Drawing Analysis in Gestalt Therapy

Literature – Gestalt therapy in Russia
Author: Khlomov D.
The connection of the Gestalt approach with visual perception is quite obvious. All the basic principles of Gestalt psychology were clarified on the example of the organization of human visual perception. (No wonder the word “gestalt” simultaneously means “image”, primarily a visual image). In the psychotherapeutic sense, in the same way, the perception of visual images is a more archaic system, and it refers to the distinction between self and non-self, i.e. some primary exit of a person from prenatal fusion. In general, due to distant, visual perception, a person can distance himself from surrounding objects, perceive some as approaching, and some as receding, etc. In this case, if the visual system is disturbed, then this is somehow compensated by the auditory one, but in principle the picture of the world is formed on the basis of visual perceptions. And in this sense, visual perception is the earliest recognition system, because as far as the speech system of awareness, which develops later, is already the next stage and the stage is largely learned. If a child is not taught to speak, he will not begin to speak; if a child, for example, is French by birth, but does not know about it, but lives in Russia, then he will speak Russian. This is a learning system. But wherever, in whatever country the child is, visual perception will be organized in the same way. Another thing is that then the cultural meaning of different symbols, different colors in different cultures is different, and this really leaves a very big imprint on the perception of everything around. For example, an abundance of light colors in a room would evoke a mournful mood for a group of Chinese people, approximately the same as sitting in a black room for us. Those. what pertains to different color codes of perception and to codes that are associated with the organization of images is quite significant. In a number of cultures, for example, round shapes are normal, while angular shapes are associated with a certain amount of anxiety. And that is why, for example, during the historical cultural revolution associated with Gothic, fonts, each Gothic sign, object is some kind of aggressive symbol, symbols of some intimidation of a person.

The information that is embedded in visual perception is quite important and often quite archaic, especially at the level of perception of colors, shapes, character of movements, etc.

That is why the Gestaltists, starting from their very first group, quite often resorted to the use of drawings. No wonder this technique in its initial principles was formed by Fritz Perls, who, by the way, had a minimal education in the field of drawing (at an amateur level). There are quite a lot of landscapes, pictures that he painted in different places. He also illustrated the book “Inside and Outside the Garbage Bucket” with his drawings, which were published in our Gestalt-98 issue. Laura Perls was from the beginning a psychologist who worked on the connection between thinking and perception.

The next person, transitional from the older generation to the younger – in fact, he is sometimes referred to as the first generation, and sometimes as the second – Josef Zinker. His main occupation is also art therapy methods, etc. The use of art therapy techniques, drawing techniques in Gestalt is a fairly large tradition. Therefore, what I will continue to write about is just a small piece of what has been developed. You can look at some common things: in Singer’s books and in books on working with children – V. Oklender and G. Schottenloer.

Image and drawing.

When discussing the features of the organization of perception in the Gestalt approach, we outlined this basic form – the relationship between the background and the figure – and some principles of manifestation, the appearance of the figure on the background. The binding material for the formation of the figure is the needs of man; in fact, they support energetically the formation of the figure. And in this sense, every image is a certain figure in the context. An image is always, to some extent, a reflection of the needs of the person who implements this image. This is something that is present in every picture, and therefore in every picture there is some need that is projected outward in the form of a figure.

An image is a fairly large structure, including, firstly, a figure, secondly, the background itself, and thirdly, the relationship between the figure and the background (competition with some other figures is possible). It turns out that the image is something big enough. In the image that a person creates, there is also time. For example, a person drawing herons in a swamp assumes that after that they go or fly, or do something else. This is part of the image. And therefore, about the ratio of the picture and the image, we can say that the picture is a kind of clipping from the image. The drawing is always narrower than the image.

