Pictograms

I often use pictograms with clients as they are a great way of gaining some distance from a problem and helping to see things in a new way. They are also very useful in allowing people to explain how they are feeling. I ask the client to choose several objects and to create a picture with them to show me something - maybe a difficult situation they have just experienced or a significant event from the past. We can then discuss our responses to the picture and the client may or may not want to explain the story behind it. Making the pictogram can be a therapeutic experience in itself but it can also be used to begin thinking about what may be happening for the client and what they would like to change.