What is the Perceptual Component of the Expressive Therapies Continuum?

Vija Lusebrink told me the Perceptual component of the Expressive Therapies Continuum is the hardest of the components to explain to others.  Keep in mind—this statement came from one half of the duo that conceptualized the ETC.

That should tell you something; if one of the co-creators of the Expressive Therapies Continuum thought the Perceptual component was hard to explain, how much harder it must be for everyone else!

Perceptual Information Processing Is Hard for Westerners to Understand

One of the big problems that stands between the Perceptual component and people’s understanding of it is cultural.  Western cultures don’t regard the environment as an integral part of the individual.  Non-western cultures aren’t so crippled by this omission because they tend to see the person and their environment as one.

If you stop and think about how your mood and motivation are influenced by what’s going on around you and how your mood and motivation influence the way you perceive what’s going on around you, you get the gist of it.

Perceptual Cues Influence Us on a Non-conscious Level

The Perceptual component of the Expressive Therapies Continuum isn’t about consciously interpreting events, as perception isn’t conscious.  Think about the last time you went to a movie theater or an intimate restaurant.  Were those places loud?

No.  The dimmed lighting served as a perceptual cue to speak softly.

The Perceptual Component of the Expressive Therapies Continuum Relates to Emotional Functioning

Treatment on the Perceptual component of the Expressive Therapies Continuum relies on non-conscious cues to promote healthy emotional containment much in the same way movie theaters and restaurants use dim lighting to promote the containment of vocal volume.

Intervening on the Perceptual Component of the Expressive Therapies Continuum is a Nuanced Skill

Developing fluency in delivering treatment on the Perceptual component of the Expressive Therapies Continuum takes time and training—which is what Vija Lusebrink’s students were given at the University of Louisville.

It’s important to understand that people don’t need Perceptual intervention just because the therapist “decides” that emotional containment is needed.  This decision shouldn’t be based on the therapist’s discomfort with the client’s emotional world.

Instead, the therapist should be considering data from the client’s artmaking process, art process, and related verbalizations.  These will feature indicators of what the client’s nervous system state is, and intervention should start there.

Perceptual Interventions Should Support Nervous System Integration

Perceptual interventions only make sense and support integration if the client’s data already points toward the Perceptual component of the Expressive Therapies Continuum or suggests that the client is ready to transition there.

Transitioning can be achieved through modification of one of the Media Dimension Variables—task complexity, task structure, or media properties.  However, learning to modify Media Dimension Variables is part of developing fluency in delivering treatment within the framework of the Expressive Therapies Continuum—and blog articles don’t provide the mentoring necessary for doing that!

Level Up Your Understanding of the Expressive Therapies Continuum

Are you ready to level up your familiarity with the Expressive Therapies Continuum and the hard-to-explain Perceptual component?  I have been helping therapists learn about the Expressive Therapies Continuum for over 15 years and offer webinars, supervision, virtual office hours, and more.

Sign up for the Expressive Therapies Continuum newsletter and receive a FREE ETC bibliography—this living document features the works of the ETC’s co-creators as well as their students (and their students), giving you access to a vetted list of recorded and written treasures that support your curiosity and accurate understanding of this important framework.

Get Expert Assistance with the Expressive Therapies Continuum

Is there a project I can help you with?  I am available for speaking engagements as well as other ETC-related endeavors.  Contact me about your needs; I am here to assist.

Expressive Therapies Continuum-based Art Therapy Is Available

If you know of anyone who needs art therapy to help them learn to balance emotional containment with the other tasks of being human in an often-inhumane world, please let them know I offer Expressive Therapies Continuum-based online therapy.

I serve adults in Texas, Indiana, and Arizona, and I would love to serve your loved ones too.                     

References:

Hinz, L. D. (2008). Walking the line between passion and caution in art therapy: Using the Expressive Therapies Continuum to avoid therapist errors. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 25(1), 38-40.

Hinz, L. D. (2020). Expressive Therapies Continuum: A framework for using art in therapy (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Lusebrink, V. B. (2010). Assessment and therapeutic application of the Expressive Therapies Continuum: Implications for brain structures and functions. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 27(4), 168-177.

Siegel, D. J. (2022). IntraConnected: MWe (me + we) as the integration of self, identity, and belonging. Norton.  

VanMeter, M. L., & Hinz, L. D. (2024). A deeper dive into the Expressive Therapies Continuum; Structure, function, and the creative dimension. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 41(2), 107-110.

Zadra, J. R., & Clore, G. L. (2011). Emotion and perception: The role of affective information. WIREs Cognitive Science, 2(6), 676-685.