From this follows one of the well-known techniques associated with complementing the image further. A person depicts some unpleasant event for himself. And then I can ask this drawing to be drawn on a wider sheet, in order to somewhat reduce the emotional intensity that occurs in this part by increasing the background and to see the entire structure of the background that is further away. The background really changes the content quite a lot. Clipping from the image may be different. This can be a very active approximation: such that we do not see the full image, but only see some detail. That is, say, in a drawing in which a person depicts howling aggression, we can find only one paw of the animal, but the animal itself is not. In fact, if there is a paw, then there is the whole animal. And even if a person says that this image came to him in a dream, and he did not see the animal itself, it means that the rest of the image was somehow destroyed. And then it is quite possible that it would be right to complete the image, starting from the paw or from this small fragment to the complete one, so that it would be possible to get not only this element of aggression from nowhere, but, as it were, the entire subject of aggression, i.e. find out who it is.

Those images that appear in the drawings are always images from somewhere. In principle, those images that a person has never seen, he cannot make. What is being done is made from some ready-made material. Therefore, if you see a complete image, a complete figure in a person’s drawing, then be sure that he saw it somewhere. If a haystack is drawn there, then you can definitely find out where, how, in what situation this haystack was – whether it was in an illustration, or in another picture, reproduction, or in reality. Somewhere a man saw this haystack. In this sense, each of the elements, fragments of a large drawing is something that is connected with reality.

There is such a genre as expressive drawings, where there is no image as such. And in this case, the most important thing for the person who does this is some feeling that he wants to convey in this way. Expressionist drawings with shading, flashes, with obscure, abstract forms – this is a certain expression of emotionality. We can always find the feeling behind it, isolate it. Such drawings are different, because from the very beginning they are an attempt to express some emotion, an attempt to separate from some feeling of oneself, to get out of confluence with some feeling. As long as I experience this feeling fully, I am in confluence with him and am incapacitated. When I expressed it in an expressionistic way, I kind of free myself from my feeling and can already do something with it.

Thus, the relationship between the image and the drawing is very important and very interesting. For example, a person draws some kind of scene or some beautiful landscape. And you try to find out from what point he drew it! Very interesting things sometimes turn out. The man painted this bloody landscape of the battle as if from the balcony of the house, from the third floor, where he went out with a cup of tea. And sometimes this beautiful house is drawn from a landfill, i.e. he himself sits in a stinking dump and sees a beautiful house in front of him. Therefore, the context relation, i.e. the points where the beholder is located are the most important thing. This is some own position of the drawer, i.e. who sees this image. The picture is made in such a way that we always share the person who painted this picture at that moment and where he was, and what is actually depicted. Looks like this guy is leaving. And all this can only be learned from the person himself, but where is he himself?

This is an important point. For example, it is reflected in many canonical things, for example, in relation to the same Chinese painting: those points from which an artist can paint are painted and fixed – there is a deep distance, a high distance, etc. The picture you see is some fragment of the image. And therefore, the first action with a drawing that follows from what has been said is that you can ask to enlarge some parts of the drawing, reduce some parts, draw something else, etc. For example, in the case when a person draws one aggressive paw, but does not draw the whole animal, the work to draw this animal is, in fact, quite therapeutic work, i.e. support for some awareness of one’s own aggressiveness.

The next thing is what concerns the preparation of the drawing. Why on earth does a client make a drawing? In some cases, the client makes a drawing spontaneously – it must be some kind of already very “untethered” client, because most of you, of course, have not taken any drawing supplies since graduation from school, except perhaps the same psychological opportunity. Therefore, if you want to offer a person any art therapy technique related to drawing, then this is always associated with overcoming the barrier (which sometimes is 25-30 years old) with the corresponding sensations. It is quite possible that for some people the offer to draw something may carry a tinge of humiliation, like: these are children who draw, but what am I going to draw! Accordingly, you will have to support a little and indicate sufficient respect for the person in order to overcome the humiliation, the feeling that “the therapist is in charge here,” and he is some kind of idiot and draws badly.

The second thing you will also have to face is the feeling of shame, which always corresponds to the development of a new one. Here, too, at the stage of the beginning of the drawing, the client definitely needs support. In a group, this is easier to do in the sense that it is clear that it is clearly not possible to determine the most capable artist at this competition of drawings.

