Person-Oriented Painting Therapy POM 2026

Guided Painting has been developed by Bettina Egger since 1965. Its theoretical foundations emerged primarily from her many years of work with hundreds of children and adults in her studio.

Guided Painting is the dialogue between the person painting and the picture. Artistic inspirations—whether colors, shapes, or realistic representations—are painted without instructions or judgment. The gouache paint is slowly applied to the paper with the non-dominant hand, which fosters a direct relationship with the picture.

The interventions of the painting facilitator support letting go of rules, acquired opinions, and learned patterns of thought, whether artistic, therapeutic, or of any other kind. This gentle way of painting a picture makes it possible to discover one’s own qualities and unknown inner images. In this way, new perspectives open up for dealing with challenges in everyday life.

Every person is born with unique qualities. Yet through the many external influences to which we are all exposed while growing up, the connection to these original qualities and to our essential being becomes increasingly weaker. Through Guided Painting, the obstacles standing in the way of this relationship become visible—especially the fears and beliefs that limit our ability to enjoy life in its fullness and to seize and use opportunities.

This method of painting therapy offers a protected space in which limiting behavior patterns can gradually be resolved. Physical sensations, thoughts, and emotions that shape and maintain these patterns can be gently worked through and gradually released. The focus is on the creative process, which takes place in an appreciative and pleasant atmosphere. The experience is so beneficial that clients often forget they are in a therapeutic process.

For art therapists and art educators with a successfully completed university degree, a comparable qualification, or suitable professional experience. Interested individuals from related professional fields may also participate in individual modules, as may anyone interested in a journey of discovery into these often-taboo emotions.

We would like to enable Alanus University students to participate in continuing education courses at a 50% discount. An individual quota is available for each continuing education course. University certificates are excluded from the discount.

We often tend to sabotage our own ideas—whether because we consider them not good enough, too trivial, or simply wrong. In Person-Oriented Painting Therapy, however, we focus primarily on those perceptions that have not yet been influenced by the filter of our reactions. By paying special attention to the first impulse, we practice bringing into awareness what lies just below the threshold of conscious perception. In this block, we learn to perceive this first impulse and accompany it mindfully. Through practice, we develop deeper trust in our own decisions while also strengthening our intuition—a valuable key to perceiving ourselves more clearly and acting more authentically.
Lecturer Simone Riner

Dates and times
Fri, 15/05/26 from 17:00 – 20:30
Sat, 23/05/26 from 09:00 – 13:00 and 14:30 – 18:00
Fri, 29/05/26 from 17:00 – 20:30

Person-Oriented Painting Therapy offers a protected space to strengthen inner qualities and dissolve emotional blockages through working with the picture. The focus is on the dialogue between the person painting and the picture. This lecture provides an introduction to the method, which aims to discover personal strengths and promote interoception and self-esteem—while opening up new perspectives.
With Cora Egger, Monica Portmann and Simone Rinner, art therapists and lecturers in Person-Oriented and Solution-Oriented Painting Therapy
Date and time
Fri, 17/04/26 / 18:00 – 19:30

Conscious work with the chain of feelings makes it possible to dissolve emotional blockages while simultaneously strengthening self-perception and the ability to self-regulate. The painting process offers a protected space in which feelings can be made visible, better understood, and gradually transformed into constructive actions or decisions. In this block, you will learn how to experience a chain of feelings in the painting process and thus discover new perspectives and approaches to solutions. In addition, we will explore the development of children’s drawings—from prefigurative to figurative painting—and highlight their central importance for child development.
Lecturer Monica Portmann

Dates and times
Fri, 28/08/26 from 17:00 – 20:30
Sat, 05/09/26 from 09:00 – 13:00 / 14:30 – 18:00
Fri, 11/09/26 from 17:00 – 20:30

In Person-Oriented Painting Therapy, we focus on the qualities of the people painting, not on their problems. This approach encourages a positive, solution-oriented perspective that enables people to recognize and use their own strengths. In this block, we work primarily in the studio, alternating between the role of the person painting and that of the painting therapist. In doing so, we direct our attention and energy toward the participants’ individual qualities in order to bring them to light and strengthen self-esteem.
Lecturer Cora Egger

Dates and times
Fri, 09/10/26 from 9:00 – 13:30 / 15:00 – 18:00
Sat, 10/10/26 from 9:00 – 13:30 / 15:00 – 18:00
Sun, 11/10/26 from 9:00 – 14:00

Cora Egger
Ceramic artist, art therapist for Person-Oriented Painting and Solution-Oriented Painting Therapy (LOM®). Works in her own practice in Barcelona with children and adults, LOM® lecturer.

Monica Portmann
Qualified art therapist (ED), specializing in design and painting therapy, coaching for individuals and teams, Human Resource Manager. Art therapy, LOM®️ with adolescents and adults. Inpatient art therapy support in the clinical field (burnout, depression, psychosomatics)

Simone Riner
Qualified art therapist (ED), specializing in design and painting therapy; lic.phil. in Communication Sciences. Art therapy, LOM® with children, adolescents, and adults, specialist area: palliative care; people on the autism spectrum (ASD); editorial board member of f.orum, professional journal for art therapies.

A university certificate can be obtained. This requires additional work in the form of a treatment protocol covering at least three sessions with the same person. Further details should be discussed with the lecturer.

Head of the Institute for Continuing Education in Artistic Therapies:
Brigitta Jaroschek (research associate)

Further information, contact options, and our FAQ can be found here:

edu.Art – Institute for Continuing Education in Artistic Therapies | Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences