Spatial Symbolism – Chart for ”Reading Pictures“

Visualization of Psychotherapeutic Processes especially in Sandplay Therapy according to Margaret Lowenfeld and Dora Kalff

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The art historian Michal Grünwald developed a chart for spatial symbolism which was introduced to depth analysis by the Swiss Charles Koch in the 1950s. The German sandplay therapist and psychotherapist Erika Jungbluth enhanced Grünwald’s chart on the basis of analytical psychology in order to be able to “read” pictures and images which are created in psychotherapeutic processes. Alma Lares contributed some of her research on the symbolism of alchemy and proportion. Furthermore, she translated the chart from German into English.
The laminated chart shows on the front, the coloured spatial symbolism with four quadrants, a circle in the centre, two diagonal lines and keywords for possible meanings of presented symbols in the four quadrants. On the back of the chart, the reader can find more explanations with respect to the meaning of the elements, the colours, the proportion and the design of the picture. The main focus is on pictures that are created in sandplay therapy. Nevertheless, the chart can also be very useful for understanding pictures created in art therapy and projective tests.