Distinction Between Counseling and Art Therapy American Art Therapy Association

Fine art therapy , a hybrid field largely influenced past the disciplines of fine art and psychology, uses the creative process, pieces of art created in therapy, and third-political party artwork to help people in treatment develop cocky-awareness, explore emotions, accost unresolved emotional conflicts, improve social skills, and heighten cocky-esteem. Art therapy primarily aims to assist 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 any individuals seeking the help of a mental wellness professional may find benefit from art therapy.

• History and Development of Art Therapy
• Contributors to the Field
• Wellness Issues Treated by Art Therapy
• Art Therapy Techniques and Exercises
• Art Therapy vs Expressive Arts Therapy
• Art Therapist Training and Accreditation
• Limitations and Concerns of Art Therapy

History and Development of Fine art Therapy

Fine art has been used as a means of communication, self-expression, group interaction, diagnosis, and disharmonize resolution throughout history. For thousands of years, cultures and religions around the world accept incorporated the use of carved idols and charms, as well as sacred paintings and symbols, in the healing process. The establishment of fine art therapy every bit a unique and publicly accepted therapeutic approach merely 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 "fine art therapy" was coined in 1942 by British creative person 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 describe their work with people in treatment as "fine art therapy." As there were no formal art therapy courses or grooming programs bachelor at that time, these intendance providers were ofttimes educated in other disciplines and supervised by psychiatrists, psychologists, or other mental health care professionals.

Contributors to the Field

Margaret Naumburg, Hanna Kwaitkowska, Florence Pikestaff, Edith Kramer, and Elinor Ulman were 5 influential writers of the 1940s who made significant contributions toward the evolution of fine art therapy as a recognized field.

Find a Therapist

Margaret Naumburg, often described every bit the "female parent of art therapy," established the Walden School in her home city of New York in 1915. She is widely viewed every bit the master founder of the American art therapy movement. Naumburg believed children who were immuneto express themselves creatively and pursue subjects of involvement to them would experience healthier development.  Influenced by the psychoanalytic movement prevalent at the time, Naumburg began to view the creative process every bit a methodology similar to verbal expression—a means of unearthing repressed, unconscious thoughts and emotions. She believed once the symbolic expression of a person's state of heed was combined with the cognitive and exact aspects of experience, healing could take place. Both this expression and healing were believed to exist able to occur in an art therapy session. She wrote several influential books on fine art therapy, including Studies of the "Free" Expression of Behavior Problem Children equally a Means of Diagnosis and Therapy (1947), Schizophrenic Fine art: Its Pregnant in Psychotherapy (1950), and Dynamically Oriented Art Therapy: Its Principles and Practice (1966). These and other publications by leading contributors in the field are nonetheless 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 eventually moved to the United States and began working at the National Institutes of Mental Wellness, where she bridged the gap between her passion and her profession by introducing art into the therapy sessions she conducted with families.

As a upshot of these sessions, Kwiatkowska plant the creative expression of drawing to permit family members to better identify their roles and status within the family. She also saw the pregnant therapeutic benefits of the drawing procedure. Although she had originally hoped to use her 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 issues and dysfunctions.

Other contributors include Florence Cane, an fine art educator who utilized instruction methods emphasizing the importance of gratuitous artistic expression and encouraging emotional creativity, and Edith Kramer, who proposed the more process-oriented art-as-therapy approach that divers goals of supporting the ego, helping the evolution of identity, and fostering growth. Finally, Elnor Ulman established the offset art therapy periodical in the United States and initiated one of the earliest training programs in the field.

Wellness Issues Treated by Art Therapy

Fine art therapy has been shown to benefit people of all ages. Inquiry indicates art therapy tin can improve communication and concentration and tin help reduce feelings of isolation. This type of therapy has likewise been shown to lead to increases in self-esteem, conviction, and self-awareness.

Positive results in fine art therapy may often exist achieved past those facing issues such every bit:

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

Considering fine art therapy allows people to express feelings on whatsoever discipline through creative work rather than with oral communication, it is believed to be especially helpful for those who feel out of touch with their emotions or feelings. Individuals experiencing difficulty discussing or remembering painful experiences may too find art therapy especially benign.

Recent enquiry suggests fine art therapy may assistance individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia see improvement of some of their symptoms, although trials are still being conducted.

The memoir, Sybil, and two movies of the same name, describe a woman diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder who, through the utilize of art, appeared to gain greater insight nearly her alters and trauma she had experienced in babyhood. Painting both provided an outlet for Sybil and her alters to express feelings and rediscover memories of the trauma, which could and so be discussed in therapy.

Melinda, the main character of the 1999 young adult novel, Speak, uses fine art to cope with traumatic mutism—her inability to speak following a traumatic event—and isolation.

Art Therapy Techniques and Exercises

Certified fine art therapists will typically take a comprehensive agreement of the powerful effect that the artistic procedure can take on those in therapy. Art therapists frequently use psychological, spiritual, and artistic theories in conjunction with clinical techniques to reach the desired therapeutic outcome. The approach has proven to be beneficial fifty-fifty for non-verbal individuals and professional person artists. Common techniques used in therapy include:

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

Art therapy can help people express those thoughts, emotions, and experiences that may be difficult to speak about. In a 2004 study, 30-2 women with heart disease were first interviewed and then asked to individually illustrate the affliction. The resultant drawings were grouped into three categories: (1) the heart at the eye, (2) the center in the lived torso, and (iii) heart disease equally a social illness. The employ of color, spatial arrangement, and composition were analyzed, and the drawings ultimately helped health care professionals better capeesh how each woman understood her condition and provided insight on how to best to arroyo each case.

