RT Journal Article
T1 Metaphor in art therapy: its use with vulnerable children
A1 López Fernández, María Ángeles
A1 Serrano Navarro, Ana María
AB This article examines the role of metaphor in art therapy as both a tool for narrative comprehension and a means of transforming meaning, enabling new interpretations. The Brundibár Project, conducted over three years, implemented 25 workshops of 30 h each across eight centers, involving 217 children and adolescents at risk or affected by trauma. Within these sessions, metaphor was used as a vehicle for meaning-making and transformation. The workshops fostered the development of a rich metaphorical repertoire among participants, reflecting their capacity to symbolically reframe experiences. The findings highlight how the attentive support of trained art therapists is essential in collecting and nurturing these metaphors, thereby enhancing their transformative potential. Relating the outcomes to existing literature, the study demonstrates that metaphor operates as a central element in art therapy interventions. It supports processes of identification, conflict management, and resolution, which participants can integrate into their own narratives. The art therapist’s shared perspective further strengthens these strategies, contributing to the possibility of personal change. As a result, the Brundibár Project has established a new classification of metaphors, offering a framework that may inform future applications and research in art therapy.
PB Elsevier
YR 2025
FD 2025-11-07
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/125933
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/125933
LA eng
NO Marián López Fernández Cao, Ana Serrano Navarro, Metaphor in art therapy: Its use with vulnerable children, The Arts in Psychotherapy, Volume 96, 2025, 102376, ISSN 0197-4556, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2025.102376.
NO This research is part of the R&D&I project ‘Brundib´ar: El proceso creador y la arteterapia como vía de bienestar ante el trauma infantil’ [Brundibar: ´ The Creative Process and Art Therapy as a way of Wellbeing in Childhood Trauma]  PID2020-114238RB-I00), led by the EARTDI research group (Complutense University of Madrid), funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, in collaboration with Save the Children Spain (STC).Agencias de financiación : Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España.Proyectos de investigación: FECYT -- EL PROCESO CREADOR Y LA ARTETERAPIA COMO VIA DE BIENESTAR ANTE ...
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spain)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 26 feb 2026