Mask Directive

For Halloween, we decorated masks during supervision. The directive was to represent your scariest self. This exercise served to help the therapists be more aware of all aspects of themselves. When working in forensics with patients with very dark sides, it's important to be in touch with one's own darker places. This can offer some insight into ourselves as well as our patients, and may help us deal with them more effectively. Exploring what drives us, triggers us, or angers us can help us understand ourselves better, feel empathy for our patients, and formulate ways to interact with them. 

Group Scribble Drawing

During a recent supervision, we made a group scribble on a long piece of butcher paper. Each person chose a different color marker and we took turns making a scribble to fill up the page. Then everyone was invited to walk around the paper to see what images they could find in the scribble. Then, everyone could use whatever media they wanted to bring out that image. It took a few minutes to get going, but soon images were being pulled out all over. This is a good exercise to get people to loosen up and use their imagination. It can also be good for clients to address problem solving or boundaries.