The Symbolism of Style

Rita Simon, a founder member of the art therapy profession, has been developing her understanding of the complex interplay between content and style in patients' work for over forty years. In The Symbolism of Style she puts forward the thesis that, while a picture can speak through both its content and its style, it is the style which reflects the habitual mood or attitude of the unconscious. By looking at the progression of styles in children's work, it is possible to see the developmental stages to which at times it may be helpful for an adult temporarily to return. In the early stages of therapy, a patient's style can help the art therapist understand his or her underlying mood, and, later, a consistent change in style can indicate a radical change in the patient's grasp of reality. The therapist's understanding of the hidden meaning in the style can thus greatly enrich the therapeutic process and very often improve its outcome. From her long study of clinical material the author has developed a simple classification of the four basic styles, and their transitional stages, which recur in patient's work. In this book she devotes a chapter to each style, illustrating its significance with copious case material from the work of both adults and children. Lavishly illustrated, The Symbolism of Style is an important contribution to the exploration of the content and symbolism of imagery, placing consideration of the image firmly in the centre of art therapy practice.