Rosebush fantasy technique with elementary school students.

The authors present the rosebush fantasy drawing as a technique to use in elementary school counseling. The technique is suggested as an expressive arts method to access the emotional world of children in a non-verbal format. The specifics of presenting the technique and processing the drawing with elementary-aged students are detailed. The authors also present three case studies using the rosebush fantasy drawing.

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In the elementary school, Gysbers and Henderson (2000) suggest that 30% to 40% of the school counselor's time should be engaged in responsive services. The component of responsive services is one of four suggested components in a comprehensive guidance program in school counseling. The remaining three components consist of guidance curriculum, individual planning, and systems support. Responsive services include crisis counseling, individual and small-group counseling, diagnostic and remediation activities, and consultation and referral. The counselor's role is to intervene to alleviate the students' immediate concerns that block academic development (Cobia & Henderson, 2003). As part of this intervention, the counselor needs to distinguish between those students who can be served through school counseling and those requiring counseling from outside professionals. If the school counselor decides that a student is best served by counseling in the school, the counselor must be knowledgeable in theoretical and delivery techniques that are most effective with the student's needs (Cobia & Henderson).

Elementary-aged students respond positively to creative approaches to counseling used by school counselors. Often, traditional talk therapy is not effective with children in pre-operational and/or concrete operations stages of cognitive development (Bradley & Gould, 1999; Newsome, 2003). Children at this level typically do not possess the developmental ability to integrate feelings, thoughts, and experiences. Landreth (2002) recognized that children's feelings are often inaccessible at the verbal level. The developmental level of most elementary students obliges the school counselor to develop alternate non-verbal techniques to access the emotional world of the child.

One therapeutic method for working within the child's emotional world is the use of expressive arts counseling. Expressive arts counseling includes art therapy, play therapy, sandtray therapy, and various other modalities (Bratton & Ferebee, 1999). Different theoretical philosophies advocate the use of such techniques with young children. Allan (1988) proposed the use of art in counseling from the Jungian perspective, explaining that symbol production represents the psyche's attempt to grow and to heal itself. Oaklander (1978), a Gestalt child therapist, recognized that through fantasy, the counselor can have fun with the child and can also find out how the child processes the expression of feelings. Malchiodi (1998) suggested that drawings can quickly bring to the surface issues that are relevant to counseling, which improves the counselor's ability to intervene effectively with children. Specifically, structured art activities in counseling will allow the counselor to understand the experience of the child. Through understanding the world of the child, the school counselor may then formulate counseling goals that are individual to the child, including decisions regarding referrals to outside sources.

Allowing children the opportunity to communicate through drawing can easily be used by any school counselor. The purpose of drawing is to give the child another language with which to share feelings, ideas, perceptions, fantasies, and observations about self, others and the environment. Art allows the child and counselor to connect through images rather than words alone. Variation of communication increases interaction between the counselor and child, thus expanding the effectiveness of the relationship (Malchiodi, 1998).

The purpose of this article is to present one structured art activity, the rosebush fantasy, which has been proven to be an effective strategy in school counseling (Allan, 1988; Allan & Crandall, 1986). The rosebush fantasy is neither a new technique nor was it originally designed for use with children. Stevens (1971) created the Rosebush Identification Fantasy as a way for adults to reconnect with unpleasant aspects of their experience that they have alienated from their awareness and that are creating distress for them. Stevens illustrated that participants experience a variety of responses to the rosebush exercise. He reported that the participants' responses were the result of their projection of their own experience and not simply a result of instructions given during the exercise. By imagining themselves as a rosebush, participants project disowned aspects of themselves onto the rosebush and then can re-identify with, or "re-own," these aspects by identifying with the experiences of the rosebush. Having more complete access to their entire experience and self-image allows participants to experience less confusion and less distress.

