While it might seem that a "third eye" for seeing the metaphors, symbols, and meta-messages in art expressions would be enough, the practice of art therapy goes much deeper. An effective art therapist must have a command of the third hand to enhance a client's creativity without being intrusive, imposing one's own style or artistic values, and misinterpreting meanings found in images. Ultimately, the responses of the therapist to a client's process of art making reflects and supports that client's worldview, creative potential, and ability to use art for reparation and recovery.

Here's an explanation of third hand intervention in its simplest form. When working with a child client, I might develop a drawing for the child to finish as a way of establishing a relationship or communication. In another situation, I might save a child's clay figure from falling apart by showing the child how to reinforce the legs or armature. Sometimes an art therapist literally becomes the hands for an individual; an adult with a debilitating medical illness may need me to help cut and arrange photos for a collage. Other times, I might make art during the session along side a client if it is therapeutically helpful or I might even communicate something non-verbally through an art expression rather than use words.

Most importantly, an art therapist's third hand perceives and capitalizes on appropriate metaphors via art-based interventions to help clients. I am reminded of a couples art therapy session facilitated by art therapist and family therapist Shirley Riley, a master of therapeutic metaphor via imagery. The couple came to Riley for help with their marriage; they had decided that their age difference was insurmountable because the wife was eight years older than the husband. In response, Riley went along with their belief, but also asked that they each bring a copy of their birth certificates to the next session. At that point she suggested that they cut up the copies and colloboratively create a collage incorporating the pieces. In brief, the couple realized that they could not change the age gap, but the process of cutting up the certificates and making a collage together from the pieces gave them a new vision for what worked in their relationship rather than what could not be changed. It was the perfect "third hand" metaphor to get them to re-story their relationship and recommit to their marriage.

To me, what Kramer calls the "third hand" in art therapy echoes what physician and neuroscience guru Dan Siegel speaks of as "mindsight," a capacity for insight (knowing what one feels) and empathy (knowing what others feel). Trauma expert Bruce Perry uses the term "attunement," the ability to be able to read the non-verbal communication and rhythms of others. In other words, it is perceiving not only what individuals say, but also attending to eye signals, facial gestures, tone of voice, and even breathing rate; in art therapy, it also means attending to the content of images and creative process. If this all sounds incredibly intuitive, to some extent it is; on the other hand, it is the mindful focus essential to achieving the magical moments of success in any form of therapy.

All helping professionals know that no one intervention can be applied to all clients or all situations. That is the daily challenge of our work, to use our third hand, mindsight, empathy, attunement or whatever you choose to call it to facilitate change, insight, and well-being in those we encounter. And "third hands" down (pun intended), it's definitely the "coolest" part of my work as an art therapist.

This article was sourced from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/arts-and-health/201010/cool-art-therapy-intervention-1-the-art-therapist-s-third-hand by Cathy Malchiodi.