THE EXQUISITE CORPSE:

AN EXPERIMENT IN BIPOLAR RAPID CYCLING

BY JACK M. FREEDMAN

**ART THERAPY WITH GROUPS** NCAT 310 A** PROF. DINA SCHAPIRO**

EVERYTHING TENDS TO MAKE US BELIEVE THAT THERE EXISTS A CERTAIN POINT OF THE MIND AT
WHICH LIFE AND DEATH, THE REAL AND THE IMAGINED, PAST AND FUTURE, THE COMMUNICABLE AND THE INCOMMUNICABLE, HIGH AND LOW, CEASE TO BE PERCEIVED AS CONTRADICTIONS.

-ANDR BRETON MANIFESTE DU SURRALISME

The Exquisite Corpse was a parlor game played during the Surrealist Movement in France in the early 192 s! The rules were simple! "ne person would write a sentence or draw part o# a picture and then others would colla$orate!!! with a twist! The paper would $e #olded a#ter an artist or writer made a contri$ution! "nly the previous writing or drawing would $e visi$le to the next person! This game would continue in a chain until the entire paper was covered! %n my spare time& % would play this game with #ellow poets at parties! 'o matter the outcome& we were always surprised as to how cohesive the poem would $ecome only $y seeing portions o# the writing at a time! %n the directive& Maria& Carla& and % put our heads together as to how to ma(e this wor( in a group therapy setting! )e came up with the #ollowing experiential exercise! The artistic #ormat o# The Exquisite Corpse remained& $ut with some extra varia$les! %n this instance& every$ody was given a sheet o# paper! *articipants were separated in groups o# three and wor(ed #or six rounds using pencils& charcoal& and crayons! %n each o# these rounds& a group mem$er pic(ed an emotion #rom a paper $ag! +#ter loo(ing at their selection& they had to draw something $ased

on that particular emotion! To ma(e matters even more interesting& the participants only had #ive minutes to complete each drawing! To ma(e matters more aggravating& they were given a warning when only one minute remained! +#ter an interval ended& the #ormat remained the same with the paper $eing #olded! Each group mem$er passed their papers to the person next to them! +s every new round $egan& there was also a new emotion selected! +#ter roughly hal# an hour o# this exercise& the groups were instructed to un#old the papers in #ront o# them and color,shade the drawings! -uring this time& the groups discussed which emotions they had chosen at the start o# each round! +#ter the creative process ended& Maria and % led a discussion a$out the exercise! Carla had to drop the class& $ut she was .ust as much as a driving #orce in this pro.ect& so her contri$utions $ear mentioning! +#ter some students expressed their #eelings a$out the pro.ect& % explained that the directive was meant to simulate a state o# rapid cycling experienced $y a person with $ipolar disorder! /iven the shear randomness o# the words selected& it was impossi$le to (now whether an emotion chosen would $e positive or negative! 0ust as there was a choice o# emotions on the slips o# paper& there were signi#icant variations in the drawings! The reactions were mixed& $ut many people experienced the #rustration and the strain $ehind the limited amount o# time& the paper shi#ting& the #olding& and the new emotion that they needed to em$ody in the next drawing! Some exceptions included those who may have missed part o# the $rie#ing o# this exercise! "ther rare exceptions included the random choice o# only positive or negative emotions! 1owever& i# a person wal(ed into a room #eeling positive and only pic(ed negative emotions #rom the $ag& that would produce a strain! +nother topic explored was the group dynamic among people experiencing a $ipolar mixed state! )ith three people in di##erent emotional states wor(ing in close quarters& this added an extra challenge! %# one person was assigned a positive emotion such as ecstasy and two others received negative emotions such as rage and disappointment& it proved to $e taxing #or all parties involved! +dmittedly& this was a $yproduct o# the directive that % did not anticipate& $ut ultimately it wor(ed

toward the intended success! Maria and % too( a lot o# time #iguring out what wor(ed in this experiment! )e were a$le to thin( on our #eet and (new how to ma(e everything in this directive wor( so that a maximum level o# chaos was created! % proctored the time& Maria wal(ed around assigning emotions #or the next round& and we $oth provided art supplies! )e also split the duties o# leading the discussion at the end o# the class! "ne suggestion that was o##ered $y the pro#essor was to ma(e two separate $ags o# emotions 2one positive and one negative!3 +nother suggestion was to #urther limit the amount o# time participants were given & so as to increase the stress level o# the participants! 1owever& $oth the pro#essor and the participants deemed this exercise e##ective! Students made the connection when the hidden motive was revealed! They #urther understood the anxiety that a person in a mixed $ipolar state can encounter!

%n conclusion& Maria and % wor(ed well together4! )e shared ideas and discussed the di##erent emotions that we wanted to o##er as options! %n hindsight& the suggestions given $y the pro#essor were help#ul! %n the #uture& these varia$les might $e included! % also #eel that there were certain emotions that were unclear! "ne word& 5evolving6& created some con#usion #or some o# the students! "verall& this was a challenging exercise #or all parties involved!