Abstract
The study examined the Bird’s Nest Drawing (BND) of 14 adults who experienced child sexual abuse perpetrated by females, primarily their mothers. Descriptive analysis revealed the prevalence of insecure attachment and mainly an ambivalent representation. The drawings reflected vulnerability and under-protectiveness. Almost one-third of the drawings did not include caregiving and were suggestive of loneliness, abandonment, and rejection. When maternal caregiving was depicted, it was intrusive and characterized by a lack of separation, abandonment, or unsatisfying caregiving. The survivors’ narratives (n = 4) revealed themes of sadness, lack of protection, and vulnerability related to their mothers’ lack of competence. These findings suggest that the BND can serve as a valuable art therapy assessment tool to better understand attachment representations.
Original language | American English |
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Pages (from-to) | 65-73 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Art Therapy |
Volume | 41 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2024 |
Keywords
- Attachment representations
- BND
- birds nest drawing
- female child sexual abuse
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Clinical Psychology
- Complementary and Manual Therapy