Oaklander (1978, 1997) adapted the Rosebush Identification Fantasy for use with children. She found it to be an effective and non-threatening way to help children express thoughts, feelings, needs, and desires that have been blocked from their awareness. Oaklander's rationale for the use of this fantasy technique is the same as Stevens' (1971). She stated, "The use of fantasy provides a bridge to the child's inner life. The child then can look at it, examine it, and, when ready, own it" (Oaklander, 1997, p. 11).

Believing that school counselors were increasing their facilitation of art drawings, Allan (1988) reported that school counselors found art techniques were useful with students. In order to test the validity of the rosebush fantasy technique, Allan and Crandall (1986) developed the Rosebush Visualization Strategy, utilized to distinguish coping and non-coping children. A coping child was defined as one who gets along well with teachers and peers and shows average developmental mastery of learning skills. A non-coping child was defined as one who fails to get along with teacher and peers and fails to master grade-level work skills. The study was conducted by three school counselors who used the rosebush drawing to predict a coping or non-coping student. Results showed that this technique had the potential to distinguish coping and non coping children at an 80% accuracy rate.

The Rosebush Visualization Technique and the post-drawing procedure developed by Allan and Crandall (1986) and Allan (1988) were utilized by Glazer (1998) to evaluate children in the grief process. Drawings were completed before and after the children's participation in a grief counseling program. The researcher found qualitative differences in the drawings of the children pre- and post-counseling that were interpreted as evidence of movement toward increased feelings of connected ness and reorganization of life after participation in the grief counseling program.

The authors hope to demonstrate the use of the rosebush fantasy drawing technique as a school intervention and its possible effectiveness with elementary students. The technique can be used in order to assess the adjustment of children, determine the need for outside referral, or simply to reveal the child's subjective world to the counselor. Although the rosebush fantasy has previously been used as a projective technique, the authors submit the technique for use as a subjective art activity that allows the counselor to understand the child's phenomenological world. This drawing technique allows the counselor the ability to provide a non-threatening way of communicating with children and allows children the ability to share themselves in a non-traditional format. The authors discourage projective interpretation of drawings without proper training and supervision.

The rosebush fantasy drawing is applicable to any age of client but this article focuses on elementary-age students. Early elementary-age students, preschool to first grade, are discovering the relationships between drawing, thinking, and reality (Malchiodi, 1998). They draw without thought to composition or spatial placement. The use of drawing techniques with dais age relies on giving the child the opportunity to creatively discuss their drawings. From 2nd to 6th grade, the school counselor will find that children are able to develop a visual schema for art expression which reflects their concrete operational thinking (Malchiodi). They are able to bring together art, cognitive ability, and creativity. Due to this fuller form of expression, the cases presented in the article are all from 5th graders who are able to offer rich verbal expression in coordination with art expression.

Although children are asked to verbalize their descriptions of their rosebush fantasy drawing, this type of verbalization is usually much less threatening then direct questions regarding their actual situation. The fantasy drawing allows the child an emotional distance from the reality of life. Because of this sense of safety, children are able to express details about the rosebush that correlate with their views of self, without feeling verbally violated. Even though children at the concrete level can express themselves verbally, sometimes with an extensive vocabulary, the ability to understand their situations from an abstract feeling level eludes their cognitive capacities. Hence, there is a need for counseling techniques that can offer an alternative to direct reality-based verbalizations.

The rosebush technique can be presented in an individual or group session. However, in both settings, the intent of the rosebush is to understand the individual child's world. The group format is beneficial in helping children present themselves to others and to understand the perspectives of others.

