Art Therapy How Might I Help How Might I Harm

Art therapy , a hybrid field largely influenced by the disciplines of fine art and psychology, uses the creative process, pieces of fine art created in therapy, and third-political party artwork to assist people in treatment develop cocky-awareness, explore emotions, address unresolved emotional conflicts, amend social skills, and raise self-esteem. Art therapy primarily aims to assistance individuals experiencing emotional and psychological challenges attain personal well-being and improved levels of function.

Neither previous artistic experience nor natural artistic ability is necessary for successful treatment, and whatsoever individuals seeking the help of a mental health professional person may discover do good from art therapy.

• History and Development of Art Therapy
• Contributors to the Field
• Health Issues Treated past Art Therapy
• Art Therapy Techniques and Exercises
• Art Therapy vs Expressive Arts Therapy
• Art Therapist Training and Accreditation
• Limitations and Concerns of Fine art Therapy

History and Evolution of Fine art Therapy

Art has been used every bit a ways of advice, self-expression, grouping interaction, diagnosis, and conflict resolution throughout history. For thousands of years, cultures and religions around the globe have incorporated the use of carved idols and charms, also every bit sacred paintings and symbols, in the healing process. The establishment of fine art therapy as a unique and publicly accepted therapeutic arroyo simply took identify recently, in the mid-20th century. The emergence of art therapy as a profession arose independently and simultaneously in the United States and Europe.

The term "art therapy" was coined in 1942 by British artist Adrian Loma, who discovered the healthful benefits of painting and drawing while recovering from tuberculosis. In the 1940s, several writers in the mental health field began to depict their work with people in treatment equally "art therapy." As there were no formal fine art therapy courses or training programs available at that time, these care providers were often educated in other disciplines and supervised by psychiatrists, psychologists, or other mental wellness intendance professionals.

Contributors to the Field

Margaret Naumburg, Hanna Kwaitkowska, Florence Cane, Edith Kramer, and Elinor Ulman were five influential writers of the 1940s who made pregnant contributions toward the development of art therapy equally a recognized field.

Find a Therapist

Margaret Naumburg, often described as the "mother of fine art therapy," established the Walden School in her home urban center of New York in 1915. She is widely viewed as the principal founder of the American art therapy movement. Naumburg believed children who were allowedto express themselves creatively and pursue subjects of involvement to them would experience healthier development.  Influenced past the psychoanalytic movement prevalent at the time, Naumburg began to view the creative process as a methodology like to verbal expression—a means of unearthing repressed, unconscious thoughts and emotions. She believed one time the symbolic expression of a person'due south state of mind was combined with the cognitive and verbal aspects of experience, healing could take place. Both this expression and healing were believed to be able to occur in an art therapy session. She wrote several influential books on art therapy, including Studies of the "Free" Expression of Behavior Problem Children as a Ways of Diagnosis and Therapy (1947), Schizophrenic Art: Its Significant in Psychotherapy (1950), and Dynamically Oriented Art Therapy: Its Principles and Practise (1966). These and other publications by leading contributors in the field are still used and referenced today as original sources in fine art therapy literature.

Hanna Kwiatkowski, another major contributor, was born in Poland and educated throughout eastern Europe. A talented sculptor and artist, Kwiatkowski somewhen moved to the U.s. and began working at the National Institutes of Mental Health, where she bridged the gap betwixt her passion and her profession by introducing fine art into the therapy sessions she conducted with families.

As a event of these sessions, Kwiatkowska found the creative expression of drawing to allow family members to meliorate place their roles and status within the family. She also saw the meaning therapeutic benefits of the drawing procedure. Although she had originally hoped to use her fine art therapy to help treat individuals facing intellectual challenges, Kwiatkowska discovered her technique also provided relief to families and individuals who who faced moderate psychological bug and dysfunctions.

Other contributors include Florence Cane, an art educator who utilized pedagogy methods emphasizing the importance of free artistic expression and encouraging emotional creativity, and Edith Kramer, who proposed the more process-oriented fine art-equally-therapy arroyo that defined goals of supporting the ego, helping the evolution of identity, and fostering growth. Finally, Elnor Ulman established the first fine art therapy journal in the United States and initiated 1 of the earliest grooming programs in the field.

Health Bug Treated past Art Therapy

Art therapy has been shown to benefit people of all ages. Enquiry indicates art therapy tin can improve communication and concentration and can help reduce feelings of isolation. This type of therapy has also been shown to lead to increases in self-esteem, confidence, and cocky-awareness.

