ABSTRACT
The subjective experience of becoming a mother is well documented in the related literature, and in contrast to the dominant and mainstream discourse, presents a much more diverse image of experience – offering a rich and multidimensional image of mother. This chapter presents an exploration of the ways we can reframe the images we hold, as individuals and as communities enmeshed within and across cultures, of mother and motherhood – conceptually, therapeutically and artistically. It offers an exploration of a current Western cultural discourse using the term matrescence. Matrescence is made manifest through acknowledging that becoming a mother is a complex, multilevelled and a transformational experience. Matrescence helps to situate motherhood on a continuum rather than inside of predetermined time periods and/or independent events. For Art Therapists, matrescence offers a broader therapeutic lens. Art Therapy can nurture a re-imaging of mother while offering a safe space to explore all aspects of motherhood and be supported through matrescence.
