One of the student’s finished assessments!
To end our fall semester in Art Therapy, our teacher had the class complete a famous technique used in the field, the Don Jones Assessment. This technique took the class on a guided imagery journey and was followed with a drawing part after hearing what was read. Each student in the class was to picture themselves on a journey with a backpack that held everything they would need on the journey.
Picture 1: you are headed across a field in your journey, you find a path. You start to hear the sound of water and it becomes louder as you walk farther along the path. You come to a river where your path continues on the other side. How do you cross the river to continue your journey?
Picture 2: as you continue, you come to the start of a mountain. As you walk you go higher up the mountain, you face a drop off from the mountain or a cliff that goes higher. But you see something coming toward your way… it is a goat. How do you get around the goat to continue on your journey?
Picture 3: You are back on the path. It appears to becoming later in the day. It starts to rain and you need to seek some shelter. You see a cave in the distance. As you approach the cave, you see monsters sitting outside of it. How do you enter the cave?
Picture 4: You end up in the cave and are safe and comfortable. You start a fire for warmth. All of a sudden a feeling of “I’m not alone” comes over you. What is this feeling look like for you?
The Don Jones Assessment helps to see how the patient deals with an obstacle, their relationships, the monsters within, and where their personal power lies. It was so interesting to see the variety of pictures drawn throughout the class and to learn so many things about yourself. Such a great and fun way to end the semester!
Featured image: Don Jones, [Don Jones multimedia vintage flashcard, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/arts-and-health/201501/don-jones-make-art-therapy-not-war]