The symbolic expression of trauma in a six-year-old female coping with the death and loss of her mother

This research will consist of a single descriptive case study that explores one child's symbolic expression of trauma over a nine month period of therapy. Specifically, this study will provide an inquiry into the symbolic expression of trauma in children's drawings and how the symbolic expression of trauma may facilitate psychological healing within the context of the therapeutic relationship.;Data for this study was collected through the use of a therapeutic approach used by John Allan (1988) called 'Serial Drawing'. When using this approach, the therapist meets on a regular basis with the child client and simply asks the child to "draw a picture". Over time a relationship forms, problems are expressed symbolically in the drawings, and the healing and resolution of inner conflicts can occur. (Allan, 1988) The theoretical underpinnings of this approach are based on the work of C.G. Jung.;The client, who was seen in therapy for an approximate period of nine months, had created a series of 37 drawings by the time therapy had ended. It is hypothesized that the series of drawings will reflect the client's expression of trauma—the death and loss of her mother—over the course of therapy. It is also believed that the series of drawings will reflect aspects of the therapeutic relationship, as well as psychological growth and healing.;Each drawing in the series will be analyzed via symbolic and archetypal amplification to provide a unique and in-depth understanding of how the client expressed the trauma of her mother's death. The analysis of each drawing will then be placed within the theoretical concepts of child art therapy, Jungian psychology, and symbolic and archetypal analysis.;The findings of this descriptive case study may carry implications for the larger fields of child psychotherapy and art therapy. Through the process of drawing, and in the context of the therapeutic relationship, it is believed that the client will be able to symbolically express the trauma of losing her mother. I also hypothesize that the client's symbolic expression over time will depict psychological growth and healing. This research could also provide insight, and ideas for further research, within the areas of grief counseling, symbolic analysis, and child psychotherapy from a Jungian perspective.