In my inaugural session of the Peer Supervision Series: Expanding the Therapist’s Interior Landscape, sponsored by Onlinevents, we used active imagination, a concept originally posed by Carl Jung. You can see a small video clip of John Hillman discussing the concept of active imagination HERE.
Active imagination has been compared to Sigmund Freud’s concept of free association but the two are slightly different. Freud was searching for what was troubling, repressed or forgotten- hidden in the subconscious, and Jung was simply suggesting a way to activate what is already right there at the surface for consideration.
In our session today, I asked everyone to think of a recent session and to conjure an image of the client. I had the group engage in contemplative writing, instructing them to write or type for 5 minutes, whatever came to the surface and not to stop- stream of consciousness- automatic writing. They were to stay with the image- to walk around the image in their mind and to stay open to discovery- to allow the image to reveal itself further.
After the writing experience, they went into breakouts of 3 for 15 minutes to discuss what came up regarding the image of their client.
When 15 minutes was up, everyone came back to the main room for another writing exercise.
This time, they were asked to write for 5 minutes, this time allowing an image of their self as the therapist to come through. Again, they were to stay with the image- to walk around the image in their mind and to stay open to discovery- to allow the image to reveal itself further. They were encouraged to reflect on these questions as they wrote:
- Do I like this image of myself? Why or why not?
- What does this image teach me about myself?
- If I could have a different image, what would I like it to be?
- What questions are raised for me from this session?
After the second writing experience, they went into another 15 minute breakout.
The debriefing was short, but reflective. I talked briefly about my experience as an online therapist and supervisor, before zoom was a common communication tool. This was back in the day when communication was delivered via email or chat. At that time, I often had no visual of the client, and only had the reflection of a phone call or email inquiring about service, or an intake form with sparse details about the client. Yet every time I had a created an image in my head about who that potential client was. That is the inverse experience of the exercise today- when we intentionally call up an image about a client we have seen- and intentionally call up an image about our own personhood.
I encouraged participants to utilize this imagination exercise with other clients as a introspective solo experience and to also think about the image they hold of the potential client and themselves the next time someone reaches out. How might the image for yourself and the potential client shift when the potential client becomes a client, or does it?
Purchase the recording and receive a CPD certificate/20 min video HERE.
This active imagination exercise was summarized from:
Tucker, L. A. (2020). Spiritual Direction Supervision: Principles, Practices, and Storytelling. SDI Press.
Available from Spiritual Directors International (SDI)
