The purpose of this study is to understand the meaning and the essence of lived experience of countertransference of art therapists with a Master's degree in art therapy in clinical art therapy with child. I applied a hermeneutic phenomenology study w...
The purpose of this study is to understand the meaning and the essence of lived experience of countertransference of art therapists with a Master's degree in art therapy in clinical art therapy with child. I applied a hermeneutic phenomenology study way of ‘Max van Manen'. Participants were 10 people serving as an art therapist in clinical setting after acquiring a Master's degree in art therapy. I collected data throug intese interviews until April 2012 from January 2012, and it was derived from 28 subordinate subject of 10 main subjects.
On countertransference experience of art therapists in clinical art therapy with clients, the following conclusions were drawn from the results of this research.
First, the participants feel the strong emotional disturbance in children’s psychological dynamics and lose the objectivity, and experience psychological difficulties because of their anxiety, psychological confusion and sense of guilt to the children. Study participants realize the problems of counter transference and their problems, but they still feel the shaking and consequently, they experience their self-blame and frustration.
Second, the participants look in themselves through the supervision that becomes a staring momentum in the chaos and have experiences in realizing the emotions and their own problems that come from the relationships with the children.
Third, the participants meet the conflicts and deficiency of childhood in child art therapy procedures, strong feelings which were delivered from the child are transferred to the parents and consequently bring difficult experiences of counseling with the parents.
Fourth, the participants realize and take back their real identity in their crashes and breakage and they experience that they are expanded and grow as an art therapist and as an individual. Additionally, they feel and realize again the meaning of treatment relationship and the psycho- logical dynamics in art therapy and the importance of supervision according to countert- ransference.
Key words:Art Therapist, Clinical Art Therapy with Children, Countertransference, Hermeneutic Phenomenological Qualitative Study.