Tell me what you see

I asked him to look at the image and to tell me the first thing that came into his mind. He didn’t want to tell me. He was worried that he might give the “wrong” answer. I explained that there were no right or wrong answers and that the exercise just allowed us to get a glimpse into the things that might be preoccupying his mind. It was a simple trick that might start a train of thought or a conversation. He then worried that his answer might reveal something “bad” about himself. About his mind or his subconscious. I reassured him that we were not concerned with judgement or morality - only with helping him to understand himself. Eventually, he set aside his fears and suspicions and he told me what the picture suggested to him. This led us to an interesting and productive discussion about some assumptions that he had made without realising.

I was pleased with his progress and tried to ignore the fact that he had given the wrong answer.