NARRATIVE KNOWINGNarrative and Storytelling Resources in Art Therapy

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As professor Amia Lieblich has said, "People are story tellers by nature" (Lieblich et al., 1988). Storytelling technique is well-founded in narrative theory, phenomenology, psychoanalytic theory, trauma studies and aesthetics. Both my own research and my Art Therapy practice have been enriched by the use of narrative and storytelling as therapy interventions. Storytelling ability emanates from narrative knowledge. Notably, it is reframed as the patient's ability to use cognitive, symbolic and affective mental processes. During Art Therapy sessions, the patient creates narratives and visual representations to understand the meaning and significance of his/her mental state."Narrative Representations" in Art Therapy are analyzed by visual mode representations (drawings, sculptures, etc.). Denzin & Lincoln (2000) say: "The visual narrative tells many different stories at the same time as it mixes and combines multiple images". Visual narrative, however, is not complete without narrative support through dialogue and language. Both verbal and visual representations are assessed by the Six-Piece Story Making technique (6PSM), a projective technique using structure to help the client create a new, fictional story which can be used in psychotherapeutic assessment or treatment. Lahad (1992) elaborated the "BASIC-PH" model defining six modalities: Belief, Affect, Social, Imagination, Cognition, and Physiology. The patient constructs the "BASIC-PH" through narrative representations and the therapist constructs the "BASIC-PH" through narrative analyzing.In addition, Arthur Frank (Frank, 1995) refers to another important reason to use storytelling interventions in Art Therapy sessions. Through telling their stories, patients create empathic bonds between the wounded story teller and the wounded healer. Finally, because stories can heal (Frank, 1995), storytelling in Art Therapy reveals the connections between deeper layers of the soul through patients' body action while they are making signs in their art work.