Draw A Bridge

Purpose and goals:

To help clients visually explore where they are emotionally, cognitively, or spiritually—and where they hope or intend to move next. Drawing a bridge offers a powerful metaphor for transition, grief, trauma recovery, identity shifts, or personal growth. This directive externalizes internal experience, clarifies direction, highlights barriers or supports, and fosters self-compassion during change.

  • Support clients in identifying their current internal state (“Where I am”).

  • Visualize a desired direction or intention (“Where I’m going”).

  • Help participants identify areas of strength, resilience, and emotional nourishment.

  • Deepen insight into obstacles, resources, supports, and personal strengths related to transition.

  • Foster self-compassion, acceptance, and agency in navigating change.

  • Offer a sense of control, clarity, and grounding by mapping transitional experiences.

  • Connect emotional experience with symbolic imagery, supporting meaning-making.

Theoretical Rationale:

The Bridge Drawing is a projective assessment that may provide insight into a person’s functioning, perception of their environment, and perception of movement or stagnancy (Hays & Lyons, 1981).

Bridges symbolize crossing, movement, and liminality—moving from one identity, role, or emotional state to another. Drawing the “here” and “there” offers a narrative anchor for understanding grief or trauma recovery as a process (Neimeyer, 2001).

  • Metaphors (like bridges) allow clients to externalize complex emotions from a safe distance, which helps access difficult content indirectly and with less overwhelm (Malchiodi, 2019).

  • Identifying where one is and where one wants to go engages gentle observation rather than judgment. This aligns with compassion-focused therapy and the concept that healing is something to be reconciled, not forced (Wolfelt, 2012).

Art-Making

Use blank white paper, can be 8.5 x 11”. Let the client choose drawing materials: pen, pencils, markers.

a. Introduction

  • “Today we’ll explore where you are in your life or emotional world, and where you’re moving toward. A bridge is a symbol of transition—crossing from one place to another, even when the path feels uncertain.”

  • “There is no right or wrong place to be. This exercise simply helps us map the journey.”

b. Drawing

  • “Draw a bridge going from some place to some place.”

  • When art-marking is finished, ask the client to indicate their location in the drawing, if they haven’t already, with a dot–there’s no right or wrong place to be.

  • Ask the client to drawn an arrow representing their directionality.

Reflection:

After art-making is done, cue the client to pause and observe their artwork. Ask them to take a look at what emerged.

  • What does your bridge say about your journey?

  • Tell me about the place you’re moving toward.

  • What is under the bridge?

  • I see you emphasized this (x), what might that represent?

  • How do you imagine feeling after crossing the bridge to the destination?

  • What might help you take your next step–even a small one?

Facilitator notes

Placement of self: The location of the person may be indicative of how that person is approaching problems/goals.

Solidness: It is common to see the right side (which may represent the future) depicted as less grounded than the left side (which may represent the past).

Construction of bridge: The construction of the bridge may imply the stability and security of the bridge.

Matter under bridge: What is under the bridge? It is typical to see water. If water is present, is it calm or turbulent?

Vantage point of viewer: If the bridge is seen from above, the person may wish for control. If the bridge is seen from a worm’s-eye view, feelings of insecurity/inferiority may be present.

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