Positive results in art therapy may often exist achieved by those facing issues such as:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Substance dependency
• Stress
• Posttraumatic stress
• Attention deficit hyperactivity
• Aging and geriatric issues
• Cancer
• Pity fatigue
• Heart disease
• Anorexia
• Bulimia
• Other eating disorders
• Cerebral impairments
• Family or relationship bug

Because art therapy allows people to express feelings on any discipline through creative work rather than with speech communication, information technology is believed to be particularly helpful for those who experience out of bear on with their emotions or feelings. Individuals experiencing difficulty discussing or remembering painful experiences may also notice fine art therapy especially beneficial.

Contempo research suggests art therapy may help individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia see comeback of some of their symptoms, although trials are notwithstanding being conducted.

The memoir, Sybil, and two movies of the aforementioned name, describe a woman diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder who, through the apply of art, appeared to proceeds greater insight most her alters and trauma she had experienced in childhood. Painting both provided an outlet for Sybil and her alters to express feelings and rediscover memories of the trauma, which could then exist discussed in therapy.

Melinda, the master graphic symbol of the 1999 young developed novel, Speak, uses fine art to cope with traumatic mutism—her disability to speak following a traumatic effect—and isolation.

Art Therapy Techniques and Exercises

Certified fine art therapists volition typically have a comprehensive agreement of the powerful effect that the creative process can have on those in therapy. Fine art therapists oftentimes use psychological, spiritual, and artistic theories in conjunction with clinical techniques to reach the desired therapeutic outcome. The arroyo has proven to be beneficial even for not-verbal individuals and professional artists. Common techniques used in therapy include:

• Painting
• Finger painting
• Doodling
• Scribbling
• Sculpting
• Drawing
• Using molding clay
• Carving
• Making pottery
• Making cards
• Using textiles
• Making collages

Art therapy can help people limited those thoughts, emotions, and experiences that may exist hard to speak nigh. In a 2004 study, xxx-two women with eye disease were commencement interviewed and and so asked to individually illustrate the illness. The resultant drawings were grouped into three categories: (1) the heart at the center, (2) the heart in the lived torso, and (3) middle disease as a social disease. The employ of color, spatial arrangement, and composition were analyzed, and the drawings ultimately helped health intendance professionals ameliorate appreciate how each adult female understood her status and provided insight on how to best to approach each example.

Affliction is oft closely associated with intense emotions, and tactile techniques, such as working with molding dirt, may provide a refuge from these feelings. These activities have besides been shown to be constructive in revealing unconscious material, providing cathartic release, and promoting verbal expression.

A study in which women with cancer were encouraged to engage in various visual arts exercises and techniques constitute that the participants benefited in four cardinal ways. While the women initially experienced a number of illness-related challenges such equally loss of conviction, loss of sleep, and altered social relationships, later on the written report they reported an increased focus on positive life experiences, increased cocky-worth, maintenance of social identity (equally opposed to being defined by cancer), and an increased power to express their feelings in a symbolic manner.

Numerous other clinical reports have supported the therapeutic benefits of art therapy. Chronically ill individuals have reported better wellness and well-being, and people with breast cancer take reported a subtract in negative emotions and an increase in positive emotions. Further, individuals undergoing hemodialysis handling reported reduced low, and people adversely affected by trauma take reported lower levels of stress, less compassion fatigue, and an increased sense of purpose.

Art therapists work to help individuals, families, groups, and communities go more than in impact with their emotions. Art therapy has become an integral part of many rehabilitation centers, mental health facilities, crunch centers, individual practices, schools, and diverse other social and community institutions that strive to promote health, health, and growth.

Art Therapy vs Expressive Arts Therapy

Distinguishing betwixt art therapy and expressive arts therapy may be somewhat difficult, as both approaches apply a wide variety of therapeutic techniques to provide mental and emotional relief.

Art therapy oft incorporates techniques such equally painting, finger painting, drawing, sculpting, and carving. Art therapy has become an integral part of manyrehabilitation centers, mental health facilities,crisis centers, private practices, schools, and various other social and community institutions that strive to promote wellness, wellness, and growth.  Since art therapy focuses primarily on the visual arts, it is considered a single modality therapy. Expressive arts therapy is considered a multi-modal approach because it integrates techniques from many different artistic modalities. To illustrate, an expressive arts therapist may integrate therapeutic principles and tools from poetry therapy, dance and motility therapy, music therapy, and even art therapy in ane therapeutic session.

