayer is what happens in the entrance into solitude and reflection. It is in prayer that the relationship with God, others, and self develops, grows and is enhanced. Prayer is the most intimate of communications.

        Spiritual direction is an opportunity to meet on a regular basis with a person of faith and prayer to explore one's relationship with God and God's people and to deepen one's prayer life. It is present and future oriented, although it does not ignore the person's personal, social and faith history. It is a journey one takes in faith and love and trust. The person who seeks out such a journey (the directee) meets with the director (guide) to discuss discoveries and challenges in the directee's prayer and in their experience of relationship with God and his/her community. Through reflection and prayer, one becomes aware of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and how one's life reflects the living out of the Gospel in union with Jesus. For those facing a change in life direction, spiritual direction can aid in the discernment process to follow Jesus in the new direction in which that person is being called. Spiritual direction is usually given on an individual basis.

What is a Spiritual Director or Spiritual Guide?

        A Spiritual Director is a person who has a deep, personal relationship with God through prayer and community, and is open to the working of the Holy Spirit within the directee as well as oneself. A Spiritual Director listens attentively in a non-judgmental manner to the relational story and prayer of the directee and may give suggestions for the times of prayer and feedback when appropriate. The role of a Spiritual Director in spiritual direction is not telling a person what they should believe, or how they should pray or worship, but one of affirmation of the person's growing relationship with God. Depending on the needs of the person who seeks spiritual direction, the director-directee relationship may resemble the role that a therapist has with the person who comes to him/her for help. A Spiritual Director is a catalyst through whom the Spirit works for the good of the other. At times, the Spiritual Director or the therapist is a teacher-facilitator, a mid-wife, a companion in prayer or a sojourner.

What is Art Therapy?

        Art Therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses a non-verbal approach -- spontaneous art -- which enables a person to express him/herself in a non-threatening way to reconcile emotional conflict and to promote personal, mental and spiritual growth. It taps the creative process by exploring and experimenting with simple art materials and leads to creating alternatives for oneself.  This process can be facilitated in both individual and/or small group settings. Although its pioneers were steeped in Freudian and Jungian psychodynamic theories, Art Therapy can be successfully practised working from many theoretical bases.
 
 

III. Hospitality, Creativity, Prayer

        Our team was formed after Sr. Michael and I shared prayer and faith for several years. Spontaneous artwork was a part of this journey. There was a desire to share and pass on what we were learning and receiving. Out of an individual and communal discernment process came awareness and a plan for how our different gifts and experiences could be brought together in service to God's people within the setting of St. Michael House.(7)  Sr Michael and I understand what we do as facilitation and spiritual companioning. During the times of retreat, particularly as co-facilitators, we trust that the Spirit gives guiding insight to one's companion-director as well as to the persons on retreat -- the retreatants. Neither of us is an "expert" who has "made it." Spiritual Directors are "subject to the same hurts and temptations. Loneliness, self-contempt, moral ambiguity attack them as much as anyone else."(6) Though we facilitate the process in others we are also invited by the Spirit to grow in love and understanding. That is part of the gift that we help to pass on. Through the long paths of our own personal psychotherapeutic work and spiritual direction, we have come to know and love our own story and have experienced the healing hand of our Creator. God continues to shape and reshape us as the potter reshaped the clay (Jeremiah 18:1-6).

           Spiritual companioning is very much like an Emmaus walk in which Jesus listened, was a companion on the journey, and shared his understanding. Other times it is much like the Good Shepherd who tends and feeds those in his care. As a Spiritual Director-companion, one is an instrument/catalyst through which the Spirit works and stirs the heart of the person who comes for ongoing guidance or for several days of intensive and structured meditative prayer.

Place of prayer

        Our prayer and work styles are rooted strongly in Benedictine Spirituality, with its flow from worship into work, play, and community; and in Ignatian Spirituality with its focus on being a contemplative in action. Both spiritualities invite us to become quiet for parts of the day and enter into a stillpoint. The day is hemmed in with prayer and reflection. We use a variety of forms of prayer to understand better their effect. Art was a form that spoke loudly to us, and that is why we decided to incorporate it into our retreat programs. One of the exercises that we did individually and shared was Kathleen Fischer's, Our Legacy: The Communion of Saints exercise,(8) which can be found in Appendix B. This prayer exercise invites the participant to find connections with others, and aware of them, to celebrate them or begin a reconciling process.

Rationale behind our ministry

        Personal growth and spiritual development is ever ongoing -- visible and vibrant at times and very subtle and slow at others, a mix of pain, suffering and joy. Opportunities for growth and development come in times of crisis, if one is open to reflecting upon and learning from one's experiences. To do so, the person may need a support community, which may have either a psychological or spiritual focus or a combination of the two.

        Victor Frankl writes in Man's Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy: "Emotion which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it."(9) Some people have no words or only limited words for what has happened to them. They need a visual voice because their verbal voice was taken away from them.

        Art Therapy is one way to help a person form and express a "clear and precise picture of it" whatever the "it" may be that is sucking the person into a downward spiral and blocking his/her ability to be present, to learn, and to become what God calls him/her to become. There are three parts to art therapy: the person, the process, and the art product. In relational psychotherapy and spiritual direction there are parallel aspects: 1) the relationship, 2) the risk-taking and working through, and 3) the personal growth and spiritual development which may lead to healing of mind, body and relationships as connections are either re-established or created for the first time.

        There are some aspects of spiritual direction and psychotherapy that have the same focus; and hence, there is some overlap. In the early stages, it can seem that a spiritual guide's activities are much like that of a therapist. Here are three diagrams(10) that are very helpful in understanding the overlap between psychotherapy and spiritual direction. First, a Venn diagram(11) to show the overlap in the early stages of growth and recovery.

        In this diagram, blue (A) represents the spiritual direction aspect and yellow (C) represents the psychotherapy part. When blue and yellow are combined in the paint palette, green (B) is the new colour that is made. Since we often work with people who are in the beginning stages of their adult faith journey and also recovering the life that God meant them to have, we often work in the green space: bridging spiritual direction and art therapy.