THE TECHNIQUE

Presenting the Rosebush

The rosebush fantasy drawing begins with a short relaxation exercise that includes muscle relaxation and the dissolution of intervening thought processes. Most short relaxation scripts that include a concentration on breathing are appropriate. The counselor should ensure that the script is short in order to maintain the attention of children, who are often not familiar with such exercises. Playing soothing music in the background is helpful in relaxing children, especially if the counselor chooses to offer this experience in a group format. The relaxation exercise allows the children to clear their minds of any intervening thoughts and concentrate on visualization. The counselor then asks the children to imagine themselves as a rosebush. For example, "Now, I want you to close your eyes and imagine yourself as a rosebush." Specific questions help a child to define the self as the rosebush. For example, as the child's eyes remain closed, the counselor will continue, "... What kind of rosebush are you? Are you small? Are you large? Do you have flowers? What are your stems and branches like? Do you have thorns? What are your roots like? Look around you ... are you in a yard? In a park? Are you in a pot or growing in the ground? Are you alone? Does someone take care of you? What's the weather like?" Allan (1988) presented an exact script for the rosebush exercise. When the counselor feels that the children have had enough time to imagine the rosebush, the counselor will ask the children to open their eyes and draw themselves as the rosebush.

Prior to the exercise, the counselor should lay out drawing materials. One of the benefits of this technique is that the materials can be simple, such as a pencil and an 8 x 10 piece of paper, or the counselor can provide more expressive materials (e.g., paints markers, large sheets of paper). The counselor then allows the amount of time that each child needs to complete the drawing. The timing aspect is often difficult in the school environment. If the school counselor is only allotted a certain amount of time with the child, the counselor needs to ensure that there is enough time scheduled for processing the exercise. For example, in a 30-minute session, the counselor may want to allow 8 to 10 minutes for the relaxation and imagery exercise, 10 to 12 minutes for drawing, and at least 10 minutes for processing. The optimal situation is that the counselor allows the child as much time as personally needed to draw and to process. During the drawing time, it is common that children might attempt to engage the counselor in conversation to avoid the exercise or because they are uncomfortable with silence. In this case, the counselor simply reflects the child's statement and refocuses the child back to the drawing. If the child reveals an issue of importance, the counselor may revisit this issue during the processing time.

Processing the Rosebush

The child's world is revealed in the processing phase of the rosebush. Although this technique allows the school counselor to better understand and conceptualize the child, it is important to avoid interpreting the drawing to the child. The value of the exercise is the child's interpretation or explanation of the rosebush. The counselor's role is to facilitate this explanation by asking questions of the rosebush and reflecting the child's answers. In order for the child to maintain a sense of safety, the counselor needs to stay within the metaphor of the rosebush. Hence, the counselor will only ask questions regarding the rosebush. For example, the counselor may say, "Describe your rosebush for me. Tell me about your leaves, your branches, your flowers. Tell me where you live. Who takes care of you? How does it feel to be a rosebush?" The counselor may also choose to engage the child in storytelling. For example, the counselor may ask the child to talk about what happens next, or ask for one part of the drawing to talk to another part, "If this fence could talk, what would it say to the roses?" The processing phase of the exercise is only limited by the counselor's creativity. Most young children will reveal their experience through the metaphor of the rosebush and may become threatened if the counselor attempts to connect the drawing to their real-life situations. From a developmental perspective, it often difficult for young children to make the cognitive leap connecting the drawing to reality which requires abstract ability. However, older children may have the ability to begin interpretations of their drawings. Although not advisable for young children, the counselor may extend the processing phase by asking an older child, "Is there anything in this drawing that reminds you of your own life?" This will help facilitate the process of integration of experience and thought for older children.

In addition to presenting the technique of the rosebush, this article presents the following drawings created by three 5th grade students and their interpretations of their drawings. The drawings serve to demonstrate how the rosebush drawing and the processing of the drawing reveal the inner emotional world of the child.

