Reflective Summary of the Paper Presented at Society of Animation Studies
Conference Edinburgh 2010
Article title: Animation in Therapy: The innovative uses of haptic animation in clinical and
community therapeutic practice.
Authors: Professor Joan Ashworth and Helen Mason BSc (Hons), HCPC Reg
Abstract
Keywords: Animation, Stop-motion, therapy, props, activity analysis,
narrative, transitions, therapeutic change.
This essay summarises the results and themes arising from the ‘Animation in Therapy’
Project, which was part-funded by the National Endowment for Science Technology and the
Arts (NESTA) award for innovation in health. The themes explored include an exploration of
‘props’ used in therapy and their translation into animated action; sequencing and timing
within the animation process; and the use of animated story as a tool in therapeutic and
community work.
Artist filmmaker Professor Joan Ashworth and Occupational Therapist Helen Mason
describe the practice of using animation in therapy and community arts.
The essay concludes by highlighting the need for further research in this area.
Asworth&Mason (c) 2013 Animation in Therapy Project
In 2008 Animation Therapy Ltd was set up to receive an award for innovation in mental
health from the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA).
The award was granted to draw on the early work of occupational therapist Helen Mason
who had been using stop motion animation as a therapeutic activity to further her work in
Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) and community arts practice. The project
aimed to bring together artists and therapists to reflect on the use of animation in therapy
and to pilot some of the tools within a range of clinical settings.
Professor Joan Ashworth, Head of Animation at the Royal College of Art, joined the project
as animation expert during this pilot stage. During this collaboration Ashworth and Mason
reflected on the use of props and tools in therapy, which lend themselves easily to stop
frame animation. They also reflected on matching levels of complexity in animation
production with levels of appropriate challenge (graded activities) used within occupational
therapy practice.
A team of multi-skilled professionals was formed to work with Ashworth and Mason. Other
team roles included a family therapist (Rosemary Kingham), community filmmaker (Kari
Nygaard), research experts (Jennifer Creek & Kee Him Lim) and professional animators
(Sandra Salter, Megana Bisineer and Em Cooper), graduates from the Royal College of Art.
Alongside the project team, members of the public who were interested in animating
together as a family were invited to test some of the developing tools.
©Ashworth&Mason (2013) A number of therapists from a range of backgrounds including drama, art, occupational and
family therapy were also invited to conduct a three-month trial of the tools and techniques in
their practice.
Stop-motion or stop-frame animation
In this project we chose to explore the use of stop-motion animation in therapy. Stop-motion
animation usually refers to the technique of object or puppet animation where articulated
puppets can be moved a small amount and then photographed by one single photo before
being moved again. When played back at 25 frames per second, this series of still frames
creates an illusion of movement. This technique is also known as stop-frame, puppet
animation or claymation. To push this term a little for our purposes we also called paper cutouts animated this way stop-frame and in some cases, animated drawings. The key point is
that we are taking physical materials, and moving or altering them each frame, to create a
sequence of movement that can be viewed, reviewed, and in doing so creating a visible
trace. This builds a story or action through repetition, incremental changes, concentration
and a basic knowledge of technology.
Value of Animation
Animation can be an effective medium through which to express complex and subtle ideas. It
can be harnessed to explore difficult themes, events and ideas. One of the many interesting
qualities observed from using animation in clinical practice is how the animation process can
enable the visual externalisation of thoughts and feelings that may be difficult or impossible
to verbalise through talking based therapy approaches alone (Mason 2011). It is also
©Ashworth&Mason (2013) valuable in the way it can bring anonymity to representations of real people as well as having
the ability to be symbolic and expressive.
The practice of using animation in therapy and community arts based work
Animation methods, tools and techniques have evolved in recent years to be accessible to a
wide range of creative filmmakers and other users. Digital technology has facilitated easier
access to tools used to create animation. Creative practice and research have taken skills
developed for narrative and entertainment and applied them to address real world issues.
21st century animation practice is increasingly combining many methods of animation with
other forms of visual media. As new uses for this hybridized animated imagery emerge, and
as the expertise of animation artists grows, this pervasiveness creates new opportunities for
cross-disciplinary collaborations. One of the most dynamic areas of convergence is the
Documentary form, where the penetration of animation has been very visible. Documentary
methods are increasingly visible in Animation practice. Both the Animation and Documentary
academic communities show a strong interest in this emerging form. Questions of ‘animated
reality’ and the ‘documentary value of animation’ have become a vivid focus in Animation
education and scholarship, and have had a sustained presence in Documentary research
culture in the past decade. (Ward, 2005)
It is into this fertile ground of convergent collaboration that the Animation Therapy Project
has taken root and is contributing to the development of research methods for both
therapists and animators.
©Ashworth&Mason (2013) Participant’s Reflections: 1. The Animator / Film-maker
When brainstorming with the project team at the start of this interdisciplinary project the
therapists described processes in which a number of props were used: chess sets, buttons,
clay, sand-tray, toys, bottles, clothing etc. It became immediately clear that many of these
props and materials had the potential to be animated through stop-motion animation. By
adding motion to everyday materials they can take on new meaning and appear, on viewing,
to acquire their own agency by acquiring movement.
