Imagery and Visual Expression in Therapy

By: Vija Bergs Lusebrink

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Synopsis: Images as means of expression have fascinated and spoken to me for a long time. Yet it has been a far-reaching and circuitous journey to syn thesize imagery and visual expression in the present form. Early in my life my interest in images expressed itself in art, first as a young child drawing, then responding to works of art and enjoying the life conveyed through colors, forms, and lines that created recognizable images and suggested different moods. The centering, transformative, and spir itual aspects of art emerged as I sought out art in times of personal turmoil. I returned to the expressive aspects of art through my training as a painter. Later I discovered in my own art, as well as in others' expressions, as a teacher and an art therapist, that many times we ex press more through visual means than we are consciously aware of doing. The writings of art therapy pioneers Naumburg (1950, 1953, 1966) and Ulman (1961, 1965) and Rhyne's (1973) gestalt art therapy provided a framework for my own observations. Workshops and literature on guided imagery opened another door to the inner experience through images. The discovery of Jung's concept of archetypes helped me to integrate images into a mind/body frame bridging from the biological roots of the archetypal images to the spiritual aspects of our existence.