CASE STUDIES USING ROSEBUSH DRAWINGS

Case Study 1

See Figure 1. Roger attends a general education 5th grade class with resource pullout services for the majority of his morning. He has been identified with an emotional disturbance and speech impairment. Roger attends his current elementary school because his father has threatened to abduct him from his home elementary school. He lives with a cousin and is very aware that his father is threatening to abduct him from school. At school, Roger attempts to make everyone around him happy. In processing his rosebush, Roger described his rosebush as colorful and always tired. In describing his stems and branches, he stated, "My stems suck up the water so they can live. The branches are connected to the stems and the trunk. They were helping me suck water out of the soil." Roger reported that he did not have any thorns and that nothing protects him. When the counselor asked how it felt to not have thorns, Roger replied, "It doesn't feel good at all. When something picks me up, I would die if I didn't have thorns. If I did have thorns, I could hurt somebody." Roger further stated that his rosebush is grumpy when he tells others to quit what they are doing because it bothers him, but they keep doing it and not listening to him. Further, he is happy when he asks somebody to stop it and they listen to him. When asked about what he would change about his picture, Roger responded, "I would draw two rosebush trees with thorns so that they would protect me. I would also add thorns to nay rosebush. I wouldn't like living by myself." When asked about the weather, Roger indicated that he needed rain because he dies out, but when spring comes, he will sprout again.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Roger's explanation of his rosebush drawing appears to share his views of his world and his place in it. Although the school counselor should not interpret his drawing or explanation to Roger, the counselor can make some subjective guesses in understanding Roger's situation. These "guesses" are not conclusions and should only be surmised in the context of the counselor's knowledge of Roger's situation and the context of the counselor/client continuing relationship. In viewing Roger's rosebush, note the smallness and compactness of the drawing and very little environmental support around the rosebush. Roger's explanation of his rosebush indicates his anxiety related to the uncertainty of his living situation and the inability of others to help him as well as his inability to help himself. In addition, Roger shared his social difficulties with others. Most importantly, Roger revealed his resiliency. In the face of instability and lack of protection, he stated that he will "sprout again." This rosebush experience allows the counselor to see that Roger is fully aware of his environment, which is troublesome for him, but he appears to have inner resources to cope with the situation. The counselor is able to work with Roger to fully develop these inner resources.

Case Study 2

See Figure 2. Tammy attends a general education fifth grade class and struggles with academic and behavioral grades. She is repeatedly sent to in-school suspension for angry outbursts, profanity, and physically attacking students. Tammy has limited skills to socialize with her peers. Tammy described her rosebush as red and green. She is the rose and her friend is beside her. The following is her description:

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

   She is my only friend I got. I was lonely at
   first. The flowers are kinda mean. One came
   up that was nicer. She was lonely too. I didn't
   have a friend because I was mean. Every time
   I'm mean a leaf pops up. If I am nice, I lose
   one. I stick them with things so no one comes
   up to me. I'm a mean rosebush because I'm
   naughty to teachers, hit people, and get angry
   about things. I have thorns. I stick people, and
   then they go tell everybody else. They don't
   talk to me, and they don't come by. I want my
   thorns off. They don't protect me. My friend
   protects me. There are people playing, flowers,
   animals. But the animals come and eat our
   flowers. I have a friend to talk to. I live in a
   desert. The flower that is my friend came from
   somewhere else. She didn't start in the desert.
   I take care of myself. I have a stuck feeling. I
   can't move. People come to me and I wait on
   them to get there. Not very many people
   come to me.

Tammy reveals through the rosebush that she is fully aware of the consequences of her behavior toward others. However, she seems to feel unable to change her behavior. She illustrates an angry and lonely presentation. She also appears to see the world as antagonistic and untrustworthy. Aside from the presence of large thorns, her rosebush drawing does not appear to match the negativity of the explanation. The actual drawing appears blossomed and flowery. This contradiction demonstrates the importance of not interpreting the child's drawing, but allowing the child to do so. The processing leads the counselor to concentrate on the incredible loneliness that Tammy experiences and how to connect her with others.

Case Study 3

See Figure 3. Belinda is in a general education 5th grade class and maintains A's in all subjects, including citizenship. She is well liked by others and appears to have a positive relationship with her family. She described her rosebush as long and streamy with long vines and long thorns. The following is her processing description:

   There are three flowers. The middle flower
   is me and right flower is my friend Brittany.
   The left flower is my baby brother. They are
   next to me because they are family. We're all
   the same ... look the same. The thorns grow
   out because if somebody steps on us, we can
   thorn them. I am in the backyard so that protects
   me too. I don't have to use my thorns
   very much because of the backyard. I am a
   friendly rosebush because we treat people like
   we treat ourselves and others. We're family. I
   am like a rosebush growing from a vine under
   ground ... shooting up to the sky. The lady
   that owns the house waters plants, plants more
   flowers, takes care of us, and doesn't grab us
   out of the ground. I feel fine because someone
   takes care of me. If something goes wrong,
   they'll be there to fix it. My life is very good
   because I am very colorful. Many people to
   care about and people to care about us. It's
   fun. Sometimes it is cold. I get to see all the
   seasons.

