Art Therapy

Art Therapy

Every year in the psychological world, there is a professional who invents some new way to cure those with psychological troubles. Some of these Ð''cures' are just outrages, while others prove to be an educated hit. In this paper, I am going to inform you about art therapy, a therapy that has been in existence since mankind has, but until this century has never truly been looked at as a true therapy. I will discuss the history of art therapy, definition of art therapy, the job of an art therapist, and the benefits that art therapy can have for its patients.

Art has been present throughout most of the history of mankind. However, it was not till about one hundred years ago that doctors began to record descriptions of spontaneous artwork done by their patients. Then after the Great Depression, in 1930 the profession of Art Therapy truly began. In the United States of America, we consider a woman by the name of Margaret Naumburg to be the founder. Margaret Naumburg, born in 1890, was an educator first, who later studied psychology, parapsychology, and physical coordination under various doctors during her post-graduate years. After studying under a few brilliant minds, she took her educational background and her new found knowledge of psychology to create what would become art therapy. In 1914, while living in New York City with her husband, author Waldo Frank, Naumburg founded a children's school that she would eventually name the Walden School. According to her son, Thomas Frank, she opened this school to practice her belief that "the emotional development of children, fostered through encouragement of spontaneous creative expression and self-motivated learning, should take precedence over the traditional intellectual approach to the teaching of standardized curriculum". Naumburg practiced her psychoanalytic training with her students, and encouraged all of her faculty to do the same with their students. In 1930, she became the author of her first book and made the development of art therapy her main focus. Naumburg went on to write four more books, as well as began and taught an undergraduate art therapy program at New York University. In 1969, art therapy became a graduate level degree. Florence Cane, the sister of Margaret Naumburg, would later modify the principles of art therapy so that it could be used with children. In the modern world of today, art therapy is an association of practiced professionals that the American Art Therapy Association defines as, "the therapeutic use of art making, within a professional relationship, by people who experience illness, trauma, or challenges in living, and by people who seek personal development".

Art Therapy is basically based on the principle that a creative process involved in processes such as painting, can be used as a healing process and be a life-enhancing experience to patients. It is when a trained therapist gives a patient art material for the patient to create a piece of work, so that they may show reflection or self-expression. The achievement of the session between the trained therapist and the patient should be for the patient to feel a growth, or even a change on a personal level. According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is "a human service that utilizes art media, images, the creative art process and patient responses to the created art productions as reflections of an individual's development, abilities, personality, interests, concerns, and conflicts." In Art Therapy, the therapists will ask the patient to express themselves through techniques of art, such as batik, masks, clay, boxes, paint, and collages. It is believed that this artistic expression of the patient ties directly to the brain of the patient. In the literature of Art Therapy and the Brain: An Attempt to Understand the Underlying Processes of Art Expression in Therapy, written by Vija B. Lusebrink, Lusebrink suggests how the brain and art created by a patient are directly linked:

"The human body process external and internal stimulation as a complex organism with multitudes of finely tuned and interactive systems. Art therapy focuses predominantly on visual and somatosensory information; that is how images and their expression reflect emotional experiences and how the emotional experiences affect thoughts and behavior. Formation of internal images activates sensory pathways" (Lusebrink 129).

The link that is shown directly between the brain and the art created by the patient is just one way that art therapy differs from other psychological therapies. This makes art therapy a three-way process between the image or artwork that was created, the patient, and the professional therapist. This type of therapy is particularly helpful for patients who find it too hard to communicate how they feel.

An art therapist is a professional trained in both the arts and therapy. According to the American Art Therapy Association, an art therapist must hold at least one of the following degrees to be certified as a professional, "a Master's degree in art therapy, a Master's degree with an emphasis in art therapy, twenty-four semester units in art therapy with a Master's degree in a related field". Along with these educational requirements, the American Art Therapy Association suggests that it is good for an art therapist to meet a few personal requirements as well, these include, "sensitivity to human needs and expressions, emotional stability, patience, a capacity for insight into psychological processes, and an understanding of art media. An art therapist must also be an attentive listener, a keen observer, and be able to develop a rapport