Bridge Drawing: Art-Based Therapy Activity

• Plain white paper, letter size or larger, which the client can turn either way
• A pencil with an eraser, plus markers, colored pencils, or oil pastels
• A second sheet or an index card for the title and written description
• Optional: a sticky dot or small paper figure for clients who would rather place themselves than draw themselves
• A clipboard or hard surface for telehealth clients drawing at home

Give the directive plainly and say up front that stick figures and simple lines are welcome; drawing skill plays no part.

1. 1
   Hand over the paper and say: "Draw a bridge that goes from one place to another. Any kind of bridge, any two places."
2. 2
   Let the client choose materials and which way to turn the page. If they ask what the places should be, answer, "Whatever comes to mind is the right answer."
3. 3
   When the bridge is finished, ask the client to add an arrow showing which way they are traveling.
4. 4
   Ask them to put a dot, an X, or a small figure where they are on the bridge right now.
5. 5
   Invite labels for the place on each side. A place can stay unnamed.
6. 6
   Ask for a title and two or three sentences about the bridge, written or spoken. If they speak, write down their exact words.
7. 7
   Optional path step: ask the client to draw a path leading off the far end and to write or say where it goes (Darewych et al., 2018).
8. 8
   Leave 10 to 15 minutes for the conversation that follows.

• During: If the client stalls, ask about bridges they have crossed or seen, real or from a story.
• During: Stay quiet while they draw. Save questions about content until the picture is done.
• After: Tell me about this bridge. Where does it start, and where does it lead?
• After: What is it like to stand right where you put yourself?
• After: What is under or around the bridge? What does that part mean to you?
• After: How sturdy does the bridge feel? What would make it sturdier?
• After: Who or what helps you keep crossing? Is anyone waiting on the other side?
• After: What is one step that would move your mark a little farther along?

• Kids: Offer a toy figure or sticker for the self mark, keep the talk to a few minutes, and ask who could help them get across.
• Teens: Tie the bridge to a concrete change such as a new school, a parent moving out, or graduation. A tablet drawing app works fine, and the written part can stay private if they prefer.
• Adults: Useful around job changes, divorce, moving, recovery, or retirement. Near the end of treatment, ask the client to draw the bridge again and describe in their own words what changed.
• Groups: Each member draws a bridge and shares only what they choose. A group facing the same transition, such as discharge, can draw one long bridge together and each add a mark.

• Trauma: Bridges, heights, and water can bring up accidents, falls, drownings, or dangerous border crossings. Ask before you start and offer another image, such as a road or a line of stepping stones.
• Flooding and grounding: Watch for fast breathing, freezing, or tears that keep building. Pause, turn the page face down, and ground in the room: feet flat on the floor, then name five things they can see, or walk through the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise. Decide together whether to continue.
• When to stop: Stop when the client asks to. If they talk about wanting to fall or jump, or about not wanting to go on, set the drawing aside and ask about suicide directly, following your usual risk protocol.
• No diagnostic interpretation: Hays and Lyons (1981) described drawing features to rate, and many guides attach fixed meanings to bridge type, direction, or viewpoint. Those readings belong to people trained in the assessment. Draw no conclusions about diagnosis, risk, or personality from the picture itself; ask the client what it means.

A woman in her thirties, three months into recovery from alcohol use, draws a plank bridge over a fast river, with a gray town on the left and a small house with lit windows on the right. She places her dot just past the middle and writes, "Halfway, and some boards are loose." The clinician asks about the loose boards, and she names Friday nights and a group chat with old drinking friends. Asked what holds the bridge up, she labels two posts "my sister" and "Tuesday meetings." Together they pick one board to fix this week: muting the group chat and calling her sister on Friday evenings. Six weeks later she draws the bridge again, puts her dot closer to the house, and says the river still looks rough while the boards feel steadier.