Belinda demonstrates a strong trust in her environment and an actualizing view of self. She appears to recognize that there are certain dangers in the world but she feels well protected and strong in facing these dangers. She obviously has strong ties to her family and friends. In contrast to the first two drawings, Belinda drew strong environmental features for her rosebush. This could possibly symbolize her acknowledgement of her interdependence with her positive environment. Belinda's drawing and processing is presented because it portrays how the rosebush is helpful in revealing any child's view of the world, even those who appear well adjusted.

IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS

The rosebush fantasy drawing can be a valuable tool for the school counselor, especially in accessing the emotional world of the child. The exercise is relatively simple to use and gives the counselor rich information regarding the child and the child's view of the world. The drawing technique can be done within the time restraints and material restraints of the school environment. The school counselor can use the rosebush exercise to determine the extent of counseling the counselor will provide the child. If the counselor determines that the child has a damaging view of self and environment, the counselor might refer to outside sources for long-term therapy. Or the counselor might determine the child is suffering from a lack of social connectedness that can be corrected with social skills training. Or simply, the school counselor may use the activity as a way to get to know the child better. Most importantly, the school counselor will learn the value of experiencing with the child what the child cannot verbalize with words.

References

Allan, J. (1988). Inscapes of the child's world: Jungian counseling in schools and clinics. Dallas, TX: Spring.

Allan, J., & Crandall, J. (1986). The rosebush: A visualization strategy. Elementary School Guidance and Counseling, 21, 44-51.

Bratton, S. C., & Ferebee, K.W. (1999). Structured expressive art activities with preadolescents. In D. S. Sweeney & L. E. Homeyer (Eds.), Group play therapy: How to do it, how it works, and whom it's best for (pp. 192-214). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Bradley, L., & Gould, L. (1999). Individual counseling: Creative interventions. In A. Vernon (Ed.), Counseling children and adolescents (2nd ed., pp. 65-95). Denver, CO: Love.

Cobia, D., & Henderson, D. (2003). Handbook of school counseling. Upper Saddle River, N J: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Glazer, H. (1998). Expressions of children's grief: A qualitative study. International Journal of Play Therapy, 7(2), 51-65.

Gysbers, N., & Henderson, P. (2000). Developing and managing your school guidance program (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

Landreth, G. (2002). Play therapy: The art of the relationship (2nd ed.). Muncie, IN: Accelerated Development.

Malchiodi, C. (1998). Understanding children's drawings. New York: Guilford.

Newsome, D. (2003). Counseling interventions using expressive arts. In B. Erford (Ed.), Transforming the school counseling profession (pp. 231-247). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Oaklander, V. (1978). Windows to our children. Highland, NY: Gestalt Journal.

Oaklander, V. (1997). The rosebush. In H. Kaduson & C. Schaefer (Eds.), 101 favorite play therapy techniques (pp. 11-13). Northvale, N J: Jason Aronson.

Stevens, J. (1971). Awareness: Exploring, experimenting, experiencing. Lafayette, CA: Real People Press.

Dee C. Ray, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, RPT-S, is an assistant professor and director of the Child and Family Resource Clinic. E-mail: [e-mail]

Sharon R. Perkins is a graduate student in the school counseling program. Both are in the Department of Counseling, Development, and Higher Education, University of North Texas, Denton.

Kathryn Oden, Ph.D., LPC, is a private practitioner in Denton and an ad interim assistant professor in the Counseling Department at Texas A&M University-Commerce.