Southwestern College Santa Fe, NM
What is a Container?
There are so many types of containers, a person, place, or thing that holds. Many images come to mind: a milk carton, hands, shoes, a home, a room, a box, a nest, my heart, a chair, a mouth, a closet… Many sensations come to body: warmth, safety, fear, constriction, flee, joy, space, expression, love, pain, want, have…
In the course ‘Art Therapy Techniques’ we created multiple types of containers. We made nests out of wire, pipe cleaners, feathers, yarn, paper, and beads.
We made containers out of air-drying clay.
And we made a “triarama,” a simple folded piece of paper that looks like a corner of a room or a place for an altar.
We talked about the types of containers, we talked about space, and we explored the spectrum of meanings that we all hold. As therapists, soon-to-be therapists, as compassionate people in this world, it is important to look at how we contain ourselves and how we offer containment for others. What does “container” mean to you?