In which case should you resort to drawing? Drawing is a strong enough means of expression and a strong enough means of integration. In general, as a rule, in the process of drawing a person integrates. And if a person cannot integrate some of his feelings, experiences, then when you offer him to draw this feeling, experience (what it looks like), then most likely this feeling will unite, integrate and appear in some kind of unity with greater power.

In what other case can you draw? In the case of very strong intellectual games. The fact is that drawing is something that cannot be completely controlled. Why – follows from different levels of analysis of the picture. As for the different levels of drawing analysis: it is, in a way, a guide to how to cling to other people’s drawings. Or don’t cling. Because in general it is quite difficult to talk about it as a means of clear diagnostics. In therapy without a person in general, diagnosis is impossible. As for your suspicions regarding the fact that a person has something like this, and not like that, that the absence of windows in the house means autism – you ask him! And then draw your own conclusions. No action in the Gestalt approach without the person himself is not provided. Therefore, further what I will say in relation to the analysis of the drawing is only orientation, i.e. a way to get hooked on something, some categories that can be quite useful.

There is another important point regarding the drawing. Since we are talking about creativity, it is better that the person who conducts this drawing has fewer conventions. What kind of? Conventions like that I must have a set of everything that a person can think of in order to draw: to have crayons, pastels, pencils, felt-tip pens; and that the paper was like this, and not another. All this is important, but in general it is not necessary at all, because in order to draw, any writing object is enough. In general, you can draw with a pen on a piece of paper. Another thing is that we will not be able then to use the information that is embedded in the color. If we provide a person with more opportunities: different options for writing utensils, paints, paper, then, accordingly, we have more opportunities for analysis.

And then a person drew a picture for you, well, for example, some fragment of a dream. What dream? Yes, whatever, at least draw the same jar. There are special techniques related to increasing aggressiveness, interaction; drawing together; a drawing clearly limited in time to make short; or, conversely, a drawing that a person brings to an end and determines for himself. These are all different tricks through which we can see how a person feels, for example, about finishing something. Then I suggest drawing a drawing, asking how long it will take you to feel that the drawing is finished. And then we look at what is in this drawing that ends; how a person determines that it is time for him to finish this action.

But nevertheless, here is a client sitting in front of you, who finally drew his feelings, joyfully showed you and looks at you, opening his mouth and saying: “So what?” Now there comes a moment when you, on your part, must also show some activity and you can say: “Well, that’s it!” And then somehow talk about the picture – this is a completely natural, normal action. The client drew a drawing and shows it to you trustingly, with a pure soul. A great moment to say: “What the hell did you draw that for?” Nevertheless, if you manage to slow down this action and still feel like an art therapist, then such an immediate reaction, of course, does not go away. Some kind of reaction is needed, more serious, didactic, which would help a person develop, move forward. At this point, a hint related to the Gestalt analysis of the drawing turns out to be very useful. We are talking about some analytical references to the drawing or to the image, to the gestalt, in accordance with which you can make some assumptions. These assumptions may turn out to be completely “left”, and may turn out to be very correct, and many of them are associated with various other systems for deciphering a picture. It is not necessary to fully know all these systems of decoding, but it is important not to miss some of the obvious things, because in Gestalt therapy the focus is on the obvious things.

If we see a drawing, what is the first obvious thing? This is some composition of the drawing, i.e. where it is drawn. We give a piece of paper, ask you to draw some important event in life. And the person under this event occupies some small piece of the sheet. What did he leave the rest for? Where is the center of the picture? Because one thing is the geometric center of the leaf. Where is the center of the composition? What is the first thing you look at? What is the main object? It is quite possible that some kind of dramatic event is drawn like: “Ivan the Terrible kills his son”, and the main object in this drawing for the one who looks is the head of the cane – solid, beautiful. So, in general, it kills, yes, but the main thing is the golden knob. For example, the king is swaggering in every way, he has the right if he has a golden knob. Very often in the drawing there are some fragments highlighted and quite often they are highlighted by the fact that a person draws lines several times. In the drawings there are such fragments that visually attract, which then I wanted to hide. For example, some animal such as a giraffe is drawn in a person. And it turns out that this giraffe has a very strongly drawn neck. And why was this neck suddenly drawn? For me, this is immediately a signal that you don’t have to think about for a long time, but return it to the client, because it’s not me, but he painted, and say: “Why is the neck drawn so strongly?” “Yes, for some reason she seemed lethargic, some kind of crooked at first turned out, and then she became more even and better!” — “Well, after all, the hind legs are also crooked and nothing!” Something may or may not come out of this conversation.