        Then there is diagram 2 -- a wheel with its spokes:(12)

This second diagram demonstrates the movement and areas of concern that a spiritual guide hopes the person will begin to notice: spiritual realities and truths, human growth, reflection skills, and common (faith tradition) spirituality.
 

        A third diagram, the double helix(13) shows the bridging that is done between the psychological and the spiritual. In this third diagram, orange signifies one's psychological development. Blue signifies one's spiritual development.

In the first bridging, brown is symbolic of the grounding that takes place as director and directee (therapist and client) come together to work. In the second bridging, green is symbolic of new awareness gained and the growth that is happening as they journey together. In the third bridging, the colours correspond to different chakra points and the types of issues brought to psychotherapy and into prayer and a faith journey. They are: red -- the physical, yellow -- the emotional, green -- the heart, blue -- the mind, and purple -- the spirit.

        In many situations, the psychotherapeutic counsellor complements the work of the Spiritual Director and vice versa. Spiritual direction is relationally based. It leads toward healing of meaning while psychotherapy works toward healing of integration.

Healing of meaning is finding the self engaged in a relationship with God through one's encounter with the Gospel story of Jesus. Healing of meaning has more to do with learning to tell one's own life stories and to re-establish them in the light of the gospel, thus opening oneself for the acceptance of mystery into one's life through the influence and companionship of God's Spirit.(14)

In the healing for integration, the psychotherapeutic counsellor:

... helps the client to attend first to her/his present life experience and, then, to work backwards to relieve the blockages to human growth…. If the psychotherapeutic counsellor helps the client to consider the future and move forward with good decisions, it is be way of presenting options and strategies for coping with life's hurdles and transitions. The skilled focus of the psychotherapeutic counsellor is primarily on the client's self and on the conflicts within the self in order that the client will be empowered to cope more effectively in her/his circumstances of life. If the focus is on the person in relationship with other persons, it is through the therapist's dealing with the client's self.(15)

        The difference between psychotherapeutic counsellor and the Spiritual Director is the focus from which they work. The Spiritual Director attends to the directee's present experiences of prayer and that which surfaces out of the dynamic of prayer. The skilled focus of the Spiritual Director is primarily on the directee in her experiential relationship to other persons; that is, to God as manifested through the persons of the Trinity who are involved in our world. If the spiritual director's focus is on the directee's self and her conflicts in coping, it is through the Spiritual Director's attempt to deal with the directee's relationship to God.(16)

        The reality is that as an Art Therapist/Spiritual Director I may work with a person referred to me from either side of what can be a fine line in this postmodern world. It really does depend on the stated intention of the person seeking help.(17)

IV. Team Formation
Open and Present to Mystery

        Debra Linesch (29)  challenged her colleagues in Art Therapy to become more focused in their profession by asking: "What psychological theories have formed you and your approach to your work in art therapy? Whose theory is the basis for your work and interpretation?" This question can be expanded to include other types of formation. For me, it is not psychological theory that has formed me so much as it is the Spiritual Foundation that I have received throughout my life as a Catholic Christian with its emphasis on living a sacramental life.(19) It is the spiritual works, teachings and lives of people like Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, Benedict and Francis of Assisi, Ignatius Loyola and Julian of Norwich, that have influenced me and that have been integrated into my life and work style. All of the above mentioned were people who called for reforms within the Christian Church during the time in which they lived.(20) Long before the science of psychology, these people were very much attuned to the working of the psyche with the spirit. What they advocated as a way of being in the world was very therapeutic for many through the ages to today. The reader will find an updated reflection on the gifts gleaned from them in Appendix C.

        What has truly formed me personally and professionally has been the people who have reflected the face of Christ and my desire to grow in relationship with Jesus and all God's people. As this relationship is integral to my life and who I am, it has become a part of my work as a spiritual director, Art Therapist and educator. It is also a part of my workplace be it the retreat house, the art studio or the classroom.  My team colleague, Sister Michael, received a deep and penetrating development through her formation in Religious life. In terms of style, she is very much Rogerian in the way she interacts with retreatants. I, too, use that style with retreatants and with those who come explicitly for Art Therapy. In addition, my approach to viewing artwork is Jungian. Both Rogers and Jung incorporated an attitude that was very Christian into their theory and methods. As well, our ministry harmonizes with the approach of relational pyschotherapy.

        We both follow some of the tradition of Ignatius of Loyola, the 16th century Spaniard who breathed the same mystical tradition as Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross. Ignatius spent a year living in a cave at Manresa, reflecting on his lifestyle as a soldier and on his relationship with God, his family, and other significant relationships. His approach to praying over and dealing with the Scriptures was something he called "contemplation" in his Spiritual Exercises. In our time we would name it: "the use of the active imagination."(21) Through this method, Ignatius would put himself into the Gospel passage and become a part of the story, allowing each aspect to touch him: imagining, feeling and thinking what that person, animal, or thing might feel, think, act or react in interaction with Jesus. He then stood back and reflected upon his prayer experience of when he had put himself into the picture.

        Detaching from the picture or the experience, Ignatius then looked at ways he could apply the insights gained to his own life and lifestyle, and to his understanding of other people and their choices. This allowed him to tap the inner strength hidden within. This detachment work is also a part of the process that Mala Betensky has developed in her phenomenological approach to art therapy. We have incorporated the activities of "contemplation" and of "detachment" into our approach described here.

        Relational psychodynamics and phenomenological approaches in art therapy share much of Ignatius' methodology for making one's life come fully alive. These methodologies help one to face one's pain or issue; to acknowledge and own it; to move through it and accept the reality of its origins with their effect on the present moment. As a result one is able to choose to love oneself and others as God loves all; and to know that one is forgiven. This enables one to forgive the other person and oneself and to move beyond anger and hurt. To extend forgiveness is a decision of the will and a process into which one enters. This process may take a lifetime for some issues or relationships.

