Metaphorical Associative Cards In The Work Of A Psychologist

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Once upon a time, several years ago, during the period of searching, I attended many psychological trainings, at one of which I plunged into working with metaphorical cards. This work made a very strong impression on me. The work was with the "Persona" deck. Quite a simple technique, as I now understand what I am and what I want to become. How many times over the years have I turned to those cards and how much work has been done on the way to where I want to become. It was a job that stretched out over the years.

Now I turned to maps from the other side, as a practicing psychologist, I study the intricacies of working with this tool, practice and each time I learn and get inspired even more by seeing the discoveries of my clients.

What are metaphorical associative cards? This is a set of images, illustrations or even reproductions of paintings in which we can see people, their relationships, daily and rare, sometimes completely unexpected situations, landscapes, animals, objects, abstractions. In some decks, besides images, there are also inscriptions. At the same time, metaphorical cards outwardly resemble postcards, they can be of different formats. The task of using a particular deck directly depends on the problem that is actual for the client.

The projective method of work is that in the same illustration, different people see completely different situations and phenomena, sometimes reveal diametrically opposite meanings.

Metaphorical projective cards emerged as an independent genre in 1975. It was in this year that Eli Raman, a Canadian professor of art history, created the first deck of cards. He wanted to take art out of galleries and bring it closer to people, and also believed that the works of artists should not be "art for art", the subject of passive contemplation by people. Art should become accessible to any person, that is, fall into his hands. The first deck of cards was named "OH". In professional circles, they are called abbreviated "O-cards", because anyone who has felt the power of its impact breathes out this exclamation of surprise and insight.

Advantages of working with metaphorical cards:

1. Careful work, the client tells and goes where he is ready to go. How luboko dive at the moment is decided by the client.
2. There is no "right" or "wrong" interpretation of cards.
3. Creation of a common context for the psychologist and the client, a common metaphorical language when discussing a particular situation in the client's life.
4. The ability to solve problems at a symbolic level, the ability to attract unconscious resources of the psyche.
5. Development of creativity.
6. There is no right or wrong way to draw cards, it depends on the preference of the client, the psychologist, but when choosing a closed one, there is a greater contact with the unconscious.
7. Flexible rules of use, the ability to develop new copyright techniques and adapt existing techniques to the requirements of the current situation.
8. The attractiveness of the technique for the client: people of any age like bright color pictures and most often cause pleasant emotions.
9. In the case of successful overcoming of psychological defenses, insight arises (insight, a sense of enlightenment), leading to overwhelming results that help to find an answer to a question or problem.
10. The neutralization of psychological defenses arises because, when describing pictures, the client ceases to defend himself, because he describes the picture, and not himself.

The main and most important thing: a specialist should not impose on the client his interpretation and opinion about the presence of a particular symptom. In general, the use of metaphorical cards allows you to work on the emotional and cognitive levels of the client's awareness of the problem, in turn, the changes noted at these levels contribute to the client's understanding of the essence of the problem at the behavioral and bodily levels.

Working with metaphorical cards can be carried out in a wide range of psychological difficulties. It is possible to work with personal problems, in particular, low self-esteem, self-doubt, intrapersonal conflicts, building life plans, etc., emotional difficulties, for example, anxiety, aggressiveness, etc., difficulties in relationships with other people, in particular, shyness, increased conflict, family problems, etc., getting into difficult life situations, for example, experiencing loss, the emergence of the consequences of emergencies, etc., deviant behavior, in particular, dependent, suicidal.

Literature:

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