Giotto di Bondone and the Art of Therapeutic Pause

This workshop is based on the research project that attempted to explore the meaning of the therapist as artist and the way of learning therapeutic skills, more specifically the skill of a therapeutic pause, from fine art masterpieces. It summarizes theoretical and empirical research conducted in the area of therapeutic silence and then invites the reader to visit Cappella Scrovegni in Padua to learn the art of therapeutic pause from Giotto’s frescoes. As we look at Giotto’s interpretation of Biblical stories, we see how he articulates the transition from one world to another, not imitating life but expanding life to its fullest. In a similar way, talk therapy is aimed at expanding life to its fullest, and the therapeutic pause can be viewed as a guide in our journey of transitioning from internal to external words and backward and potentially may lead us to the final destination of a therapeutic relationship: external and internal intimacy.

This workshop has utilized an interdisciplinary method for training in therapeutic skill building. It offers a unique approach of gaining insights into the art of therapeutic silence, which is often omitted in the regular training of beginning therapists. The concept of therapeutic silence/pause has been reviewed as a therapeutic phenomenon within a theoretical context, heuristic approaches, and empirical studies. It has been explored within the framework of client’s initiated and terminated and therapist’s initiated and terminated pauses. It has also been discussed within both client’s and therapist’s internal and external processes. Over 75 resources in the areas of psychotherapy/counseling, art history, and philosophy have been incorporated in the discussion.

This workshop has developed research and an instructional model for interdisciplinary studies in the teaching of counseling skills. The proposed method is applied to the work of Giotto de Bondoni, the Italian pre-Renaissance painter, sculptor, and architect, who is widely considered one of the founders of modern painting. The method enables researchers and educators in counseling to offer students a model for creative learning and addressing ambiguous experiences while training beginning therapists.

Among others, this workshop investigates the following questions:
1. Can therapists acquire relevant knowledge and learn therapeutic interventions from fine art masterpieces?
2. What does it mean to become a therapist-artist?
3. Should beginning therapists learn the art and skill of therapeutic silence/pause?
4. How does artwork of Giotto di Bondone affect our understanding of external and internal speech as well as external and internal pauses