        There are times that we can see things in our clients' artwork that they can not see or name. "I don't know what this is" is an acceptable response in art therapy, for the picture can reveal things from the person's unconscious long before there is any awareness at the conscious level. Sadly, it has been some people's experience that their honest answer of "I don't know" has not been accepted in verbal therapy situations. Like Julian of Norwich, a good Art Therapist sits still and waits until clients are ready to see the image, to work with it, and to explore it. There is a movement from the initial, outer sacred space of physical presence into a walk with them into that inner sacred place of the image and the relationship, always respecting their pace. Caring and present to them in their suffering, the Spirit working through the therapist gently draws out their inner strength.

        What we present as a theme on any given retreat or workshop comes out of our own faith journey and struggles to be fully alive. While the people who seek us out for one-on-one spiritual direction, or for several days of retreat, or for sessions of art therapy are different than ourselves, there are certain blocks to healthiness that most of us face in life at some time or another. By being in touch with our own unique struggles we can have an openness to facilitate others in their unique struggles.

        Christian writers have spoken of the "cloud of unknowing" and the "dark night of the soul." Although most people do not use the language of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, it is sometimes a crisis of faith in themselves or others which pushes them to seek help from a therapist or spiritual director. The anxiety and depression, which arise from their sense of loss and disruption of what has been comfortable or known, are very much like "boulders" on their shoulders, "dark clouds hanging over me." The boulders of sadness, fear, anxiety, anger, and rejection block not only psychological progress in therapy but also prayer and the healing process in spiritual direction. The "boulders" that cause the learning blocks for children are also the same ones that block the psychological and spiritual maturation of adults. The sources of these "boulders" or blocks are:

Grief: unfinished grief due to a normal or abnormal loss; or interrupted grief;

Abuse: physical, sexual, emotional or spiritual;

Violence or an accident, whether to the person directly or by being a witness thereof;

Abandonment: physically through illness, separation and divorce, or death; and emotionally through a verbal threat to abandon; and

Repeated anxiety-provoking situations: those numerous small losses, uncertainties, and fears that come steadily in the child's life. These accumulate and rarely get processed and dealt with and are what disable the child and his ability to cope with even the usual ups and downs of everyday living. Unfortunately when left unprocessed, these get carried into adult life and become the "thorns in the side" and hooks for transference and projection and counter-transference when that adult is under great stress.

        These "boulders" regress the adult back to a child's way of handling an incident or threat. Ordinarily articulate adults may spin around in verbal circles when faced with these feelings and experiences and feel stuck, especially when it takes more time than expected to "start feeling good again" or to "work through all of this stuff." Like children, there are times in the life of adults when they cannot express adequately in words what they are thinking in their mind, feeling in their heart and experiencing in their gut. A non-verbal, visual communication form may be needed to break through the barriers. Spontaneous art therapy may be the primary therapy or it may be a helpful adjunct to verbal therapy that will lead the person to enter a holistic healing process. It can be combined effectively with pastoral counselling/spiritual direction.

        In stepping back from the artwork, they begin to look at the piece and life from a new perspective. This may lead to an understanding and integrating their life experiences. The "boulders" in their life become stepping-stones to a new path of seeing, observing, listening, being, acting and enjoying what they have created. Integration of the life experience enables and empowers the person to become healthier physically, mentally and spiritually. Although the product is an integral part of spontaneous art therapy, the emphasis is placed on the person and the process through which they go.

V. Art Therapy Techniques and Directives
in Pastoral Care --
Using our Gifts, Talent and Knowledge

        Art therapy is a very powerful tool. Untrained (in art therapy) mental health professionals who use art therapy techniques and directives are often surprised by how quickly art making can tap into and bring up material from the unconscious. While some of the art therapy literature states that doing art is safe,(22) that is not always true. For example, one problem that can occur in a workshop or retreat program when a facilitator wants to interpret another person's artwork or to analyse the art product from only an aesthetic point of view, rather than allowing the artist to tell the story behind his/her artwork.

Not to be done lightly or without awareness and caution

        As an art therapy educator, I would like to state unequivocally that the incorporation of art therapy techniques into mental health and pastoral care work should not be taken lightly or without some deep thought not only to the directive being given, but also to the materials being set out and their properties. Included in Appendix D is a page on "Know your Materials." It is an overview of the materials and the rationale for their use by an Art Therapist.

        Even some professionals are unaware that the material itself can send as strong a message to a client as the directive they may give. For example: there are many different kinds and colours of clay. The texture and colours are capable of evoking different responses. While self-hardening clay makes it easier for the participants to keep the piece without the bother of having it fired, it could also send the message that what the person does today is set in stone. If the group facilitator wants to send a message that this retreat time is an invitation to let God, the Potter, shape and reshape the participants or that this therapy session is an opportunity to work with changing an image of oneself, then it would be important to use pottery clay in an exercise meant for openness to ongoing formation. The dried up clay can be recycled. God, the potter, is reshaping us continuously. The use of self-hardening clay may be appropriate at the end of group therapy work to help the people concretize their experience of being in the program or to show the decisions or actions they want to take in the future.

        Before giving any art material or exercise to a client, it must be used by the therapist several times and he/she should have done the written exercises also. This way, although the therapist is different from the unique individual coming for help, he/she, in some way, will be aware of what the material can bring up out of the unconscious. Obviously one should not use art therapy with anyone who over-stimulates easily or with someone who might be is psychotic.

The strength of a spontaneous art approach

        There are many advantages to using a spontaneous art approach. These advantages reflect a relational psychotherapy approach to working with a client. Most important is the fact that in spontaneous art the client works at his/her own pace and to the depth that he/she is able. In addition spontaneous art approach:

Places the emphasis on the relationship and process rather than the product or aesthetics.

Allows the person to choose ideas/issues that are most relevant to her/him or materials with which he/she is willing to work. The person is in control and responsible for their own work.

