“It has to be held”: Exploring the social unconscious among art therapy students in a South African context through social dreaming

Abstract

The content of this article explores a social dreaming matrix (SDM) and art-making workshop among art therapy trainees in South Africa. This article is a preliminary investigation into the social unconscious of art therapy trainees, as art therapy practitioners and allied practitioners, who need to promote thinking that derives from an intersectional framework, as practising from this framework may help practitioners to be empathetic, culturally attuned, and culturally sensitive within a multicultural context. In this article, I argue that analytic group-based practices or interventions, such as an SDM, are a worthwhile method of getting to know and actively engage in the critical discourse around the lived experiences of students, practitioners, and citizens of South Africa. It may also prove a worthwhile directive for clients wishing to explore their social unconscious. This study considers knowledge and issues surrounding the complexities, contradictions, and discomfort of the lived experiences of future art therapists in South Africa. This exploratory approach aims to facilitate new insights into art therapy trainees’ social unconscious related to their identities as art therapy trainees and future practising art therapists. The central conclusion of the findings reveals that art therapy trainees’ social unconscious comprises five elements:  power, privilege, identity, alienation, and violence related to their roles as art therapists. Moreover, the SDM and art-making offer a tool to empower the pedagogical process for art therapy trainees.