Art therapy is a process that uses art materials to "speak about" issues of concern to the client. An art therapist helps the client choose materials that help make visible the internal images that hold keys to who we are and what we believe. As the client feels, discovers, thinks, and creates, new insights are gained about self, relationships and life patterns. Art therapy can help individuals, families, couples, and work and community groups become clearer about themselves and each other.
Art therapy became an established profession in 1965 when the American Art Therapy Association was formed. it established definitions, training and practice standards and a registration procedure, the ATR (Art Therapist - Registered). AATA hosts annual conferences and publishes a newsletter and professional journal. Over 4000 members continue to develop the profession in new directions. In 1994, the Art Therapy Credentials Board established Certification for eligible art therapists and took over the procedure for awarding ATR and BC credentials. Art therapy as a profession is practiced all over the world. An excellent website for art therapy and other expressive therapy links can be found by clicking on Art Therapy Links. Other links can be found on the Art Therapy Center Links Page.
Do I need to be an artist to do art therapy?
If you can make a mark on paper, you can do the art part of art therapy. Creativity and imagination are part of being human, and we all are creative in unique ways. Art is one avenue of expression that brings our creative selves forward. While the art therapist can assist with skills and materials, the process of making the image come to life is more important than the finished product in art therapy. This is different from making art for the purpose of exhibiting or selling it. In fact, sometimes it helps not to have a lot of preconceived notions about how the art should be made. This is helpful for the artist, too, as artist blocks are often the result of internal criticism that silence the authentic self.
What kind of art therapy should I choose?
Individual art therapy gives the client privacy and freedom to explore difficult experiences and feelings in a safe environment. If art therapy is the primary treatment, then the therapist and client will also spend time talking. If art therapy is adjunctive to primary verbal therapy, more time will be spent working directly with creative materials and processes.
Group art and expressive therapy can be highly stimulating and enlightening. Encounters with others during the artmaking process creates opportunities for old patterns of thinking and relating to come to the surface. The value of other group members to "witness" personal images and process is a unique and important aspect of group work. Groups are often used in conjunction with primary therapy.For examples of group art therapy, click on this link.
Art-based groups like CorePainting emphasize the emergence of authentic imagery as the focus of the work. Interpretation and analysis is usually discouraged during the group, although participants will find that how they paint and what emerges are metaphoric in their lives. This rule of privacy (no discussion of the images) allows the participants to freely explore with less fear of exposing issues they would rather deal with privately. Often these experiences are taken into the participant's individual therapy for processing.