THE STUDIO OF ARTTHERAPY – DRAWING, PAINTING, CREATIVE ART TECHNICS Alena Sedláková, Slovakia For my dad, for my sister, for my mother, and for my sons and deep water, and sunflowers... Preface to – art therapy is the best non-directive method... „Otherness has become life threatening for increasing numbers of people. In this editorial the role of art therapy in seeing, knowing, and imagining others more fully and generously is discussed as a counterforce to hate and violence. Art therapy can reduce harm by confronting stereotypes and distortions, and can bridge difference by inviting self-representation into research, public, and political spaces“. Imagine the order: Something largely unnoticed but of value in art therapy is captured in these tree words. Our acts of caring require seeing, feeling, and thinking into our clients' realities, and responding with understanding of their distress. Art therapy encourages engagement with the world as it could be were it imagined differently. Art transmits and connects feelings with people, bridges multiple realities, and often pierces illusion or self-description. Art therapists help make visible what is otherwise unseen, pushed to the edges, repressed and rejected. But consider as well the social and moral imperative of imagining the – now more essential than ever as "orherness" increasingly has become life threatening for so many people. To by other not only is not belong but also is to not be deserving of the same human rights as those who do belong. To be order is to be feared and hated, persecuted or even murdered for one differentiate whoever "we" are from whomever "they" are. Inthe popular imagination, the other vividly appears as a monster, mutant, vampire, plague, infestation, toxin, pollutant – or dark-skinned, bedarded terrorist. Response Art: The Art of the Art Therapist One way we as art therapists work with difficult material and issues presented in therapy is through art, in the form of what we call “response art”. Response art gives the art therapist an opportunity to “look” again and process the therapeutic experience in a meaningful way. Being here in Cambodia affords for many meaningful experiences daily, every minute…my mind and heart is full. I have so many images that need expression from this very profound trip and I look forward to quiet days at home when I can really process and honor some of the images and memories I hold. Response art is one way to do that. It is really about taking in the experience, holding it closely, allowing it to resound with you for a while and then expressing outwardly through art telling how the experience has affected you. The images themselves might be a clear representation or something that is more abstract and expresses something more visceral. It might be expressed in the form of hope for the situation or one that sits in the despair. Likely the art will change just in the act of making it and realizations and messages abound in the images, sort of like dreams do. Because art making is partially from the unconscious, lots of times images occur that you were not even aware that were there. I like to call these presents from God, and either bad or good, help to guide us. ART THERAPY is: This encouraging and effective method can help you and others recover from pain and become whole again. • art therapy are fine methods guide yourself and others on a special path of personal growth, insight, and transformation. The language of visual art – colors, shapes, lines, and images – speaks to us in ways which words cannot. Art Therapy is a modality that uses the nonverbal language of art for personal growth, insight, and transformation and is a means of connecting what is inside us – our thoughts, feelings, and perceptions – with outer realities and life experiences. I tis based on the belief that images can help us understand who we are and enhance life thought self-expression. While the field of art therapy is relatively new, the idea that art making can be a form of therapy is very old and one of the most ancient forms of healing. The visual arts – drawing, painting, and sculpture – are powerful and effective forms of communication which have been used to convey humanitys collective history, ideas, feelings, dreams, and aspirations. Art has always been used to chronicle and portray a wide range of emotions and experiences, from profound joy to the deepest sorrow, from triumph to trauma. Since our earliest recorded history, art has also served as a means of reparation, rehabilitation, and transformation, and has been used to restore physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being. In recent years, we have rediscovered the benefits of art making for personal growth, self-expression, transformation, and wellness. Many people have found that art making can be soothing and stress reducing, a way to transcend troubling circumstances or lifes problems. Others have experienced how imagery helps to solve problems, release powerful or distressing emotions, recover from traumatic losses or experiences, or alleviate pain or other physical symptoms. You yourself may already be using art as a form of therapy and may paint, draw, or sculpt for relaxation, gratification, and self-expression. In response to this recognition that art can help people authentically express themselves, release powerful emotions, transcend trauma, and enhance health and well-being, the field of art therapy has grown and expanded in the last two decades, becoming a recognized form of treatment in health and medicine. Art therapy is based on the idea that the creative process of art making is healing and life enhancing, and that it is an potent form of communication of feelings, thoughts, and experiences. It utilizes the creative process which exists within every individual to promote growth, self-expression, emotional reparation, conflict resolution, and transformation. Through art making as therapy you may find relief from overwhelming emotions, crises, or trauma, discover insights about yourself, achieve an increased sense of well-being, enrich your daily life, or experience personal change. It is way to make sense of that which is painful, to create personal meaning, to enhance wellness, and to become whole. It will also familiarize you with some of the many ways art making as therapy can help you authentically express yourself, reduce stress, confront and resolve trauma or loss, and