This can give a new significance through the objects taking on a life that appears to be their
own. This can then be read or interpreted by patients within a therapeutic setting.
In addition to ready-made props, pliable materials such as clay offer a number of
opportunities for expression and creation in that any shape can easily be made, or
destroyed. Simple transformations or metamorphoses are easily achieved with this
malleable material. This form of stop-frame animation is usually referred to as “Claymation”.
Its inbuilt fluidity can influence the maker to treat it in a particular way and respond
unconsciously to its malleability. Disruption of its natural qualities can be achieved through
introducing hard materials such as glass or texture by adding sand, buttons or stones. These
can become expressive and as a filmmaker I feel that they could express emotions, which
could be harder to express in other ways. The inner life of the material can be suggested
through how it is made to move, and hence help illustrate the inner life of the animator/client.
As part of the development of the project it was important for Mason to further develop her
technical skills and we arranged experiential workshops using animation tools and props
such as sand-tray for her to extend her understanding of the tools. This helped her develop
expertise so that she could enhance the techniques she was offering in her therapy work,
©Ashworth&Mason (2013) continuing to develop the potential for using more complex animation techniques with clients.
Later in the project, animation experts would be working in therapy alongside and supervised
by Mason to support their learning. In the initial stages of the project, therapists would gain
animation skills, and take them into confidential sessions. These considerations informed the
collaboration and appropriate tasks and Mason and Nygaard taught techniques for therapists
and families to trial.
In addition to the movement of objects and materials there is the potential for the space
around and in-between objects to be explored and understood. This putting in the scene or
space, what is know as the mise-en-scene of filmmaking, can be either very conscious or
unconscious when done by a novice filmmaker/client. The client can create unusual and
interesting combinations, which when reviewed, reveal a meaning that is perhaps not
immediately fully formed, but can lead to an understanding by the client or the therapist, with
the potential for provoking questions.
Frierson discusses the audience’s desire for seeing real objects in real spaces and
describes it as ‘spatial hunger”. He claims that an audience recognizes that any 2d drawn
film is an abstraction and its two dimensionality is a visual deficiency. (Clokey, Wells, and
Frierson). In stop frame animation, real objects are animated and recorded in a real world
space being affected by light and gravity giving a photographic realism to which the viewer
responds. It is this recognition of the real that holds resonance and recognition, which can be
usefully harnessed in the animation therapy setting.
Wells also discusses animation’s ability to condense information where the maximum degree
of suggestion can be achieved in the minimum of imagery. Animation can condense reality
through simplifying information. Only parts of the frame (or photographed image) need to
move, just the parts where they eye needs to concentrate. The remainder of the frame can
stay still. This condensed experience can require and even encourage repeated viewing,
©Ashworth&Mason (2013) something that animation tools address well. They facilitate the slowing and stretching of
time to examine or re-examine a seemingly insignificant moment, which can turn out to be a
key moment in a life. By noticing this moment, capturing it, and honing in on it, even zooming
in on it, the therapeutic dialogue may move forward.
It is this harnessing of animation tools for examining and re-examining meaning within an
animated sequence that makes this collaboration fascinating for me and makes it such a
valuable application and development in animation research.
Participant’s reflections: 2. The Occupational Therapist
There is something unique and appealing about an activity that enables the participants to
create movement, story and meaning from objects, puppets, paper and clay - materials
which would ordinarily be lifeless and movements and images that might be possible only in
the realms of imagination, magic or illusion.
In our reflections together, Ashworth describes her experience of creating animation as
feeling like you are ‘god in your own created world’ which is an interesting observation as the
control is held by the person animating. This could be seen as an empowering and possibly
self-affirming position for some people. For others it may enable opportunities to feel in
control of a world, which is usually unpredictable, or unexpected and challenging, if even for
a short time.
Ashworth’s observations about the nature and sensory and emotive experiences of
animating using differing materials, props (objects and tools), tempos, sequencing and
©Ashworth&Mason (2013) timings, mirror thoughts and reflections as a therapist I experienced early within clinical
practice when using this medium. Accidental service user led films (animators may know
these as test films) began to emerge from the introduction of simple animation techniques.
Some chose to make simple films from movement or stories, others used the medium to
explore metaphor, symbolism and to ‘hold’ emotions or problems so that they were safely
within the animated film, separate from the self. This externalisation of a problem can be
useful within therapy for some people, allowing the person to find new ways of
managing/fighting it. An example of using externalisation with animation in therapy can be
found in the Plato’s Cave area of the Animation Therapy project website under ‘Richard’s
Story. The patient can edit, sculpt or destroy the content they have created as part of their
therapy process.
Positive outcomes directly linked to the introduction of simple animation techniques in the
clinical setting prior to this project ranged from enhancing self-esteem and worth,
encouraging parent/child communication (attachment), learning and experiencing through
role play and psycho-education. Other experienced outcomes were reflections and shifts in
thinking and processing unconscious materials using more symbolic psychotherapeutic tools
including externalisation of problems, button sculpting and 6 part story technique (Dent –
Brown and Wang 2010).
