ART THERAPY

Art therapy, sometimes called creative arts

therapy or expressive arts therapy,
encourages people to express and
understand emotions through artistic
expression and through the creative
process
 International Art Therapy
Organization (IATO)
Art has the potential to change lives and
often in profound ways. When words are
not enough, we turn to images and
symbols to tell our stories. And in telling
our stories through art, we can find a path
to health and wellness, emotional
reparation, recovery, and ultimately,
transformation.
 Art Therapy Alliance
• Art therapy is the deliberate use of art-making to
address psychological and emotional needs. Art
therapy uses art media and the creative process
to help in areas such as, but not limited to:
fostering self-expression, create coping skills,
manage stress, and strengthen sense of self. Art
therapy has provided mental health treatment for
clients who have experienced trauma, grief &
loss, depression, chronic illness, substance
abuse, and more.
 History of Art Therapy
• Art therapy emerged as a distinct profession in
the 1940s when hospitals and rehabilitation
facilities increasingly began to include art therapy
programs along with traditional "talk therapies,"
underscoring the recognition that art making
enhanced recovery, health, and wellness. Since
that time, the profession of art therapy has grown
into an effective and important method of
treatment and assessment with children, adults,
families, and groups in a variety of settings.
Currently, the field of art therapy
has gained attention in healthcare
facilities throughout the United
States, Europe and within psychiatry,
medicine, psychology, counseling,
education, and the arts.
In the late nineteenth century, French
psychiatrists Ambrose Tardieu and Paul-Max
Simon both published studies on the similar
characteristics of and symbolism in the artwork
of the mentally ill. Tardieu and Simon viewed art
therapy as an effective diagnostic tool to identify
specific types of mental illness or traumatic
events. Later, psychologists would use this
diagnostic aspect to develop psychological
drawing tests (the Draw-A-Man test, the Draw-
A-Person Questionnaire [DAP.Q])
Rooted in Freud and Jung's theories of the
subconscious and unconscious, art therapy is
based on the assumption that visual symbols
and images are the most accessible and natural
form of communication to the human
experience. Patients are encouraged to
visualize, and then create, the thoughts and
emotions that they cannot talk about. The
resulting artwork is then reviewed and its
meaning interpreted by the patient.
• The "analysis" of the artwork produced in
art therapy typically allows patients to gain
some level of insight into their feelings and
lets them to work through these issues in
a constructive manner. Art therapy is
typically practiced with individual, group,
or family psychotherapy (talk therapy).
 Benefits Art Therapy
• Self-discovery.
• Personal fulfillment
• Relaxation
• Stress management
 Preparations
• an introductory session
• appropriate materials and space are
available
 Materials
• paper,
• canvas,
• poster board,
• assorted paints,
• inks, markers,
• pencils, charcoals,
• chalks,
• fabrics, adhesives, clay, and natural items (like
shells, leaves, etc.).
"The group pictures begin with choosing a place
to work, the shape and the medium. Each
person is encouraged to voice preferences or
even abhorrence. What is acceptable becomes
apparent, not usually quickly. Once the paint has
touched we are focused, we move around each
other to reach the spaces we are drawn to... the
marks we leave are a record of a curious
intimate dance of strength, dominance, respect,
mutual interest, distress and amusement."
• "In art therapy I have found a way to have
a voice.
The longer I get to know and work with
group members, the safer I feel putting
myself on the page.
Occasionally I even put myself at the
centre, finding a way to work co-
operatively within the group."
"Working on group painting was different
depending on my mood on the day. An
interesting experience and mostly
enjoyable in a way. I felt I had to hold back
somewhat because I didn't want to "step
on anyone's toes" but part of me felt like I
needed to leave my mark in a positive
way. Preconceived ideas of things
hindered me in expressing myself freely."
 PROFESSIONAL BODY
• International Art Therapy Organization
(IATO)
• Art Therapy Alliance
• American Art Therapy Credentials Board
(ATCB)
• British Association of Art Therapist (BAAT)
• Australian and New Zealand Art Therapy
Association (ANZATA)
PLEASE MAKE USE YOUR
KNOWLEGDE ON PSYCHOLOGY AND
ART/DESIGN TO INTERPRATE THESE
OUTCOMES…..
"A true work of design must be able to move
people, to convey feelings, to trigger memories,
to surprise, to go against the grain... We work
on expressive languages and on the expressive
potential of the items... From this point of view,
design intended... to conjure up images in
people's minds, which makes them a bit
happier, still has tremendous potential."-
Alberto Alessi via Alessi