enhance your health and well-being. Because art therapy is an action-oriented, experiential modality for self-exploration and growth, it is important that you experience it not only through reading this book, but also through your own art making. What I have described about art therapy will be more meaningful if you become an active participant in learning about arts healing potential through expressing yourself in simple drawing, painting, and collage exercises presented throughout this book. What I have learned about the therapeutic benefits of art making not only has come from reading about and studying the field of art therapy, but also my own work as an artist. The personal experiences of art making as therapy in my own life have ultimately informed my understanding of its transformative and reparative qualities. I have also learned from others – clients, artists, students, and colleagues –why art is restorative and healing; many of their stories are described throughout this book. In two decades of working as an art therapist with children who have been abused or traumatized, children and adults with serious or life-threatening illnesses, and families experiencing trauma or loss, and teaching thousands of people in art therapy workshops and studios, I have been repeatedly taught about important connections between the creative process of image making and health. These experiences have proven to me that art is a potent and effective means of self-expression available to people of all ages and capabilities, that everyone can benefit from arts ability to repair and restore, and that art making as therapy can play a vital role in health, healing, and wholeness. The Art Therapy will help you: • Find relief from overwhelming emotions • Recover from traumatic losses • Reduce their stress levels • Discover insights about yourself • Experience personal growth Art therapy: ? Drawing on the Past and the Present ? Drawing from within ? Ussing Art to express feelings ? Drawing toogether ? Painting on the Past and the Present ? Painting dreams ? Painting of an expression and a music Art therapy has grown from this concept that art images can help us to understand who we are, to express feelings and ideas that words cannot, and to enhance life through self-expression. However, despite its acceptance as a viable treatment method and a modality for self-understanding, emotional change, and personal growth, art therapy is not widely recognized and is often misunderstood. Art and therapy ? This formula conves the equation that makes u part therapy – the blending of art and therapy. Art therapy is essentially the marriage of two disciplines: art and psychology. Aspect of the visual arts, the creative process, human development, behavior, personality, and mental health, among others, are important to the definition and scope of art therapy. Art therapy brings together all of these disciplines, making it difficult to understand at first glance. People are often confused about just what the term art therapy means. While it was coined to describe the use of art expression in the therapy, it frequently generates some unusual assumptions. Over the years, I have heard many interesting impressions of what therapy might be, some of which are quite humorous. I once was asked if art therapy is only for "sick" or "disturbed" artists, providing a special treatment for curing their depressions, anxieties, or creative blocks. I was recently asked if art therapy could help improve one's drawing and painting abilities. Malchiodi write: Art +Therapy = Process + Product Although art therapist have generated many specific definitions of art therapy, most of them fall into one of two genereal categories. ? The first involves a belief in the inherent healing power of the creative process of art making. This view embraces the idea that the proces of making art is therapeutic; this process is sometimes referred to as art therapy. Art making is seen as an opportunity to express oneself imaginatively, authentically, and spontaneously, an experience that, over time, can lead to personal fulfillment, emotional reparation, and transformation. This view also holds that the creative process, in and of itself, can be a health-enhancing and growth-producing experience. ? The second definition of art therapy is based on the idea that art is a means of symbolic communication. This approach, often reffered to as art psychotherapy emphasizes the product – drawings, paintings, and other art expressions – as helpful in communicating issues, emotions, and conflict. Psychotherapy is essential to this approach, and the art image becomes significant in enhancing verbal Exchange between the person and the therapist and in achieving insight. With therapeutic guidance and support, art can facilitate new understanding and insights. It can help resolve conflicts, solve problems, and formulate new perceptions that in turn lead to positive changes, growth, and healing. Artistic talent is not a prerequisite, only a desire to increase self-understanding and find personal meaning. Art therapy is one of the creative modes to keep us away from cerebral, verbal, judgemental processes, and in the here-and-now world of imagination, intuition, inspiration. The paradox applies that in thinking less it is possible to know more. Art therapy – to become more integrated, we need to engage both verbal an non-verbal intelligence, both rational and intuitive knowing. Art therapy is one of creative modes to keep us away from cerebral, verbal, judgemental processes, and in the here-and-now world of imagination, intuition, inspiration. The paradox applies that in thinking less i tis possible to know more. This learning process can be a safe, visible, keep-able, accurate way towards self-awareness. Words (talking about) can have a once-removed flavour; images offer more immediacy, and may enable the client to be less self conscious, more spontaneous, at every level of development. By making visible our images, we can tap into material from the subconscious denied to the forefront of our awareness, and gain valuable insights. Art Therapy is a therapeutic modality that uses the art making process with applied clinical psychology and counseling techniques. A specialized therapy, the art therapy approach to healing emphasizes the process of communicating issues, emotions and conflicts both verbally and non-verbally. The client’s art represents