So, as for the composition. What are we seriously looking at here? We look first of all at the following: where is the main compositional center of the picture, i.e. which object in the figure is the most important. In some cases, if the drawing is complex, then instead of the object it may be the most important, on the contrary, empty space. According to the laws of empty space, for example, landscapes are built. And the main ones are not trees, but the central form of emptiness. Those. in principle, figures can be both actually drawn objects and emptiness, i.e. something that is just not visible in the picture.

Observation of the drawing process itself can give a lot of information. In the event that a person begins a drawing with a figure, then, most likely, either the background will try to adapt to the figure, or the background, on the contrary, will contradict. This is an interesting question, because in one case it is the maintenance of the figure itself, and in the other case, it is the resistance that is expressed in the figure. At the same time, it is quite possible that we are dealing with needs of the second, third order, i.e. in fact, the conversation could have been about something else.

It is important how long it takes to prepare some kind of image, because the person actually makes the image rather quickly, but then there is a pause when he is preparing for the next image. And the alternation of these small images and pauses in front of them can say a lot about something. It is quite possible that the main figure is drawn very quickly, and something appears in the background that requires the bulk of the time, the main attention – all the energy goes there. And then the part where all the energy goes is the most important.

Further from what concerns the composition. The composition can be either with a single center, or there can be several competing figures in the composition. In principle, this means some mechanism for organizing space, organizing a person’s own attention, and, accordingly, some competition of motives at a given moment; or, conversely, a good centering of motives: at the moment on some one specific object.

Next is the compositional part. There may be the following picture: the object of the composition is placed in different parts of the picture. And parts of the drawing (parts of the sheet) in the European tradition have a very definite meaning. First, there is a main diagonal in the figure: from the past to the future – from the lower left corner to the upper right. Since a drawing is always a cut from an image, a drawing can have a horizontal composition, a vertical composition: the drawing can refer to the past or, say, to the future. Therefore, all figures to a greater or lesser extent have predictive power. From them you can determine what happened to a person in the past or how he currently represents his past, and you can also determine what happens in the future. Well, since each person has, in general, a good predictive system, in most cases he knows his future. And you can see it very simply: you can close part of the picture, or you can fold it in half.

You will never be able to foresee this whole system of information – if not in one, then in another you will fail. If you completely came up with a drawing, then later you will find another system from the same ones, according to which it turns out that it is very difficult. What do you like better: the past or the future. The farther into the future, the less rational things we know about the future, and at the same time, the greater our possibilities relating to the unconscious.

A symmetrical pattern refers rather to feelings that at the moment evenly spread both into the past and into the future. So, in this drawing, this form of analysis – the difference between the past and the future – turns out to be not so important. And thank God! In some cases, it can be caught on, and in some cases it cannot. Let’s say it’s catchy for all people familiar with European culture, because in European culture we all write in the direction from left to right. Accordingly, in this way the doors are opened for us, in this way the burners are lit – in short, we all deal with the world organized according to this principle, when we have the past there, and the future here. Anything is arranged in this way, this is a general principle in our European world. As for right-handedness and left-handedness, this is a separate issue, because left-handed people in Europe still adapt to the same thing – they do it differently, but nevertheless they adapt to the same meaning, to the same organization.

