The Two Main Branches of Art Therapy

The Two Main Branches of Art therapy
Art therapy began as a natural extension of Freud’s groundbreaking psychoanalytic theories at the turn of the last century. Psychiatrists discovered that visual arts could be used as a tool of assessment, and by the 1940s art was being used not only for assessment, but also in therapeutic applications (Junge, 2010). Two main branches evolved from these early years: art as therapy and art psychotherapy.
With Freud and others at the forefront of modern psychological thinking, it is not surprising that the theories of psychoanalysis entered into art therapy. Margret Naumberg, considered by many to be the creator of art therapy, incorporated her concepts of artistic creation and symbolism with Freudian psychoanalysis (Junge, 2010). Art psychotherapy assumes “that imagery [is] an outward projection of the patient’s inward intrapsychic processes” and relies on “symbolic communication between the patient and therapist” (Junge, 2010, p. 38). Naumberg’s approach to analysis differed from Freud’s however. She allowed the patient to make his or her own interpretations rather than rely on the omnipotent therapist to provide insight (Junge, 2010). Goals of art psychotherapy include: making the unconscious conscious, transference through art making to the artwork itself, and client-based interpretation.
Art directives in an art psychotherapy approach are understood in terms of the spontaneous expression that gives access to unconscious material (Case & Dalley, 2006). The triangular relationship between the art, client, and therapist is considered more important than the final art product. Case and Dalley (2006) describe an art psychotherapy directive in which a child client is asked to paint a series of...

... middle of paper ...

.... The modern history of art therapy in the United States. Springfield, Il:
Charles C. Thomas
Kaplan, F.F. (2000). Art, science and art therapy: Repainting the picture. London and
Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley.
Kramer, E. (1972). Art as therapy with children. New York, NY: Schocken Books.
Lusebrink, V. B., (2004) Art therapy and the brain: An attempt to understand the underlying processes of art expression in therapy, Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 21:3, 125-135
Mcdiarmid, M. D., Bagner, D. M., (2005). Parent child interaction therapy for children with disruptive behavior and developmental disabilities. Education & Treatment of Children, 28(2), 130.
Shiflett, C. & Tang, H. (2011). Integrating the expressive arts into counseling practice theory-based interventions. In Degges-White S., Davis N. L. (Eds.). New York, NY: Springer Pub.