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Schaverien's book The Revealing Image is a welcome and innovative study of the role of the image in the therapeutic relationship. The author explores previously uncharted territory in art therapy focusing on the complex transference phenomena involved. She has coined the term ‘Analytical Art Psychotherapy’ to describe her theoretical approach rooted in Jungian analytical psychology and the philosophy of Cassirer. In forming her ideas she draws on many other disciplines - philosophy, religion and art - which makes for rich and interesting reading. The book is generously illustrated with both colour and black and white images, as befits an art therapy text. Although primarily a theoretical study, the author breathes life into her ideas through frequent allusions to clinical material; indeed one entire chapter is a case study.
The early chapters explore the nature of transference and counter-transference in relation to art therapy, and link Jung's ideas of the alchemical metaphor with an understanding of the transforming potential of art therapy. The author then goes on to explore her concept of the ‘scapegoat’ in art therapy in which feelings and thoughts are attributed to, or disposed of, in the picture. She makes use of anthropological findings to support her thesis, making this one of the most exciting and original parts of the book. This linking of apparently unconnected ideas from a variety of cultures lends an added dimension to her ideas.
The subsequent chapter examines the different types of ‘frame’ that bind human experience, focusing in particular on the boundary of the therapeutic relationship, the frame of the picture, and places set apart (like the theatre or the art gallery), for ‘framed’ spectating. It is an expanded version of an earlier paper and, whilst interesting