ABSTRACT
The word toolbox may invoke many images. Some people might imagine a handyman who uses tools to fix some technical problem. Taken in this context, it suggests neither emotional involvement nor a humanistic attitude, both of which are significant components of therapy. Others may relate to this image as a useful box, the contents of which—the tools—have been collected over the years and are used by the owner with caring and joy. Our notion of a toolbox relates to the means used by therapists to implement creative interventions. Not only do therapists use these tools with joy and pleasure, but they develop different ways of activating the tools and, in so doing, create “multiform and multitask tools.” Furthermore, since various combinations can be created simultaneously using different tools, there is an ongoing opportunity for changing and enriching the quality of the tools and their use. Those therapists who perceive the toolbox as a means of enabling and creating are excited to acquire new tools, to expand their repertoire, and to discover as many ways of operating the tools as possible. However, they are also aware of a very basic fact: behind each tool is a person who creates and operates it. It is the human mind, consisting of cognitive and emotional domains, that affects and determines the way in which the tool will be activated and used. Therefore, when relating to the toolbox in this way, it becomes not only a source of technical skills but also a combination of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral systems that are used in the process of creating and implementing therapeutic interventions.