Taps into the unconscious material and gives the person a visual voice when there are no words or few words to express what is deeply or painfully felt.

May be a safer way to express intensity of negative feelings, thus offering a cathartic release and the possibility of working through these feelings.

May enable a profound non-verbal communication with self and with the therapist/spiritual director as well as with group members.

Works well in individual and group treatment process.

May be abstract or realistic.

The person chooses how much detail to put into his/her work. More can be added to the artwork at a later date.

May be used with flexible themes/open-ended directives in a treatment or Retreat program.

Is, over time, a concrete record of progress.

VI. Our Program
Creativity and Ignatian Method of Prayer
and Spontaneous Art Work

Life Servants in a Contemplative Apostolate
Offering a Compassionate and Gentle Presence

        Included here are the outlines of the sequences used by Jacqueline Fehlner, RCAT, and Mala Betensky, ATR, in their respective work. They are followed by thoughts on how each fit into the work of Sr. Michael and Jacqueline Fehlner at St. Michael House and into Jacqueline's private art therapy practice. Some aspects of these seem to be present also in the Spiritual Psychology of James Olthuis.

The Phenomenological Method of the Art Therapy Process
as Applied in a
Spiritual Direction/Creativity Session and/or in a Prayer Retreat

        This is based on the art therapy work of Mala Betensky, ATR and on the spiritual direction and spiritual art therapy work of Jacqueline Fehlner, RCAT and Sister Michael Trott, CSC. Sequences 1-4 are done in silence and may be done alone or in the presence of the Spiritual Director. If this methodology is used as part of art psychotherapy, sequence 1-4 is done in the presence of the Art Therapist.

Sequence 1: Setting the Atmosphere
                            (This corresponds to Olthuis' "Letting in for a dance of trust.")

Entering the Quiet, a contemplative space

Gather the art materials to be used in the quiet space.

Choose the prayer/meditation passage on which you will focus.

Decide how much time that you will allot to the creativity and prayer period.

Sequence 2: Recognizing the Story

Centering and Prayer

Take time to become aware of your breath flowing in and out.

Slowly read the prayer/meditation passage, aloud if possible. Reread the prayer or passage and put yourself into the story.

Take a few moments in silence before proceeding to next step.

Sequence 3: Getting Out the Story
                   (This corresponds to Betensky's Sequences 1 and 2
                     and Olthuis' "Letting go" stage.)

The process of artwork -- creative expression of the prayer/meditation or response to it.

In silence, use your non-dominant hand to choose the specific materials/colours with which you want to work. (It may be helpful to do some pre-art play or warm-up exercises such as Scribbles, playing with the brushes to see what kinds of lines you can produce with them, tearing construction paper into different shapes and playing with them or arranging the random shapes into imaginary figures.)

Begin your artwork and use the full time allotted.

Sequence 4: Owning the Story
                    (This corresponds to Betensky's Sequence 3
                      and Olthuis' "Letting out" stage.)

Phenomenological Intuiting -- Prayer Review Time

Phase I. Perceiving --  Visual Display --  Distancing  --  Intentional looking Phase II. What-do-you-see procedure -- to be written in a journal --  Phenomenological description --  Phenomenological unfolding --  Reflection Questions: What is my artwork inviting me to see, to own? In what way is God in the picture of my life?  Does my artwork indicate/reflect Consolation (i.e. movement toward God) or Desolation (movement away from God)?  What is the life lesson to be learned here?

 
Sequence 5: Sharing and Connecting the Stories
                   (This corresponds to Olthuis' "Releasing, Renewing
                      and Integrating" stages.)

   -- Phenomenological integration
   -- Encounter with self between sessions
   -- Meeting with the Spiritual Director/Art Therapist
 

Outline Of Phenomenological Art Therapy Approach Of Mala Betensky(23) Sequence 1: Pre-art play with materials             Direct experiencing Sequence 2: The process of artwork              Creating a visible image, i.e., a phenomenon Sequence 3: Phenomenological intuiting       Phase 1: Perceiving   --  Visual display   --  Distancing   --  Intentional looking Phase 2: What-do-you-see procedure  --  Phenomenological description  --  Phenomenological unfolding Sequence 4: Phenomenological integration              Reflections on the process          Search for similarities and differences in the artwork over a period of time. Notice any parallels between the person's struggle with the art making process and his efforts to cope with real-life experiences.

        With those who seek us out, whether it is initially for art therapy, for spiritual direction or some aspect of pastoral care, a pattern has been emerging. When these retreatants or clients put their hands into simple art materials, not with the idea of painting a "pretty picture," but of painting an honest expression of their feelings or experience, the art making cuts quickly to their core where the soul rests. That is part of the power hidden in Sequence 3 of Fehlner's work. The life questions arise from deep within. These in essence are spiritual questions:  Who am I? Why am I here? What is the meaning or purpose of being here? Who can I turn to when it seems like no one is there for me? Is there a God? Why did God make me? And does he really care about me? How could this have happened to me/to my loved one? He was always such a good person! These questions are not always expressed in "God-talk."

        The art making initially may be started to create a quiet place of relaxation so that a dialogue may begin, not only between the conscious and unconscious self, but also with God and with the Spiritual Director or therapist. Those first pictures have an element of play in them that Barry & Connolly(24) and Betensky mention as important. They also often contain aspects of many of the issues that may block the dialogue with God in prayer or with a therapist in psychotherapy. The artwork is a visual voicing of their issues and pain, or their prayer, or their response to prayer. If a person brings artwork to a session, it may be the tool needed to find the words when there are no words or when words are not enough. It can give the person the courage needed to share his/her experience or prayer, especially if she/he has suffered traumatic incidents. It is not "show and tell." It is usually an honest attempt to share deeply part of the history, which may carry much shame.

