The collective unconscious- 26/11/13

(*attention* This post should have been published shortly after the 26/11/13 however there was a technical error where it was saved as a draft rather than published)

I have been thinking about the collective unconscious as this evolved from a training group we had. Unfortunately due to the confidentiality of the group I cannot post other people's images here so I will only speak of the group from my experience1 because of this.

My image from the training group (26/11/13)

Once the session began I felt feelings of frustration at the fragmentation of the group. I started art making by layering blue tissue paper and painting on top. As usual in these groups I began not knowing what I was going to make, I want to make the art making experience as spontaneous as possible. The entire group except me faced the walls on this occasion, leaving me sitting on the floor, which was fine with me. When it was time to bring our work to the centre of the circle there was a gasp as two others and me artwork looked extremely similar. I was absolutely astonished at this! I was shocked at how this happened because everyone was faced away and I was engrossed in my own thoughts.

Training session reflection

This training group made me feel lonely and isolated especially since I was on my own on the floor whilst everyone else worked on tables facing the wall. I wanted to bring the group together somehow but felt unable to do so which then left me feeling helpless within the group. I am wondering how this translates to a real therapy group. I wonder how it must feel to be the therapist in this situation?

Being part of this group definitely evokes feelings for me that are not always reflected in words, this gives me a wealth of information relating to group dynamics and how it feels to be in an art therapy group from the perspective of the client.

Collective unconscious
How did the three of us end up making extraordinarily similar images when there was no way we were able to see each others art? I am interested in how this works as the facilitator in the training group said this sort of phenomena was not uncommon within art therapy groups. I have since researched the collective unconscious within the art therapy group and have found a lack of research in this area. I did however find a great article in the British association of art therapists by Francesca La Nave called 'Image: Reflections on the treatment of images and dreams in art psychotherapy groups' where La Nave explains the complexities of the shared experience in group therapy. She comments on the, 'parallel narratives interplaying with the shared reflection of the group in ways which are not definitively verbal, non- verbal, or visual but rather meta-verbal and meta-visual.' (La Nave, 2010 p.16) . She is highlighting the complexities of experiences within the group.

How and why does this happen?
I feel like I tapped into this 'collective unconscious' (Trans4mind, 2007) within the training group because I was feeling particularly lonely and quite lost within the group that I somehow drew from others experiences here too. Resulting in similar feelings between us which in turn made us produce similar images. It was as though we could not communicate through speech as this was too difficult but the art knew how to communicate for us.
It was a very strange experience indeed and something to bare in mind when I eventually begin my placement.

Bibliography

 Collective Unconscious (2007) Trans4mind [online] Available at: http://www.trans4mind.com/jamesharveystout/coll-unc.htm [Accessed 26 November 2013]

La Nave, F (2010) 'Image: Reflections on the treatment of images and dreams in art psychotherapy groups', International Journal of Art Therapy: Formerly Inscape, [online] 15:1, pp. 13-24. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17454831003752378 [Accessed 26 November 2013]