Self-Portrait: Art-Based Therapy Activity
Draw, paint or collage yourself to explore how you see yourself
Self-Portrait: Art-Based Therapy Activity
Draw, paint or collage yourself to explore how you see yourself
Self-Portrait: Art-Based Therapy Activity
Draw, paint or collage yourself to explore how you see yourself
In this activity the client makes a picture of themselves. It can be a close likeness, a symbol such as a tree, a house or a weather pattern, or a field of color and shape with no face at all. A brief report from an acute inpatient psychiatric hospital describes two chemically dependent patients who drew self-portraits on their own during art therapy there, and the author concluded the portraits helped them confront their addiction (Hanes, 2007). A photographer's account of using self-portraits for self-therapy describes a similar step back, where a disliked part of the self becomes an image the person can look at from the outside (Nuñez, 2009). Clinicians use the activity to open conversations about self-image, identity, and the gap between how a person sees themselves and how they think others see them.
- Letter-size paper, plus a larger sheet for full-body or collage work
- Pencils, erasers, colored pencils, markers and oil pastels
- Optional: old magazines, scissors and glue sticks for a collage portrait
- Optional: a hand mirror or phone camera for clients who want to work from their own reflection
- A folder or large envelope where the finished portrait can be kept
Read the steps aloud and adjust the wording to the client's age, energy and comfort with drawing.
- 1Introduce the activity and take skill off the table: "This is a picture of you, made any way you like. It can look like you, or it can be a shape, an animal or a color."
- 2Offer three styles and let the client pick one.
- Realistic: a face or full body, from memory, a mirror or a photo.
- Symbolic: an object, animal, plant or place that stands for the client.
- Abstract: colors, lines and shapes that match what it feels like to be them today.
- 3Choose a variation if it fits the treatment goal.
- How I see myself and how others see me: fold the page in half and make one portrait on each side.
- Then, now, next: three small portraits of a past self, the present self and a hoped-for future self.
- Inside and outside: what others see around the edge of a head outline, and what the client feels inside it. The Masks We Wear activity uses the same idea.
- 4Allow 10 to 25 minutes. Stay present and quiet, and hold back comments on how the picture looks.
- 5Invite the client to title the portrait and tell you about it in their own words. Ask before you touch the artwork.
- 6Close by asking what the client wants to do with the portrait: take it home, leave it in the office folder, or photograph it and put it away.
- During: What are you choosing to put in, and what are you leaving out?
- During: You paused there for a moment. What came up?
- After: If this portrait could talk, what would it say about you?
- After: Which part feels most true? Which part feels least true?
- After (two-sided version): Where do the two sides match, and where are they far apart? Whose opinion is loudest on the "others" side?
- After: How would you like this portrait to look a year from now?
- Kids: Offer a "me as an animal" prompt and let children narrate while they draw.
- Teens: Many teens dislike drawing their own faces. Offer symbolic or collage portraits, a "me online and me offline" pair, or a phone self-portrait edited with stickers and text and kept on the teen's own device.
- Adults: The two-sided version and the then, now, next series suit identity work during life transitions such as divorce, retirement, a new diagnosis or becoming a parent.
- Groups: Have members make symbolic portraits and share only the title and one detail. Leave out the "how others see me" version when members know each other well and peer comments could sting.
- Trauma: Drawing one's own face or body can stir memories for clients with histories of abuse, assault or medical trauma. Offer the symbolic and abstract options first and let the client choose.
- Body image and eating concerns: For clients with eating disorders, body dysmorphic concerns or strong body shame, a realistic or full-body portrait can feed checking, comparing and self-criticism. Skip mirrors and full-body outlines, steer toward symbolic portraits, and coordinate with the client's treatment team. If the drawing turns into a list of flaws, pause and shift the task.
- Flooding and grounding: If the client becomes flooded (escalating tears, shaking, going blank), stop drawing, turn the portrait face down and walk through the grounding tool together before deciding whether to continue.
- When to stop: Stop if the client shows signs of dissociation, reports urges to self-harm, or says the image feels unsafe to look at. Respect a wish to cover, fold or keep the portrait out of sight, and ask what they need. Urges to self-harm call for a risk check and safety planning before the session ends.
- No diagnostic interpretation: Human figure drawings have been used as projective tests, and a major review found the validity evidence for them very limited (Lilienfeld et al., 2000). Reading drawings that way takes specialist training, and this activity does none of it. Size, missing features, line pressure and color carry whatever meaning the client gives them.
A 34-year-old client in counseling after a divorce chose the two-sided version. On the "how others see me" side she drew a tidy figure in a gray suit holding a clipboard. On the "how I see myself" side she drew a small boat on rough water, mostly in blues and black. When the clinician asked about the boat, she described feeling tossed around by court dates and custody schedules while keeping it together at work. Asked what the boat needed, she added a yellow lighthouse and named her sister and a Saturday running group as the light. She left with one small way to let a trusted coworker see more of the boat side.
References
- Hanes, M. J. (2007). "Face-to-face" with addiction: The spontaneous production of self-portraits in art therapy. Art Therapy, 24(1), 33-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2007.10129365
- Lilienfeld, S. O., Wood, J. M., & Garb, H. N. (2000). The scientific status of projective techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 1(2), 27-66. https://doi.org/10.1111/1529-1006.002
- Nuñez, C. (2009). The self portrait, a powerful tool for self-therapy. European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling, 11(1), 51-61. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642530902723157
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Common Questions
What is the Self-Portrait: Art-Based Therapy Activity worksheet?
In this activity the client makes a picture of themselves. It can be a close likeness, a symbol such as a tree, a house or a weather pattern, or a field of color and shape with no face at all.
How do I use the Self-Portrait: Art-Based Therapy Activity worksheet?
Follow the steps in order. This exercise can be done independently or with a therapist’s guidance. Try to practice regularly for best results. Repetition builds the skill.
Is the Self-Portrait: Art-Based Therapy Activity worksheet free?
Yes. Like every worksheet on Therapy Resource, it is free to read, print, and download as a PDF, no account required. A Pro subscription adds online filling with saved progress, practice-branded PDF exports, and secure client sharing.
Who is the Self-Portrait: Art-Based Therapy Activity worksheet for?
It is designed for therapists and counselors doing art-based & expressive activities work with clients, and for individuals using it for self-guided practice. Pro members can share it with clients through a private link. No client account needed.
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