Some really different principle of organization is the principle of organization related to the Eastern systems, where they are written differently, where everything is opened, organized and exists differently. It’s really a different world. This is a cultural, learned action. If people write backwards, from left to right, if people write from top to bottom, then for them the future is in a completely different place, not to mention the fact that what they write means completely different to them, and they do it in a completely different way. . Writing, say, for the Chinese has approximately the same meaning as memorizing poetry for us, since the jargons and the language difference are so great that the only thing that collects all this is the written language, because it is pronounced differently in different provinces, but it is written everywhere the same, i.e. in this sense, there is a completely different system.

The next question is the rational and the unconscious. This main diagonal from the upper left corner of the drawing to the lower right divides the drawing into two main parts: that which relates to the unconscious, to the function of “id”; and that is that which belongs to the rational. This is defined differently in different systems. Take the drawing, fold it and see how it looks in this very part.

What I am saying now is reminiscent of some “throwing”: “The old man threw a net – a tin can, he threw it a second time – there is nothing, he threw it a third time – a galosh, he threw it a fourth time – a goldfish.” This is approximately the same action, the same nets that need to be thrown in relation to the drawing. They abandoned it, looked: a galosh, – well, okay!

There is a lot of funny things in the composition itself, for example, sometimes there is such a phenomenon as paired objects. If one object appears, then some second, similar one will necessarily appear to it. Then we can assume that this is a projection of some attachment, dependence, and that the person who draws with paired objects is quite emotionally dependent in life. We have to see if this is the case. Sometimes you look at a drawing: two identical trees, one house, and the other behind it is exactly the same.

What applies to narcissistic figures is a separate issue. They are also very similar to figures – mandalas, because they are centrally symmetrical.

There is a central symmetry of the figures and different versions of mirror symmetry – this is also what attention can be drawn to. And in the event that there is a central symmetry, we can assume that this is a narcissistic object. Again, like any narcissistic object, it can be healthy; meaning-forming in the drawing and somehow pulling this drawing out of complete chaos, or, on the contrary, very strongly dominant, to which the rest of the composition, as it were, obeys. If there is such submission, then we can talk about a narcissistic manifestation, an increased level of narcissism.

I don’t want to talk about composition anymore because there’s so much more to say about it. In this situation, if we bind the composition to this grid, then we look at where we have the main figure, in which part. What is the main figure? The most vividly drawn or the largest? And if we have two figures competing? This is a feature of the composition and, apparently, a feature of the internal structure at the moment – two competing figures. Look at the composition, what do you get? Are there any lines that separate objects from each other? Are there any competing, overwhelming objects? Are there objects that are suppressed? Every time you analyze your own drawing according to this scheme, you find something unusual and interesting for yourself.

The second level of analysis after composition is color analysis. If a person used flowers, then you will have additional information. And what kind of information will it be? Firstly, this is the number of colors, i.e. how many colors are taken for the image. Traditionally in drawing, color correlates with emotionality. And in this sense, a drawing drawn in one color is somehow connected with one emotion, with some one experience. Therefore, a drawing drawn in one color is always an interesting technique. Let’s say drawing the same picture in red would be unrealistic. This is one way to highlight certain feelings. In the event that you, say, suspect, and strongly suspect (so much so that you are even ready to “draw up an indictment”) that the client has certain difficulties, say, with the perception of his own aggressiveness, then let him draw in black ! See what kind of picture will appear! Will there be a protest, and what will be depicted then? This is a little later – about the meaning of colors. People usually immediately begin to remember psychologists who “sat” on the analysis of colors for a long time, like on heroin, and, accordingly, are also used to it, and therefore it is very difficult to understand their analysis of colors; Specifically, I mean Luscher. For many, it immediately comes to mind. Luscher is an important thing, but to be honest, there are some simpler things, simpler elements.

Well, firstly, there are chromatic colors, and there are achromatic ones, i.e. Roughly speaking, “not color” colors: black, white, gray. If this is an achromatic color, then most likely we are talking about some avoidance of feelings. The use of achromatic colors indicates the suppression of feelings at the moment. Again, it’s better to ask a person – maybe he painted because there were no more funds? Here is a drawing of a woman drawn in black. What was the motivation? Maybe she was hiding her feelings? Well, yes, because aggression is just a concentrated suppression of other feelings, when everything is directed in an aggressive direction.

