The Diagnostic Drawing Series (DDS) is an art therapy assessment developed in 1982 by art therapists Barbara Lesowitz, Shira Singer, Anna Reyner, and Barry Cohen. The DDS is used for both adolescents and adults. The drawing can be administered in a variety of settings, including both outpatient and inpatient treatment facilities. The DDS consists of three individual chalk pastel drawings on three - 18’ x 24” sheets of white paper. For each drawing, clients are given up to 15 minutes to complete the task.
The first drawing of the DDS is the “Free Picture.” This drawing is categorized as an unstructured drawing and offers a glimpse into the client’s defense system (Cohen, Mills, and Kwapient, 1994). Through this picture the provider can get …show more content…
Having this baseline gives the provider a means to measure the progress of the client throughout the therapeutic relationship. Just as a provider would update the intake periodically, the DDS can also be administered at various times throughout treatment in order to gain insight on the client’s affective and behavioral changes (Cohen, Mills, & Kwapient, 1994).
The DDS “allows the art therapist to assess the client’s issues, defenses, and strengths, while the client can explore media typical of an art therapy experience” (Cohen, Mills, & Kwapient, 1994, p. 108). As an art therapist, I can see the benefit of incorporating the DDS for new clients as part of the intake process. I would use the DDS in conjunction with the clinical interview, and analyze the drawings alongside the information obtain through the interview process.
One benefit of administering the DDS at the initial meeting would be the ability for the provider to then have the client complete another DDS at the point of discharge from therapeutic services. Offering the client the ability to partake in a final DDS assessment could be a powerful termination session for the provider and client. Together the provider and client would be able to look at the two series side by side, and examine the progress
The first drawing of the DDS is the “Free Picture.” This drawing is categorized as an unstructured drawing and offers a glimpse into the client’s defense system (Cohen, Mills, and Kwapient, 1994). Through this picture the provider can get …show more content…
Having this baseline gives the provider a means to measure the progress of the client throughout the therapeutic relationship. Just as a provider would update the intake periodically, the DDS can also be administered at various times throughout treatment in order to gain insight on the client’s affective and behavioral changes (Cohen, Mills, & Kwapient, 1994).
The DDS “allows the art therapist to assess the client’s issues, defenses, and strengths, while the client can explore media typical of an art therapy experience” (Cohen, Mills, & Kwapient, 1994, p. 108). As an art therapist, I can see the benefit of incorporating the DDS for new clients as part of the intake process. I would use the DDS in conjunction with the clinical interview, and analyze the drawings alongside the information obtain through the interview process.
One benefit of administering the DDS at the initial meeting would be the ability for the provider to then have the client complete another DDS at the point of discharge from therapeutic services. Offering the client the ability to partake in a final DDS assessment could be a powerful termination session for the provider and client. Together the provider and client would be able to look at the two series side by side, and examine the progress