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

A study in which women with cancer were encouraged to appoint in diverse visual arts exercises and techniques found that the participants benefited in 4 key ways. While the women initially experienced a number of disease-related challenges such every bit loss of confidence, loss of sleep, and altered social relationships, after the study they reported an increased focus on positive life experiences, increased self-worth, maintenance of social identity (as opposed to existence divers by cancer), and an increased ability to limited their feelings in a symbolic mode.

Numerous other clinical reports accept supported the therapeutic benefits of art therapy. Chronically sick individuals accept reported better health and well-being, and people with breast cancer have reported a subtract in negative emotions and an increment in positive emotions. Farther, individuals undergoing hemodialysis handling reported reduced low, and people adversely affected past trauma have reported lower levels of stress, less pity fatigue, and an increased sense of purpose.

Art therapists piece of work to help individuals, families, groups, and communities become more in touch with their emotions. Fine art therapy has get an integral part of many rehabilitation centers, mental health facilities, crisis centers, private practices, schools, and various other social and community institutions that strive to promote health, wellness, and growth.

Fine art Therapy vs Expressive Arts Therapy

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

Art therapy often incorporates techniques such as painting, finger painting, cartoon, sculpting, and carving. Art therapy has get an integral office of manyrehabilitation centers, mental health facilities,crisis centers, private practices, schools, and various other social and community institutions that strive to promote health, 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 unlike artistic modalities. To illustrate, an expressive arts therapist may integrate therapeutic principles and tools from poetry therapy, trip the light fantastic toe and movement therapy, music therapy, and even art therapy in one therapeutic session.

Another noteworthy difference between the two approaches is the final production: At the end 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 then the primary means of expression may exist visual, tactile, or auditory. The created product may be tangible or intangible, depending on the technique used.

Art Therapist Grooming and Accreditation

Fine art therapy practice requires a knowledge of the visual forms—drawing, painting, sculpture, so on— equally well as the creative procedure, man development and psychology, and counseling theories and methodology.

Those who practise art therapy, even at the entry level, must have earned at least a master's degree from an accredited institution. The Educational Program Approval Board (EPAB) uses academic standards set by the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) to evaluate the compliance of art therapy programs with the recommended requirements. Additionally, the body providing accreditation to the tertiary-level institution must be approved by the Council for Higher Didactics Accreditation (CHEA).

The Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB) was established in 1993. The master goal of the ATCB is to safeguard the interests of the public by ensuring that practicing fine 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 art therapy and gained post-graduate clinical experience under the supervision of a qualified mentor.
• Board Certified Art Therapist (ATR-BC): This is the highest credential an art therapist can earn. Applicants are required to successfully complete a national exam to highlight their complete understanding of the clinical skills and theories associated with art therapy.
• Art Therapy Certified Supervisor (ATCS): This avant-garde supervisory credential may exist earned past experienced Board Certified Fine art Therapists.

Art therapists who take earned their credentials at the ATCB are required to adhere to the institution's lawmaking of professional person practice. At present, the ATCB database contains over 5000 credentialed fine 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 not be inclined to cooperate fully and openly with the treatment procedure or may refuse this type of treatment entirely. Additionally, some individuals may believe they are not creative or artistic enough for the handling to be successful, although the goal of treatment is to express one'due south thoughts and emotions, non produce artistic masterpieces. The effectiveness of fine art therapy may also be criticized, due to a lack of supporting empirical evidence.

Those who do go along with art therapy treatment may detect they accept to commit to a series of sessions before they begin to experience the therapeutic benefits of the approach. Other concerns include the costs associated with the buy of needed tools, media, and other materials. Obtaining a suitable setting for therapy to accept identify (especially if fluid media, special lighting, or other specialized equipment is used) may also evidence challenging.

References:

1. American Art Therapy Association. (n.d.). History and background. Retrieved from http://www.americanarttherapyassociation.org/aata-history-background.html
2. American Art Therapy Association. (2013). What is fine art therapy? Retrieved from http://www.arttherapy.org/upload/whatisarttherapy.pdf
3. Art Therapy Credentials Board. (n.d.). About the credentials. Retrieved from http://world wide web.atcb.org/Public/AboutTheCredentials
4. Center 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://www.mentalhealthcare.org.uk/arts_therapies

6. Child Art and Psychological Perspectives. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/1919/04chapter3.pdf
7. Rubin, J. A. (1999). Art therapy: An introduction. Philadelphia: Taylor & Francis.
8. Stuckey, H. 50. & Nobel, J. (2010). The connection betwixt art, healing and public wellness: A review of current literature. American Journal of Public Health, 100(2), 254-263.

9. Thompson, Grand. (n.d.). The Hidden Paintings of Shirley A. Stonemason ... Sybil. Retrieved from http://www.hiddenpaintings.com

10. Trevisani, F., Casadio, R., Romagnoli, F., Zamagni, 1000. P., Francesconi, C., Tromellini, A., Di Micoli, A., Frigerio, M., Farinelli, G. and Bernardi, M. (2010). Art in the hospital: Its impact on the feelings and emotional country of patients admitted to an internal medicine unit. The Journal of Culling and Complementary Medicine, 16(8), 853-859.
11. Vick, R. Grand. (n.d.). A brief history of art therapy. Retrieved from http://areas.fba.ul.pt/jpeneda/Briefhistoryat.pdf

dalgarnobervicad.blogspot.com

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

Share this post