Accompanied and solution-oriented painting (Egger)

Domain VIII · Creative & expressive arts therapies · Bettina Egger, Jörg Merz · 1965 · Zurich, Switzerland

What it is

These are two related painting-therapy methods from one Zürich tradition. Bettina Egger (born 1943) trained with Arno Stern in Paris. She opened a painting studio (Malatelier) in Zürich in 1965 and co-founded the IHK with Robert Wirz in 1978. (1) Accompanied / person-oriented painting (POM). The…

Format

• LOM course of therapy
• Assessment and goal (session 1). A standardised interview covers when and where the problem occurs, what would show it is solved, the body reactions and feelings that come with it, how the client thinks about themselves in the situation, and how they would like to think. The client builds their own…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Version followed: Solution-oriented painting therapy (Lösungsorientierte Maltherapie, LOM®) as set out by Bettina Egger and Jörg Merz in Lösungsorientierte Maltherapie: Wie Bilder Emotionen steuern (Hogrefe 2013; 2nd unchanged ed. 2024), taught at the Institut für Humanistische Kunsttherapie (IHK), Zürich, and by LOM® international with Alanus University; and Egger's accompanied painting (begleitetes Malen),…
• Professional frame. In Switzerland, IHK runs three method courses: POM, LOM, and work-oriented painting and design therapy, which combines POM and LOM in clinical or institutional settings. Each is 9 blocks of 2.5 days over about 15 months, with 170 contact hours. LOM adds 20 hours of supervision, POM a self-awareness/teaching-therapy internship, and the work-oriented module 250 hours of practical training. Together…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• settling arousal and returning curiosity.
• clients narrating whole dream plots; bring them back to a single frame.
• pace. Slow, calm movement is what the LOM authors credit with settling arousal.
• the client painting only the "villain"; bring the frame back to the whole scene.
• a felt release, often a deep breath, when the picture "fits". Do not push your own aesthetic.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.