Creating a timeline
Putting together a timeline is an easy intervention. It asks the creator to visually depict a series of events in some way. In art therapy, this may look like a traditional timeline with lines and tick marks. Or, it could look like a series of drawings that can be arranged in order. In even more creative approaches, you could create a charm bracelet with a charm for each event. Ideally, the events are in chronological order and tell a story about what you experienced through the chronological arrangement.
How timelines help the client
As a client, if you create a timeline, you may start with rough memories about a series of events. However, as you work through each event, you may remember other forgotten events or more specific details about the events. Working on a timeline can help you hone in on your experience and think about things as they actually happened.
This can help you, as a client, recall details and piece together incidents that have led you either to where you are now. Or, how they led you to make specific decisions in your life.
How timelines help the therapist
Timelines can also help therapists understand more about you and the things you’ve experienced over time. Plus, it helps her understand the patterns that may be present in your life. Additionally, timelines give us more information about the specific sequence of events, how each event impacted another, and the impact you experienced from chronological events on a broader scale. Timelines help guide clinicians to making informed decisions about your care based on your experiences.
For art therapists specifically, we gain more insight from the artistic choices you specifically made when creating your timeline. Your use of color choice, the pressure at which you hold and use materials, and the material choices you make help us to learn a little bit more about you and the feelings you have toward each event on your timeline.
They help us both identify patterns
Identifying patterns in your life is a key use of timelines to help you break cycles that are no longer serving you. When we can visually see where you may have gotten tripped up or made mistakes in the past, and potentially identify cycles of repeated behavior, we can help you work to identify negative patterns and work towards changing them. Utilizing the information you provided through a visual can help you recognize patterns in your own behavior and the behavior of those around you as well.
About Samantha Nolan, MA, LPC, ATR- Barnum Counseling
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