Now, as for “color” colors, chromatic. First, there are pure colors and there are mixed colors. These colors vary in intensity: they can be more intense or they can be more washed out. Accordingly, if they are more intense, then the person is prone to a more intense expression of feelings; if the colors are more blurred, less intense, more mixed, then the feelings are the same – more mixed, not very intense. There may be intense but mixed feelings. And there is another very interesting phenomenon when a person tries to make a very intense color with unsuitable means. But this can only be found out in a situation where there is an opportunity to choose from different things, i.e., say, there are paints, pencils, felt-tip pens. A person is trying to draw something very bright, but he takes a hard enough pencil for this. The result is a rather vague shading, i.e. there is an attempt to express strong emotions, but by some unsuitable means. It is quite possible that we will encounter this in our work. In principle, this means that it is quite possible that the manifestation of many feelings in this person will be distorted by his own aggression, and this aggression will prevent him from being seriously sad, overly happy, ashamed, or something else to feel. Those. from the handling of color we get some information about how a person handles his feelings: he mixes them or does not mix them, which of these feelings he brings to the fore. And this is also a very interesting thing related to the following colors, tones, because there are cold tones, and there are warm tones. They act, generally speaking, at the tactile level, because this is what applies to the first signals. The child sees: something is red, it means warm to some extent, and then stronger – it is already dangerous, you can burn yourself. And, accordingly, cold – blue, bluish, green: if you touch it, you will freeze. And in this sense, warm tones seem to invite: “touch me!” and the cold ones, as it were, repel: “move away!”

Thus, you can see what attracts you, what repels you, what turns out to be ambivalent. Sometimes a pretty figure, but drawn in such a cold color, driving away.

The next fragment related to color is the archetypal content of colors. As for the color scheme, there is some figure that traditionally correlates color, combination and tone with a person’s life from birth to death. For example, yellow and green colors are most often associated with childhood. This figurine starts with yellows and greens, the green of which is energetic, and yellow is more associated with a certain acceptance, a warm color, and green is extremely energetic. Then further the figurine is divided into two parts – male and female; and then there is a set of female and a set of male flowers. And, accordingly, the male branch “turns blue”, i.e. from yellow to blue, and the female “blushes”, i.e. turns from yellow to red, orange. And then further, in old age, they turn out to be connected, and in this part they are already indicated by the fact that brown is added to both. In other words, if the figure has a figure marked in red, orange, then we are talking more about female identification; if there is a figure in the figure, which is indicated in blue, then we are talking more about male identification. If there is brown and tones associated with it (gray, etc.), then we are talking more about older age, elderly; if there is yellow and green, then we are talking about children’s feelings. If there is a drawing in which yellow, green and red are present, then this is a childish young woman. Yellow and blue – there are two identifications: one is childish, the other is male. Blue color is often used in business suits for a reason. See what colors are more in the future and in the past.

Well, then Luscher begins, which you can read for a long time, watch and impose on the same grid in order to look at what correlates with what. There are also colors that harmoniously match each other, there are complementary colors: for example, red and green. A drawing can be made with colors that, in relation to each other, are varieties of the same thing: say, dark green, light green, yellowish. Those. it may be that all colors “walk” around the shades of the main one. If you really want to find out what is with the main feeling, then take the main color that is present in these shades, and ask the person to draw some other drawing with this very main color in order to see what he can do if to deprive him, in fact, of reflection, i.e. the possibility of escape from some experience.