        Creating artwork makes visible what is within the heart, and mind and soul, bringing it to conscious awareness in a very concrete way. In sequence 3, phase 1, the art paper, the clay or whatever other art medium may be used acts as a container for the feelings that are often overwhelming or the situations that may be trigger points for the client/directee. In Sequence 3, phase 2, what is painted is what needs to be owned and brought to prayer or looked at from a different perspective. This is a stage where healing of memories may be needed and takes place, sometimes without much verbalization.

        Sequence 3 has similarities to both directives that Ignatius gives in the First Week of his Spiritual Exercises: to come to know that one is loved and to know that one is lovable in one's unique person.(25) The therapist/spiritual director can invite the client/directee into a detachment process, by stepping back and looking at the issue/self-portrait that has been painted as God would see it. Initiating a dialogue with the artwork and its content, colour, form, and movement opens up the possibility for a new or deeper dialogue with God. This is very freeing for people who have felt they aren't "very good with words" or are actually aphasic. New sight, new meaning and new insight for choosing life may now evolve.

        Sequence 4 of Betensky's work, the final sequence in her process, is integration of what one sees, coming to know and find meaning within the therapeutic relationship. The work of spiritual directors also has an aspect of helping the directee to deepen and integrate all aspects of one's life situation into one's relationship with God. This is Sequence 5 in the Creativity Program.

       For both therapists and spiritual directors, clients/directees receive a healing of integration and a healing of meaning when God enters the picture and becomes a part of their life journey. Spontaneous art made in prayer or in a prayerful reflection period enables some people to perceive what they cannot hear in words alone. A creative process gives the client/directee and therapist/director a concrete picture of the journey. In this creative process there are interior reactions of feelings, moods, spontaneous realizations as well as spiritual consolations and spiritual desolations, etc. Through the spontaneous art making the client or directee can come to a deep inner stillness. God is met in the still point. Growth happens in the still point. This often opens one to what one is experiencing or learning in the quiet, sacred space where one encounters Jesus. Later in one's private reflection or in dialogue with the therapist and/or the director more connections and disconnections are made.  One's portfolio of artwork manifests patterns in the artist's life experiences and prayer experiences.

   To demonstrate this process, I will explore one of my art pieces, which was part of my own personal development -- Melting Iceberg.  It has been used since it was begun in Spring 2000, not only to debrief but also as part of my prayer and growth in awareness nore recently during the course on Reltional Psychotherapy.

        As a beginning Art Therapist, one of the areas of growth for me was allowing for a certain amount of wastage of art materials so that a client could work without having a "scolding mother" inhibit creative exploration. However, I still do not like to see material go to waste and I recycle it if at all possible. This particular day, a depressed client had poured out a large amount of various blue acrylic paints onto the palette and had used only a small amount of them in her work. With no more clients that day, I was free to paint and I decided to use up the remainder of the paint. I added white and green to the palette. It was also a way of debriefing this intense session. The various shades of blue that she had made and the amount of blue on the palette spoke to me of the depth as well as how many aspects of depression there had been in the client's life. The green was my response to the desire for wholeness that she demonstrated by her faithful coming to her art therapy sessions, even when she "was tempted to stay in bed." I began to apply the paint to the canvas as she had to the paper, first tentatively and then with more deliberateness. Although the water looks quite choppy, the rhythm of applying the paint had a calming effect on me after a very full day of work. I was not sure just what the green was in the middle of the picture, but it looked right to have it floating in the water there. At the end of the hour I had set aside for artwork and as I sat with the painting.

        I felt like I was in the water with it. The distant shoreline told me that I was out in deep water; and I had a flashback to the time that Dr. Fischer had told me not to be afraid to go into deep water during my training at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute. I was confronting myself to accept new challenges and stretch and not be afraid of success.

        A couple months after painting this picture, I was with my husband on a cruise to Alaska. In Glacier Bay we saw a huge chunk of ice break free of the Marguerite Glacier and float out toward our ship. It looked like this painting. On that trip, some of the coldness in our relationship was melting as the ice was. It became a time of better and deeper communication with each other and greater awareness of past hurts and experiences that had been stuffed in our bodies. The bright blue sky was reflected in the healing waters. In the weeks and months ahead, I sat with this picture and meditated on how God melts us with his love and brings new beginnings. When I need to focus on a peaceful place, I bring out this piece as it leads to stillness within. Up until last weekend I had always looked at this piece on the landscape side (the way it was painted), but when I pulled it out of the portfolio, it was on its portrait side.(26) Again, I asked myself the question: What do you see?

        The nice thing about abstract artwork is that one can let the imagination play with line, shape and colour. There seems to be several figures that are coming out of the blue. The two in the center have the feel of Christ walking on the water towards another. Depending where the eye focuses, one melds into the other. It is a similar experience to when I first saw Fred Varley's Liberation, which hangs in the Art Gallery of Ontario. This semester, the liberation that I have experienced is to let my authentic self come forth and question and to state my opinion and share my lived experience even if it is different from that of the majority. I trust that even if the other does not accept it, my experience will not be held against me. In all the sadness and painful experiences of losing some important members of my family and friends since January, there has been consolation that Jesus is near, the way I sensed it in the painting.

Sequence 6: Debriefing the Team Work:

Discover a Path of Hope -- Walk Humbly

        To be called to work as a psychotherapist or spiritual director is a privilege and a responsibility, for in this ministry, God asks us to be humbly present to another so that that person may discover a path of hope. If one is not going to burn out in ministry, it is important that the work comes out of our being and prayer and reflection. An important aspect of this kind of work, which may get overlooked at the end of the session or the day, is debriefing, both individually and as a team. This Sequence 6 is not in the program outline, but it is a critical component of the complete process. Some questions that facilitate this debriefing are:

What did we experience as we worked with the group/retreatant?

What did we do well?

What did we learn?

What needs to be remembered or considered for the next session or retreat?

