Scholarly record

SYMBOL CREATION IN SELF-COGNITION AND PROBLEMS’ SOLUTION

Anastasiia Osipova

Abstract

Present study is aimed to perform a model of symbol creation in self-cognition. Symbol is here specified as a kind of a sign with variable connections between its meaning and the object this meaning is signified with. The author’s self-cognition method regards symbol as a multifunctional instrument for problems’ solution in psychological counselling. The study’s methodological basis is a synthetic qualitative analysis of counselling practices carried out in the author’s self-cognition method, the method’s adaptation in counselling sessions and verbatim reports. The art-therapeutic method, developed in current research, induces the client to symbolize his or her problematic situation with the help of famous artists’ portraits and landscapes, chosen by experts. The sample of the study included 58 participants-clients, aged from 18 to 62. Eachparticipant practiced self-cognition and tried to solve some problem with the help of portraits. 33 of them also dealt with landscapes. Every participant attended three variant counselling sessions as a client. Landscape-symbols-mediated self-cognition appeared to be more suitable for problems’ solution than the portraits-mediated procedure. It should be noted, that almost all the participants forgot details of the session: only results were remembered. Yet, the results were responded congruent either to the person of a ‘client’, or to the ‘client’s’ life-situation. In accordance with the results of the study presented, the concept of individualizing function of a symbol has been elaborated.

Publication Impact Profile

No metrics available.

PLUMX see details

DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgemsocial2014/B11/S1.054

Publication details

Back to publication list