Individual Art Interviews with Adolescents
by Judith Aron Rubin
Judith A. Rubin implements art-based questions to gain insight related to the development of adolescents. Through meeting with individuals one-on-one and showing curiosity about the art as well as the individual, Judy uncovers situational, transitional, and environmental factors underlying their behavior.

Interviewing adolescents in this way, with adequate training, can aid professional counselors and the counseling profession as a whole by offering art as a safe space for discussion of sensitive topics. One interview is with a boy of 17 and is an intake session where the art therapist was asked to provide an assessment of the youngster as well as recommendations for the treatment team at the outpatient clinic where he was seen. The client is offered a free choice of materials and topic, and ends up creating a powerful painting during which he is also helped to talk about the reasons why he agreed to try therapy.

The other interview is with a girl of 16 who is asked to develop an image from a scribble drawing, and who then reflects on the image and its meanings for her. Both youngsters are articulate, yet it is clear that a great deal is revealed in their drawings and associations that they would have been unlikely to discuss or disclose spontaneously, supporting the hypothesis that images can disclose unconscious material that has not yet risen to consciousness in a relatively non-threatening manner.

What therapists are saying…

“In this video, noted art therapist Judy Rubin conducts an initial diagnostic session with a young boy (17), illustrating self-exploration in an open-ended, semi-structured interview. After indicating the variety of available materials, Dr. Rubin sits quietly by as he selects watercolors and paper. Demonstrating a supportive yet sensitive observational stance, she makes few comments but waits for him to take the lead, and then together they discover the ideas and feelings depicted in his painting. At the end of the session, his mother joins them, further illustrating how to include a parent in the patient’s treatment.”
— Eleanor Irwin, Ph.D., RDT, TEP
In Depth
Specs
Bios
Disclosures
Interviewing adolescents in this way, with adequate training, can aid professional counselors and the counseling profession as a whole by offering art as a safe space for discussion of sensitive topics. One interview is with a boy of 17 and is an intake session where the art therapist was asked to provide an assessment of the youngster as well as recommendations for the treatment team at the outpatient clinic where he was seen. The client is offered a free choice of materials and topic, and ends up creating a powerful painting during which he is also helped to talk about the reasons why he agreed to try therapy.

The other interview is with a girl of 16 who is asked to develop an image from a scribble drawing, and who then reflects on the image and its meanings for her. Both youngsters are articulate, yet it is clear that a great deal is revealed in their drawings and associations that they would have been unlikely to discuss or disclose spontaneously, supporting the hypothesis that images can disclose unconscious material that has not yet risen to consciousness in a relatively non-threatening manner.

This video was formerly included in the Expressive Media Arts Therapies Films Collection distributed by Expressive Media Inc.

Length of video: 1:15:38

English subtitles available

Group ISBN-10 #: 1-60124-643-9

Group ISBN-13 #: 978-1-60124-643-1

Judith Rubin, a pioneer in the field of art therapy, is on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Society & Institute. She is a Registered, Board-Certified Art Therapist and a Licensed Psychologist. Dr. Rubin is the author of five books, including: Child Art Therapy, The Art of Art Therapy, and Art Therapy: An Introduction. She was the "Art Lady" on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in the 1960s.

A past President and Honorary Life Member of the American Art Therapy Association, Dr. Rubin is retired from full-time clinical practice, and is devoting her energies to creating and disseminating films on the arts in therapy through a nonprofit organization, Expressive Media, Inc. Her other films include Beyond Words: Art Therapy with Older Adults (2004), We'll Show You What We're Gonna Do! (art with blind children, 1971), Children & the Arts (all of the arts with children, 1973), and The Green Creature Within (group art-drama therapy with adolescents, 1984). More about Judith Rubin's films and the organization can be found at http://www.expressivemedia.org.



Judith Aron Rubin was compensated for his/her/their contribution. None of his/her/their books or additional offerings are required for any of the Psychotherapy.net content. Should such materials be references, it is as an additional resource.

Psychotherapy.net defines ineligible companies as those whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. There is no minimum financial threshold; individuals must disclose all financial relationships, regardless of the amount, with ineligible companies. We ask that all contributors disclose any and all financial relationships they have with any ineligible companies whether the individual views them as relevant to the education or not.

Additionally, there is no commercial support for this activity. None of the planners or any employee at Psychotherapy.net who has worked on this educational activity has relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies.
This Disclosure Statement has been designed to meet accreditation standards; Psychotherapy.net does its best to mitigate potential conflicts of interest and eliminate bias in all areas of content. Experts are compensated for their contributions to our training videos; while some of them have published works, the purchase of additional materials are not required for any Psychotherapy.net training. Each experts’ specific disclosures can be found in their biography.

Psychotherapy.net offers trainings for cost but has no financial or other relationships to disclose.
You May Also Like…