        The responses help us to have better understanding of a co-facilitator's insights and awareness of issues as well as a greater awareness of the immediate needs of the group, retreatants, directees and team. Acknowledging what has been accomplished rather than taking it for granted gives support for the work and builds up the team. Debriefing allows for gentle confrontation, when necessary. Debriefing at the end of the day invites us to take some time for ourselves and may help us to forgive others and ourselves. Thus our spirit can be renewed. When the retreat ends or therapy terminates, it is important for future planning, personal and team growth.

        Another aspect of debriefing is supervision. Supervision is an opportunity for a relationship with a third person who provides additional gifts and nourishment to the team/ spiritual director/ therapist. To keep growing in love and understanding, it is necessary to have someone with whom we can share our reflection on that prayer and work. A spiritual director, therapist or supervisor can give us feedback that invites us to stay creative and to renew continually our relationships and connection with God and others, rather than getting caught up in routines that use up all the resources within till there is little energy left except for the necessities of life. This person also reflects back to us that we, too, are loved by God as we are in this moment in time.

Conclusion

         James Olthuis' book elaborates on similar points, insights, and aspects made by the early Christian writers when he speaks of how a Spirituality of Care can come about when the training and formation of psychotherapists includes a Christian "vision of inclusion and justice which is not based on the control or elimination of difference"(27) and also widens the vision so that the therapists can become "more responsive to the suffering of peoples, all the family of God's creatures, and even creation itself". (28)

        The use of spontaneous artwork in psychotherapy and spiritual direction enables one to listen with one's eyes, to see with one's heart and to open to a new vision for oneself in relationship, connected to oneself,  God and others. It is also an aid to seeing where the disconnections have taken place and how that disconnection came about. The artwork also gives insight into ways that reconnections can be made or greater understanding can be had when an art review is done. An art review may be done periodically when shifts occur in the awareness of the person in therapy or spiritual direction or it may be done at termination. If the person brings out his/her artwork later, it is possible for additional insight to be gained.

        Relational Psychotherapy uses narration of one's story and the relational psychotherapist assists the client to draw out her/his story and see the moments and experiences of connection, disconnection, and reconnection. This is also what happens in the healing of meaning.

        In the Catholic Christian tradition, to join Christ on the cross is to surrender the ego and be with and live in the skin of the authentic self. All of this helps us to gain a new perspective on those experiences that seem to be too much of a cross to carry at the time. As part of the people of God, we can be thankful that there has been a Samaritan (Luke 10: 33ff.) that picked us up and put us on his donkey and carried us to an inn; or a Simon that walked with us and lent us some of his ego strength so that we could make it to where we had to go.

        As professionals in mental and spiritual health, we are sometimes like Simon of Cyrene (Luke 23:26) who gets pressed into service when we'd rather not go up hill once more. And in that moment, through the grace of God, we draw on an inner strength we did not know we had, and the living water we received at our baptism flows out so that being present and compassionate, we can have compassion (to suffer-with) upon the other.

        Relational Psychotherapy seemed to be the way that my training as a spiritual director and my work as an Art Therapist had led me quite naturally. My particpation in the relational psychotherapy course, my work as an Art Therapist and Spiritual Director has empowered me to own it and see that I do not have to be "all cured" to do something. I am led forward to God who calls me to serve others even while I am still broken or weak. I believe that God heard my lamentation and responded: "My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness." (2Cor.12:9).

Appendix A

 Qui reçoit, doit donner.
(The one who receives, must give.)

Mission Statement

        As a woman of faith and love, I, Jacqueline Denis Fehlner, am being invited to use my gifts, talents and knowledge in service to the People of God in the light of the Judeo-Christian formation and educational, psychological, spiritual and pastoral training that I have received.

        I am responding to a call to deepen my relationship with God and renew my commitment to follow Jesus, the crucified and risen Christ. This includes being open and present to the Holy One, living in mystery with Mystery, and walking in tenderness with others.

        I work within a community of Life Servants who are building up a place of hospitality and respite for caregivers and women. Rooted in a contemplative apostolate, endeavoring to maintain a balance of love, work, prayer and play, offering a compassionate and gentle presence, and with an ecumenical focus, together we encounter the living God in a place of solitude and see Jesus' face mirrored to us in the ordinary and broken moments, people and places of our lives.

        Through time for nourishment and rest, creativity and prayer, the guests in our place of hospitality experience welcome and acceptance, discover a path of hope through their pain or darkness, find a peacefulness that refreshes their body, mind, heart and soul, and develop a fire of love which readies them to return to their place of service and to walk humbly with their God.

Appendix B

OUR LEGACY: The Communion Of Saints

(Adapted from the work of Kathleen Fischer)

        There are many ways that we encounter God. Sometimes it is through the beauty of creation that surrounds us. Sometimes it is through the stories in scripture. Sometimes it is through those in whom the Spirit of Love lives.

        Take some quiet time to reflect on those women in your life, those from the past and those in the present.

        Who has influenced your choices, actions, and attitudes?

        Which ones, perhaps without your realizing it at the time, have shown you an inner strength and reflected the face of Love to you?

        What is the legacy left to you by your ancestors?

        What are the gifts being given to you or talents called forth by the women of today?

        Paint, draw or write a poem that concretizes for you the encounter with God through those who have nurtured, supported or admonished you in some way.

        You may want to repeat this exercise reflecting on those men in your life -- those from the past and those in the present -- who have reflected the face of Christ to you.

Appendix C

The Legacy Passed on to Me

        How have the early Christians gifted me, especially since entering MAMS studies 2 years ago? What have they taught, reinforced or confirmed for me, some of which has again been reconfirmed for me in the course, Relational Psychotherapy and Faith?

        Teresa taught me that one may have a different view of things and that it is important to question practices, express one's observations, awareness, or insight, and follow through with concrete reformative action. The transforming feminine aspect of Teresa's prayer invited risk into relationship, risk-taking, and personal growth. Is not this process the hope and basis of our treatment plans/goals for those who seek us out? Teresa is not unlike some of my clients who struggle with their own call to encounter God and live out that discovery within their own religious and secular communities.

