A Psychotherapist Paints

Book excerpt: A Psychotherapist Paints is a unique account of an internationally known psychotherapist and group analyst’s struggle to bring together his psychological experience and his interests and talent as an artist. This book describes a body of painting that was responsive to a major existential challenge, the COVID-19 pandemic, but which also comes from deeply personal experience; the paintings are a mirror of life through the decades. These paintings, fifty of which are included here in full colour, were mainly presented online to groups both small and large, who were invited to participate in a dialogue that became a vital part of the developing project. The value of this dialogue is reflected in the author’s concept of the "artist's matrix", describing the social context in which an artist produces and presents their work. The paintings, together with the autobiographical narrative and the groups’ generativity, combine to produce a moving testament to our times. Intrinsic to A Psychotherapist Paints is a question about what makes us creative and how creativity transforms our lives. The result is a work of both artistic and psychological power that will inspire psychotherapists, art psychotherapists and artists themselves, and will point to exciting new possibilities in all these fields.