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How is a Fruit Tree Like You? Using Artistic Metaphors to Explore and Develop Emotional Competence in Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2012

Kathryn Geldard ,
Rebecca Yin Foo  and
Jane Shakespeare-Finch
Kathryn Geldard*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. kgeldard@usc.edu.au
Rebecca Yin Foo
Affiliation:
School of Psychology & Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
Jane Shakespeare-Finch
Affiliation:
School of Psychology & Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr Kathryn Geldard, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC QLD 4558, Australia.
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Abstract

Counselling children often requires the use of supplementary strategies in order to interest and engage the child in the therapeutic process. One such strategy is the Metaphorical Fruit Tree (MFT); an art metaphor suited to exploring and developing self-concept. Quantitative and qualitative data was used to explore the relationships between children's ability to use metaphor, age, gender, and level of emotional competence (N = 58). Quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed a significant negative relationship between self-reported emotional competence and ability to use the MFT. It is proposed that children rely on different processes to understand self and as children's ability to cognitively report on their emotional capabilities via the Emotional Competence Questionnaire (ECQ) increases, their ability to report creatively on those capabilities via the MFT is undermined. It is suggested that the MFT may be used, via creative processes and as an alternative to cognitive processes, to increase understanding and awareness of intrapersonal and interpersonal concepts of self in the child during counselling.

Keywords

artistic metaphorcounselling childrenemotional competence
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , July 2009 , pp. 1 - 13
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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