        Over many years, Benedictine Spirituality has taught me the importance of balancing prayer and work, love and play. It integrates the coming into the quiet presence and sacred space -- beholding all there is in the working with our hands, hearts and minds fully involved, yet silent. There is an invitation to trust the process in art making and in psychotherapy. When clients go deep within, into the core of their being, the chattering stops, and the art making becomes all the more intense. It was the coming to greater awareness for self-care this semester that gave me the courage to ask for an extension on this paper, rather than push myself beyond what I could handle in a healthy manner just to get it in "on time."

        From Francis of Assisi, over the years, has come the challenge to notice the beauty in all of creation and to reach out to those who are hurting, to reflect the love of Christ to them. His way is an invitation to be aware of ordinary moments and ordinary people and to see the importance that they hold. So much of our work as mental health professionals involves helping our clients see that they are lovable and accepted as they are, without judgment of their person or their art. We work at building self-esteem. What one person sees as ordinary or is taken for granted may hold much more truth or achievement than they realize. At this point I think of the high-risk youngsters and the developmentally challenged people with whom I have been privileged to work.

        To a great extent, Julian of Norwich's way of looking at "sin" resonated with some of my training in art therapy. "Sin" is the theological word for that which breaks a relationship, and the reactions and actions making and keeping it unhealthy or dysfunctional. Julian did not condemn the person who was in such a state. She talked about how the person needed to be there in that pain until such a time that they felt it fully, saw it and were ready and willing to move beyond it. This is the same rhythm that a person goes through on their way into and through psychotherapy.

        In the gathering of people around the Eucharist I am shown that there is a common thread -- the life and love of Jesus Christ -- that binds us together in the breaking open of the word of God, in the breaking of the bread and in the sharing the cup of life.

Appendix D

--  On Knowing Your Materials  --

Suggested art materials for arts and crafts room

Lead and coloured pencils, markers, waxed or soybean crayons, craypas (oil pastels), chalk pastels, tempera paints, plastercine, pottery clay.

Magazines for collage, string/yarn and other odds and ends.

Varying kinds and sizes of brushes.

Variety of paper types: newsprint, manila, white cartridge.

Gum eraser, sharp scissors. Cardboard. Glue.

Masking and scotch tape.

Paper towels.

Containers for water. Palettes for paint.

If you can afford it: charcoal or conte sticks, simple sculpting tools, mayfair stock and watercolour/aquarelle papers, acrylic paints and canvas are a helpful addition.

Control Elements

Objective:       To help the directee to focus or be more precise.

 pencils--lead, coloured     markers/felt-tipped pens
wax or soybean crayons

Positive aspects:

Familiar material.

Adds colour to written discernment process.

Can evoke good memories and playfulness in someone who needs to loosen up.

Negative aspects:

Can remind the directee of school and all the hurtful experiences or the criticism s/he received there.

Tendency to use these to write rather than draw.

Collage is helpful for those who "can't draw," "don't want to get dirty," or who have a "critical parent" looking over their shoulder.
 
 

Intermediate Elements

Objective: To help the directee become playful or try something new.

Craypas (oil pastels) Chalk pastels
Charcoal and Conte

Positive aspects:

Lends itself to experimenting.

More fluid than the control elements.

Negative aspects:

Can be quite messy (smears easily) and frustrating.

Fluid Elements

Objective:

To help the directee become more playful, let go of need to control, to open up new possibilities for someone who is stuck.

Tempera paints     Clay/plastercine
Watercolours      Acrylics Positive aspects:

Lends itself to experimenting.

More fluid than the control and intermediate elements. Cannot always be as controlled as other elements.

Heightened colour with paints.

Great sense of accomplishment/creativity.

Negative aspects:

Need water supply.

Can be quite messy (muddies easily) and frustrating. Cannot always be as controlled as other elements.

Possibility of regressing, if the directee has had some unknown trauma.

Caution:

Be prepared. Can tap into and bring up material from the unconscious very quickly.

Endnotes

1.This paper, based on the class presentation given on 10 April 2001, comes out of reflection on the healing ministry work that Sr. Michael, C.S.C. and this writer have been doing together for the past six years at St. Michael House in Oakville. First and foremost, St. Michael House is a place of prayer and hospitality so our work there is done more from the spiritual direction perspective than from a strict art psychotherapy focus. This course and other outside readings we did this  term have helped us to see more clearly how the two are bridged in the work we do.

2. Donald Capps, Agents of Hope: A Pastoral Psychology, (Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress Press), 1995.

3. Morton T. Kelsey in Christo-Psychology, (New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company), 1982, gives a good introduction to Carl Jung's work and his recognition of the importance of the religious dimension in a person's life in the healing process. Many of his followers also acknowledge this dimension needed for psychological maturation. The Society for the Advancement of Ego Psychology held a conference on "Religion and Psychotherapy," January 20, 2000. The presenting panel: a Jew, a Christian, a Buddhist, and a cultural Jew shared how they or their clients were in need of having to recognize the spiritual dimension and its effects on their lives and in their work. When the religious dimension was acknowledged and worked with, growth and healing began to take place.

4. Gerald G. May, Care of Mind, Care of Spirit: A Psychiatrist Explores Spiritual Direction. (New York: Harper Collins), ©1992.

5. Jacqueline Fehlner, "Preparation For Spiritual Direction Practicum," unpublished paper for Regis College Spiritual Direction Practicum course, 24 Sept. 1999, p. 1.

6. Alan Jones, Exploring Spiritual Direction, new edition, (Cambridge & Boston, Mass.: Cowley Publications), © 1982, 1999, p. 66.

7. My mission statement, which incorporates aspects of that of the Community of the Sisters of the Church, and my motto can be found in Appendix A.

8. drawn from K. Fischer, Women at the Well, (New York/Mahwah, N.J.) 1988. Chapter 10. "Grandmothers, Mothers, and Daughters: The Spiritual Legacy", pp. 195-210.