Another noteworthy difference betwixt the two approaches is the last product: At the terminate of an art therapy session at that place is likely to be a tangible product (such as a painting, drawing, or sculpture). Expressive arts therapy is not limited to the visual arts and and so the primary means of expression may be visual, tactile, or auditory. The created product may be tangible or intangible, depending on the technique used.

Art Therapist Training and Accreditation

Art therapy do requires a knowledge of the visual forms—drawing, painting, sculpture, and so on— also equally the creative process, homo development and psychology, and counseling theories and methodology.

Those who practice fine art therapy, fifty-fifty at the entry level, must have earned at least a principal'due south degree from an accredited institution. The Educational Program Approval Board (EPAB) uses academic standards ready past the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) to evaluate the compliance of fine art therapy programs with the recommended requirements. Additionally, the body providing accreditation to the tertiary-level institution must be approved past the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

The Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB) was established in 1993. The primary goal of the ATCB is to safeguard the interests of the public by ensuring that practicing art therapists meet and maintain required ethical and quality standards. The ATCB does this by offering three professional credentials to individuals desiring to exist art therapists:

• Registered Art Therapist (ATR): This confirms the therapist has taken and satisfactorily completed graduate-level courses in fine art therapy and gained post-graduate clinical experience nether the supervision of a qualified mentor.
• Board Certified Art Therapist (ATR-BC): This is the highest credential an art therapist tin can earn. Applicants are required to successfully complete a national exam to highlight their complete agreement of the clinical skills and theories associated with fine art therapy.
• Art Therapy Certified Supervisor (ATCS): This advanced supervisory credential may be earned by experienced Lath Certified Art Therapists.

Art therapists who have earned their credentials at the ATCB are required to adhere to the institution'south code of professional practice. At nowadays, the ATCB database contains over 5000 credentialed art therapists.

Limitations and Concerns of Art Therapy

One of the major concerns of fine art therapy is the effectiveness of the approach. Though many support its efficacy, others are skeptical. Adults in detail may non be inclined to cooperate fully and openly with the treatment process or may refuse this blazon of handling entirely. Additionally, some individuals may believe they are not artistic or artistic enough for the treatment to be successful, although the goal of treatment is to limited i's thoughts and emotions, not produce creative masterpieces. The effectiveness of art therapy may also be criticized, due to a lack of supporting empirical evidence.

Those who practice go along with fine art therapy treatment may discover they have to commit to a series of sessions before they begin to experience the therapeutic benefits of the arroyo. Other concerns include the costs associated with the buy of needed tools, media, and other materials. Obtaining a suitable setting for therapy to take place (peculiarly if fluid media, special lighting, or other specialized equipment is used) may besides prove challenging.

References:

1. American Art Therapy Association. (north.d.). History and background. Retrieved from http://world wide web.americanarttherapyassociation.org/aata-history-groundwork.html
2. American Art Therapy Clan. (2013). What is fine art therapy? Retrieved from http://www.arttherapy.org/upload/whatisarttherapy.pdf
3. Art Therapy Credentials Board. (north.d.). About the credentials. Retrieved from http://www.atcb.org/Public/AboutTheCredentials
4. Centre for Health and Healing. (2011). Art therapy – history and philosophy. Retrieved from http://www.healthandhealingny.org/complement/art_history.asp

5. Arts therapies. (2014, September 27). Retrieved from http://world wide web.mentalhealthcare.org.britain/arts_therapies

6. Child Fine art and Psychological Perspectives. (northward.d.). Retrieved from http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/1919/04chapter3.pdf
7. Rubin, J. A. (1999). Fine art therapy: An introduction. Philadelphia: Taylor & Francis.
8. Stuckey, H. L. & Nobel, J. (2010). The connection between art, healing and public wellness: A review of current literature. American Journal of Public Health, 100(two), 254-263.

9. Thompson, G. (northward.d.). The Subconscious Paintings of Shirley A. Bricklayer ... Sybil. Retrieved from http://www.hiddenpaintings.com

10. Trevisani, F., Casadio, R., Romagnoli, F., Zamagni, One thousand. P., Francesconi, C., Tromellini, A., Di Micoli, A., Frigerio, K., Farinelli, One thousand. and Bernardi, K. (2010). Art in the hospital: Its impact on the feelings and emotional state of patients admitted to an internal medicine unit. The Journal of Culling and Complementary Medicine, 16(eight), 853-859.
11. Vick, R. G. (north.d.). A brief history of fine art therapy. Retrieved from http://areas.fba.ul.pt/jpeneda/Briefhistoryat.pdf

castanedabariders86.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/art-therapy

Share this post