What animation adds is multi layered. On the one hand offering unique opportunities to play
(an important tool for assimilating information and experiences and making sense of the
world) and distraction, and on the other the visualisation of internal process including
emotion urges and higher level thought (Mason 2011).
Initially using animation techniques in therapeutic group work threw up a unique challenge.
The technical aspects of setting up the space with enough equipment, and meeting the
technical demands required for animating with a number of people proved initially difficult to
©Ashworth&Mason (2013) manage in the therapeutic setting. With perseverance and expert advice, a specific set up
and tools were developed which have proved to be effective and well worth the investment
in time and skills.
By harnessing roles traditionally used in animation production (for example director,
animator, set-builder model maker, runner etc) and presenting these within group and family
work, role-play scenarios were created which enabled clinicians to support less confident
group members to experience roles which required leadership and self confidence (for
example the role of director). In family work a dominant family member could experience
making the tea and being directed by a family member who would not ordinarily direct
conversation or decision-making. Group dynamics involving role-play can be used to
facilitate rehearsal in goal-based therapy (Finlay 2001), or to create opportunities for
therapeutic exploration in group psychotherapy (Skaife & Huet 1998).
Animation with its rhythm, wide range of creative activities including making animation,
music, set and model making, and roles associated with production provides rich
opportunities for connecting with people’s interests and abilities. This is important in
therapies such as occupational therapy, where a person centred approach is used (Creek
2002). Also important is providing opportunities for ‘flow’ (Csikszentmihalyi 1990), which
refers to the state experienced by a person when they are engaged in an activity so intently
that all else around them is screened off. Originating from positive psychology the ‘Just right
challenge’ used by occupational therapists when adapting activities in therapy is promoted
as a neurologically ideal state with positive wellbeing factors attached. When reflecting on
this Ashworth noted that animators refer to this state as being ‘in the zone’ completely
engrossed in the task at hand.
Now is an exciting time to be exploring new advances in technology, arts and therapy. As
research into our neurobiological make-up starts to connect traditionally segregated areas of
©Ashworth&Mason (2013) practice in UK health care, the evidence is pointing towards the need to think about the
person as a whole: their mental, physical and spiritual health. Through using evidence based
theories and approaches that underpin modern day therapy practice across non-traditional
boundaries, animated activity has the potential to enhance clinical outcomes and
experiences for people accessing services in in-patient settings as well as in their community
and every day life.
This project has highlighted that collaboration between experienced animation professionals
and qualified therapists can certainly provide a rich ground for innovating new tools and
techniques. By supporting each other in learning about the differences and complexities
arising from each other’s art, complementing each other’s work has been proven to bear
fruit. From an occupational therapy perspective the success of this project provides a great
opportunity to promote the importance of valuing the work that professional artists working
as occupational therapy assistants and technical instructors (TIs) provide in health and in the
community and in delivering social capital.
Conclusion
The Project has demonstrated that the use of Animation techniques in a range of therapies
is effective in helping build therapeutic relationships and improve clinical outcomes for a
number of clients.
The project is on going, with Helen Mason continuing to work with a number of
animation experts. Training courses have been set up by Mason to train artists and
therapists in animation techniques, developed in her clinical practice, used during
©Ashworth&Mason (2013) this project and now known as the ‘Re-Animation Approach’. Patients receiving
therapy from several of Mason’s students have gone on to win Gold and Platinum
Koestler Trust awards for their animated work with patients. Work made at Langdon
Hospital in Dawlish has been shown at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
Research into the clinical effectiveness of the Re-Animation Approach has also been
conducted by Leeds Metropolitan University, working with patients from St Andrew’s Hospital
Northampton where the Approach is used. The results of this study are due to be published
in 2014.
Ashworth has witnessed a growing interest in this aspect of animation and is currently
supervising a PhD candidate looking at the effectiveness of Animation in the treatment of
PTSD.
Ashworth has taken part in offering taster training sessions with Mason to interested
participants both therapists and animators. Ashworth and Mason continue to enjoy exploring
what is an expanding and fascinating new field for animators and therapists alike.
Ashworth and Mason are preparing a further paper for publication in 2014.
©Ashworth&Mason (2013) References:
The re-­animation approach: animation and therapy Helen Mason (2011) The Journal of Assistive Technology Volume 5, Issue 1 pp 40-­‐42 Clay Animation, Frierson, Michael (1994) Twayne, USA
Documentary, The Margins of Reality, Ward, Paul, (2005) Wallflower
Understanding Animation, Wells, Paul, (1998) Routledge
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1990) Harper & Row. Occupational Therapy and Mental Health Jennifer Creek (2002) Churchill Livingstone
Art Psychotherapy Groups: Between Pictures and Words Sally Skaife and Val Huet (1998)
Routledge
Group work in Occupational Therapy Linda Finlay (2001) Nelson Thornes Developing a rating scale for projected stories. Kim Dent-­‐Brown and Michael Wang (2010) The Journal of Psychology and Psychotherapy, Volume 77, Issue 3, pages 325–
333, ©Ashworth&Mason (2013)