9. Frankel, (New York: Washington Square Press), 1959, p.117.

10. John Veltri, SJ, Orientations, Part B, volume 2, (Guelph, Ontario: Guelph Centre of Spirituality), 1998.

11. Veltri, p. 513.

12. Veltri, p. 486.

13. Veltri, p. 521.

14. Veltri, p. 520.

15. Veltri, pp.518-519. Veltri acknowledges gratitude to John English, SJ, for the starred insight.

16. Veltri, p. 518-519.

17. Developed in the Working Papers of Judith Jordan, Jean Baker Miller, Irene P. Stiver and Miller and Stiver's book, The Healing Connection. (Boston: Beacon Press). Key elements in feminist, relational psychotherapy as put forth in the work of the therapists at the Stone Center, Wellesley, Massachusetts, have a similar base, as does some of the work of James Olthuis. His upcoming book, The Beautiful Risk: A Spiritual Psychology of Loving and Being Loved, also seems to be an attempt to bridge the gap between psychotherapy and spiritual direction for the Protestant Christian population "by offering a spiritual psychology of interconnectedness."(18)

18. James Olthuis, 2001, p. 13 of his manuscript.

19. Kelsey, in Christo-Psychology, makes note of the importance of sacrament and symbol for both psychological and spiritual growth, especially for the sensation-type person on the way to God. "The intuitive-type people very often find themselves blocked unless they have the freedom to go the inner way and have direction on this way." p. 65. (Here Kelsey is referring to Jungian typology.) That direction can take the form of psychotherapy or spiritual direction or a combination of the two.

20. Benedict, 5th century, Francis of Assisi, 12-13th century, Julian of Norwich, 14th century, and Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, and Ignatius Loyola, 16th century

21. Carl Jung would further develop the theory of the active imagination in the 20th century.

22. Judith Rubin, Child Art Therapy: Understanding and Helping Children Grow Through Art, (2nd edition), (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold). 1978; Harriet Wadeson, Art Psychotherapy, (New York: John Wiley & Sons), 1980; Margaret Naumburg, Dynamically Oriented Art Therapy: Its Principles and Practice, (Chicago: Magnolia Street Publisher), 1987; Martin Fischer, T.A.T.I. lecture notes, 1991. Today, these early art therapy pioneers would probably be hesitant to make such a general statement.

23. Mala Betensky, What Do You See? Phenomenology of Therapeutic Art Expression, (London & Bristol, PA.: Jessica Kinglsey Publishers), 1995, p. 14-15.

24. William A. Barry & William J. Connolly, The Practice of Spiritual Direction, (New York: Seabury Press), 1982. that some directees "would benefit more from spending time at first in some activity they enjoy that has a contemplative aspect to it. … any receptive experience that helps a person forget himself and become absorbed in something else." (p.52) Spontaneous art making connects us to the Creator at play--the One who, in Genesis, painted and sculpted all that was to be.

25. David L. Fleming, SJ, The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, (Saint Louis, Mo.: The Institute of Jesuit Resources, © 1978, 6th printing), 1991, p. 23.

26. In art therapy, usually, a painting done on the horizontal is the telling of a story while that on the vertical is the artist making a statement.

27. Olthuis, p. 12-13 of manuscript.

28. Olthuis, p. 13 of manuscript.

29. In her final address at the 1996 Canadian Art Therapy Association Conference, Dr. Debra Linesch left the participants with this question to ponder so that they could become all the more focused in their work.
 
 

Bibliography

Barry, William A. and Connolly, William J. The Practice of Spiritual Direction. New York: Seabury Press. 1982.

Betensky, Mala. "Phenomenology of Therapeutic Art Expression and Art Therapy," in Approaches to Art Therapy: Theory and Techniques. Edited by Judith A. Rubin. New York: Brunner/Mazel, Inc. c 1987.

____________. What Do You See? Phenomenology of Therapeutic Art Expression. London and Bristol, PA: Jessica Kinglsey Publishers. 1995.

Capps, Donald. Agents of Hope: A Pastoral Psychology, Minneapolis, Minn. : Fortress Press. 1995.

Fehlner, Jacqueline. "Preparation For Spiritual Direction Practicum," unpublished paper for Regis College Spiritual Direction Practicum course, 24 Sept. 1999.

Fischer, Kathleen. Women at the Well: Feminist Perspectives in Spiritual Direction. New York/Mahwah: Paulist Press. 1988.

Fischer, Martin. class lecture notes, Toronto Art Therapy Institute, Fall 1991.

Fleming, SJ, David L. The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius: A Literal Translation & a Contemporary Reading, Saint Louis, Mo.: The Institute of Jesuit Resources, © 1978, 6th printing, 1991.

Frankl, Victor. Man's Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy. New York: Washington Square Press. 1959.

Jones, Alan. Exploring Spiritual Direction. new edition, (Cambridge & Boston, Mass.: Cowley Publications). © 1982, 1999.

Kelsey, Morton T. Christo-Psychology. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company. 1982.

_____________.Christianity as Psychology: The Healing Power of the Christian Message. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House. 1986.

May, Gerald G. Care of Mind, Care of Spirit: A Psychiatrist Explores Spiritual Direction. San Francisco: Harper and Row. © 1982. and New York: Harper Collins. ©1992.

Naumburg, Margaret. Dynamically Oriented Art Therapy: Its Principles and Practice. Chicago: Magnolia Street Publisher. 1987.

Olthuis, James. The Beautiful Risk: A Spiritual Psychology of Loving and Being Loved. To be published. 2001.

Rubin, Judith. ChildArt Therapy: Understanding and Helping Children Grow Through Art, (2nd edition), New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. 1978.

Veltri, John. Orientations: volume 2, Part B: for those who accompany others on the inward journey. Guelph, Ontario: Guelph Centre of Spirituality. 1998.

Wadeson, Harriet. Art Psychotherapy, New York: John Wiley & Sons. 1980.