communication on a symbolic level and the art images and pieces themselves become significant in enhancing verbal exchange between the client and the therapist. With therapeutic guidance and support, art can facilitate new understandings and insights, resolve conflicts, solve problems and formulate new perceptions that in turn lead to positive changes, growth and healing. Who are Art Therapists? Art Therapists are master’s-level professionals who hold a degree in art therapy. Educational requirements include: theories of art therapy, counseling, and psychotherapy, assessment and treatment planning, individual, group, and family therapy techniques, ethics and standards of practice, developmental and interpersonal psychology, cultural issues, research methods and practicum experiences in clinical, community, and other settings. Art therapists are skilled in the application of a variety of art modalities (drawing, painting, sculpture and other media) for assessment and treatment. Art therapists are trained to work with people of all ages and challenges in a variety of settings including hospitals, rehabilitation, psychiatric facilities, medical, residential, educational, assisted living facilities, as well as in private practice. Art media and forms of expression used in art therapy include: ? Painting (acrylic, tempera, watercolor). ? Sculpting (clay, plaster, mask making and other modeling materials). ? Collage using images collected from photographs, magazines and other sources. ? Drawing and sketching with crayon, pencil crayon, markers, pastels and charcoal. ? Poetry and prose. ? Writing and journaling. ? Colors, abstract designs, images and symbols. ? Graphs and charts. ? Dialogues and letters. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ART THERAPY? • Encourages the expression of feelings and thoughts. • Explores new media of expression through color, images and symbols. • Offers insight into making more conscious choices and decisions. • Helps to deal with creative blocks and challenging patterns. • Assists in enriching the relationship with oneself and with others. • Provides a clear understanding of life experiences. • Offers insight into personal potential and strengths. • Allows space to develop a deeper sense of meaning and life purpose. WHAT SPECIFIC ISSUES CAN ART THERAPY HELP WITH? ? Anxiety ? Social issues ? Relationships ? Trauma ? Addictions ? Loss and grief ? Depression ? Challenging behaviour ? Personal crisis ? Transitions/changes ? Autism and spectrum issues ? Developmental disabilities ? Mental health issues WHAT ART THERAPY ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE? • Art Therapy Assessments • Individual Art Therapy Sessions • Group Art Therapy • Family Art Therapy For proffesion The art therapist's work is sometimes challenging and calls for skill and sensitivity; it follows that those who wish to pursue a career in art therapy should be mature, flexible people. 'The training course, which combines theoretical and experiential work, is a Masters Degree to be completed over two years full time or three years part time. Applicants must have a first degree in art, although other graduates are sometimes considered, and some proper experience of working in an area of health, education or social care. A VARIETY OF ARTISTIC METHODS CAN BE USED IN ART THERAPY a. Drawing b. Painting c. Collage d. Clay e. Masks f. Batik g. Boxes EXCERSISES AND IDEAS FOR ART EDUCATION ? Art project painting, drawing and new idea of Art at health! Thanks very much!!! Alenis NOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. KAPITAN, Lynn. Imagine the Other: Drawing on Art Therapy to Reduce Hate and Violence In Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, Volume 29, Issue 3, 2012, ISSN 0742-1656., p.102-103. 2. KAPITAN, Lynn, 2012, p.102. 3. http://ncasi.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/response-art-being-expression-to-the-experience/ 4. MALCHIODI, Cathy. 1998. The Art therapy sourcebook. Lincolnwood, Illinois : Lowell House, a division of NTC/Contenporary Publishing Group, Inc. 1998, ISBN 1-56565-884-1. P- 280. Art therapy is a process that helps people of all ages to express and understand feelings, interests, relationships, and self-perceptions through art activities. It has been useful in treating emotional trauma and grief, as a supplement to pain and symptom management, to address psychological distress, and to encourage self-growth and actualization. The Art Therapy Sourcebook is a guide for people who want to use art as a way of understanding themselves better. It starts with information on necessary supplies and takes the reader on a journey toward understanding the connection between artistic images and human emotions. Malchiodi's fascinating book shows how modern art therapy is being employed as a potent health-care intervention. – Larry Dossey, M.D., author of Prayer Is Good Medicine and Healing Words - 5. About the Author Cathy A. Malchiodi is a licensed art therapist and clinical counselor. She is the editor of Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association and the author of Breaking the Silence: Art Therapy with Children from Violent Homes. 6. http://www.amazon.com/Therapy-Sourcebook-Sourcebooks-Cathy-Malchiodi/dp/product-description/0071468277/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books 7. MALCHIODI, Cathy, 1998, p.2. 8. MALCHIODI, Cathy, 1998, p.4. 9. MALCHIODI, Cathy, 1998, p.6. 10. SILVERSTONE, Liesl – THORNE, Brian. 2009. Art Therapy Exersises: Inspirational and Practical Ideas to Stimulate the Imagination. London : Jessica Kingsley Pub 2009, ISBN 978-1-84310-695-1, p.113, 11. http://healingsense.org/art-therapy-and-counselling-2/ 12. For example: http://www.baat.org/art_therapy.html (The British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT) is the professional organisation for art therapists in the United Kingdom and has its own Code of Ethics of Professional Practice. Comprising of 20 regional groups, a European section and an international section, it maintains a comprehensive directory of qualified art therapists and works to promote art therapy in the UK). 13. Art Therapy gives me a different perspective of myself. My doubts and worries become so much less important. New possibilities show themselves to me. 14. Its tactile immediacy and ability to touch feelings and emotions so speedily is what gives clay its effectiveness in art therapy.