Dr. Dee’s Reflection:
First, we should anchor ourselves in what we refer to, what we mean by the word symbol.
An “object” turns into a “symbol” when we project our personal understanding, associations, meanings, emotions, and related stories onto the object. This happens without intention and is unconscious as well as consciously intentional. Think about sports logos and food brands and tourist ads. Most everything that surrounds us has symbolic meanings, even the mundane. Consider a street that represents a short-cut to your destination. Now make that a metaphor – what shortcut do you default to as a faster way to get through life? The shortcut becomes symbolic when we reflect on it with its associations as a metaphor. Amplification is a skilled way to listen deeply, bridge the concrete with qualities and personal/ cultural associations for symbolic and metaphoric meaning – in the short-cut example we notice potential for existential meaning. Symbols and metaphors extend in many threads; we follow the lead of the client. We study to stretch our understanding of meaning beyond our own very small personal and cultural world.
To the question . . . . The primary purpose of symbol books and web resources is to extend the cultural scope of the therapist. Descriptions of symbols in symbol dictionaries amplify an object’s history, cultural relevance, meanings from philosophy, science, religion, and cultural traditions. There are family associations and individual meanings not in any dictionary. We are always learning and extending our understanding of meaning. We study to reach beyond what we think we know, what we think we understand, not for interpretation or to find some hidden meaning in a sand scene or work of art.
Clinical Skill: An important skill in the study of symbols is Amplification
Amplification partly answers “what do we do with symbol knowledge when we don’t interpret meaning?
Amplification is a clinical skill nested in Rogerian deep listening. We listen carefully to the client for their associations, the stories they share, attitude, and the emotions they express regarding their sand scene and specific symbols. When we study a symbol from several resources, such as websites, mythology, cultural sites, and symbol dictionaries we develop an awareness of an array of meanings for each object.
Symbol resources and dictionaries are helpful to build our vocabulary, to become aware of connections among associations, threads of meaning. We stay alert for potential metaphors. This takes practice.
Practice Exercise:
It is a useful practice to select a figure from your art or play therapy shelves or from a client’s sand scene, or your own personal collection of objects and research the meaning and background. Use a variety of sources. Try one object a week. Jot down details, even those you do not resonate with, and look over the connective threads. Notice what you resonate with, what seems unrelatable, and what is new to you. Explore the threads for meaning in your life – with client work or relationships or your life journey. Consider asking family members and friends for their personal associations. Consider a staff meeting each week where each clinician presents a variety of salient meanings they discovered for a single figure.
To Discover who we are . . . our Meaning and Purpose . . . We Reach Back in Time, Across Cultures and Geographic Boundaries . . . We Open our Minds, Suspend Disbelief, become Receptive and Discerning . . . We dig to Discover . . . We Read to be Informed . . . We Reflect to find Relevance . . . We Witness to Validate . . . We Appreciate and begin again . . . We Wonder and Play with ideas . . .We Attend to Experience . . . . we amplify and find metaphors . . . and Sometimes We Understand and Heal . . . - Dr. Preston-Dillon