Bird’s Nest Drawing
References:
Francis, D.M., Kaiser, D. & Deaver, S. 2003. Representations of attachment security in Birds Nest Drawings of clients with substance abuse disorder. Art Therapy Journal of AATA, 20 (3), 125-137.
Kaiser, D. 1996. Indicators of attachment security in a drawing task. The Arts In Psychotherapy, 23,(4), 333-340.
Ages: No age limit is noted.
Purpose: This assessment helps identify a person’s attachment style and may provide insight into the person’s past attachments. This assessment may be particularly suited for children with attachment disorders, who experience separation anxiety, or are living in a non-traditional living arrangement. The Draw a Nest assessment may also offer insight into a substance abusers likelihood to relapse.
Materials: One sheet of blank, white 8.5 x 11 paper, 10-color pack of fine-point markers
Administration: The evaluator hands the client a piece of paper and the pack of markers and asks him or her to, “Draw a picture of a bird’s nest.” There is no time limit, but the evaluator should remain cognizant of the amount of time used.
Inquiry: Once the drawing is completed, the evaluator asks the client the following inquiry questions.
Write (or tell) a short story with a short beginning, a short middle and a short end.
Create a title and write it on the drawing.
Is there anything else you’d like to add or change?
Interpretation: The Bird’s Nest drawing represents an unconscious metaphor for the client’s perception of his or her home and family life. The following features of Bird’s Nest drawing may suggest a secure home and positive familial attachments:
Birds are in the nest.
Four or more colors are used
The dominant color used is green.
The entire bird family is depicted.
The nest is drawn in a tree.
The nest scene is drawn in profile, not from a bird’s eye point of view.
The entire tree is drawn.
The main themes in Bird’s Nest assessments are:
Home and family
Hunger / need for food
Abandonment issues
The wonder of nature
Anecdotes of personal experiences
After the drawing and post-drawing inquiry have been completed, the therapist will evaluate the drawing by using the “Attachment Rating Scale” (ARS). The therapist will rate the below areas on a scale of 1 – 5 (1 = lowest/least, 5 = highest/most).
Are there contents within the nest?
Does the environment look supportive?
Does the story about the nest reflect a theme of security or attachment?
Is a parental nesting animal included?
How sturdy is the nest?
Strengths: The Bird’s Nest drawing can offer valuable information about a client’s familial relationships, security of home life, and the nature of his or her attachments.. This drawing allows the person to communicate about his or her family through the use of a non-threatening metaphor.
Limitations: The client may feel limited by the restriction on materials other than markers. Only one drawing is produced, which may provide a narrow view of the client’s reality. This assessment, like many art therapy assessments, needs additional empirical study.
Reflection: The Bird’s nest drawing is non-threatening and enjoyable, but I did not like being limited to markers only. I would use this assessment more as an intervention and jumping-off point to a metaphorical dialogue about the client’s home life.
5 comments:
I am using it for my Art Therapy and find it very interesting. I would have loved to get information about analysis of the same.
Thank you for posting this. I am currently researching Art Therapy and Attachment for the treatment of complex trauma and PTSD victims and this provides a great assessment tool.
I've done this using photo bricolage and the nest metaphor as a project with my AT. You can check it out at http://posttraumaticart.com/the-attachment-nest
I stumbled upon this post. I'm an artist. As an artist, I'm somewhat skeptical about the use of this subject as a metaphor -- only because it is a commonplace motif in art where the subject is often depicted quite literally. If the assignment is to "draw a nest," an artist would probably draw just a nest. To get birds in the nest, you'd have to ask the artist to draw "bird in a nest," etc. Vincent Van Gogh did a series of nests from ones he collected, and he was following a Dutch tradition.
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