112 • Introduction to Art Therapy
heated, due to the importance there of the “group analytic” tradition. That in turn was
based in part on the work of British psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion (1961), the foundation of
what is known as the Tavistock method of learning about group dynamics by participat-
ing in an unstructured group in which the consultants relate only to the group, not to
individuals.
Katherine Williams, who wrote about group art therapy in the second edition of
Approaches (Rubin, 2001), was trained in that model. In 1993 Diane Waller described her
model of group interactive art therapy, based on concepts derived from group analysis,
interpersonal group therapy, systems theory, and art therapy. Waller and several of her col-
leagues have been trained at the Institute of Group Analysis, enabling them to synthesize
what they know about art therapy with what they know about analytic groups. (McNeilly,
2006; Skaife & Huet, 1998)
Interpersonal group therapy, as presented in the widely used books by existential psychia-
trist Irvin Yalom, has been popular in both countries and dominant in the United States
(Yalom & Leszcz, 2005). Many art therapists work with groups, but few have had formal
training in group psychotherapy.
Perhaps because she was a sophisticated family art therapist and the family is, after all,
the first group, Shirley Riley’s (2001) work in group art therapy is equally thoughtful: “group
process made visible.” Change in a group can be seen as members develop trust and the
group takes on shape and definition as an entity in its own right, becoming more cohesive.
In this context, the individuals in group treatment also change, as they utilize the resources
in art and each other to work on and solve their conflicts.
The following vignette indicates how much even a brief art therapy group can help one of
its members to begin to change and to grow. Members were free to use whatever materials
they wished and to make whatever they wanted. After the working time, the group gathered
around a table for snacks and discussion.
Individual Growth in a Group: DON (9)
In the first few meetings of a short-term art therapy group of latency-age boys, nine-year-
old Don worked apart from the others, drawing compulsively tight abstract designs (N).
Gradually, however, he began to interact with the other boys. At first he sat closer to them,
but he was still silent. His designs, however, became somewhat freer, and he began to
use various kinds of paint, to explore color mixing, and to allow himself a greater range.
Stimulated by the other boys, Don then turned to the more tactile and regressive medium
of clay. At first he made tame animals, like dogs and cats. Then he made larger and more
aggressive ones, like dinosaurs and lions.
Eventually, he was able to model a boy who had been violently wounded, painting red
blood streaming out of his maimed body (O). Although Don wouldn’t say who it was, the
following week he whispered to me that he knew, but was afraid to tell the others. I asked
if he could tell me, and he whispered, “my brother.” I suggested that it might help the other
boys in the group, many of whom had similar angry feelings and wishes toward siblings, to
know that they were not alone.
During group discussion time at the end of the session, Don tentatively whispered that it
was “somebody younger,” then “somebody I’d like to throw something at,” and finally, “my
brother.” The others responded with relief, and an outpouring of their own impulses to hurt
younger siblings, along with fears of their strength and destructiveness.
Don was delighted, and responded the following week by becoming uncharacteristi-
cally messy, smearing and mixing tempera paint colors with another boy, for the first time