Then comes what concerns figures, objects – this is a terrible thing that I usually skip, forget, i.e. analysis of the very figures that are drawn. And here, of course, a lot of everything – all the psychoanalytic symbolism, honed for decades on the various dreams of all kinds of crazy people. Accordingly, all of it can be applied here. Here there will be questions related to what is happening here with phallic symbols, and what is happening with female symbols: what objects belong to female symbols? …

Next comes the analysis of the actual figures – how they are made. There are good forms and bad ones. Figures are well done when they are clearly recognizable, but there are figures that are not very clear for various reasons. You can see which of the figures are drawn properly and which are not, i.e., roughly speaking, when a person’s hand was wrong … For example, if we are already talking about phallic symbols: draws phallic symbols, and all the time the hand trembles …

Next: what concerns symbolism. As I said at the very beginning of this text, each of the objects that appears in the picture is associated with something, and about each of them you can move on and find out what it is. In this regard, each of the depicted objects is a real exit to some other reality, to the past, most likely in fantasy or something else. If we turn to this very “window”, then this is connected with an exit to some other world, which is not represented in this picture at the moment, but in general matters, and much can be found there. Thus, with regard to the analysis of symbols, just, as they say, read the analysis of dreams in different versions from beginning to end – there is a lot of this symbolism, so I usually talk about it briefly. Here it already depends on the own depravity of each psychotherapist.

Well, the last level of analysis is the technical level. What, how, in what way, where is drawn. Here, let’s say, we have something unclear in the figure, i.e. some hatching that blurs, and another hatching joins it. What kind of resistance is this? Confluence! If we see such a blurry figure, then there is quite a lot of confluence. And if you work with this pattern, then basically you have to work in the pre-contact phase in order to highlight the figure. Such an expressionistic drawing is characterized by the fact that the figure does not stand out. These drawings are typical, say, for young children who are not always able to realize their need. As soon as they realize their need, they usually satisfy it, and if they are not aware, then they draw “kala-mala” until they realize by chance or someone accidentally satisfies them. Such is the fate of the man who is in confluence.

The next character is introjection. Any finished figure of good shape is an introject. Again, introjects can be useful as they allow the content to be deciphered and parsed. But, on the other hand, each introject is a potential source of fears, because introjects are organized by the energy of fear, i.e. the energy of the fact that I can see through what is offered to me.

What does projection look like? The projection looks like parallel lines: for example, parallel hatching, parallel lines, parallel contours. And then this is a hint in what form we will have to work with a person in order for us to still find contact. Projection is some kind of energy that I send out and support. While I see, hear, perceive, while I am in a group, you are all made for me from my projections and, accordingly, during this time I maintain a certain image in my head. Yes, some information comes to me, but it is not economical to completely decipher it every time; it is much more economical to maintain this image. But accordingly, creating and maintaining the image of a person takes a certain amount of energy, especially when you get into an environment in which you have to maintain a lot of images. Well, for example, at one time it was a very aggressive action for me when you get from the normal Soviet world to all sorts of foreign supermarkets, where all the goods are “fighting” for attention. Of course, this is very tiring, just as it tires a person who is accustomed to the same nature, colorfulness, complexity of forms, etc. This can be tiring as I’m not used to maintaining so many figures. To support so many figures, I need, as they say, “to break my head.” On the other hand, if I’m used to maintaining so many figures, then, when I find myself in a depletion situation, I will try to restore the number of figures. There will be many thoughts, fantasies, etc., because I am used to supporting many figures. And therefore, when it comes to working with projections, the task is to one degree or another to regain the energy that I send to the address of this very projection. Those. an excessively excessive emotional attitude to the environment exhausts me, and the task is to return everything to myself.

In general, any drawing is a projection. It’s important to get him to talk. For example, when working with jealousy, the task is to regain the positive energy placed in another person.

The next form of resistance is retroflexion. She is recognized by the return stroke, i.e. touch to yourself. Retroflection is round shapes.

Egotism is, accordingly, closed forms, they can be painted over. I wonder what color, what activity, what experience can be bound by the rigid boundaries of the figure. What happens if you release this color to freedom? If you suggest to the client to make a drawing with this color, how will this change his state?
In Gestalt, drawing is an occasion for contact. And this contact is most often more important than the drawing itself. Our entire reality is made up of resistances. If there is no resistance, there is full contact, but then there is no development. You need to perceive reality only in order to properly build relationships with it and achieve what you need. Working with a drawing in Gestalt is impossible without the person who drew this drawing. Questions about a drawing are more important than interpretations. Any drawing contains many “doors” that only the client can open.