Therapeutic Value of Art and History of Art Therapy

remedy Value of device and History of wileifice TherapyTherapy Emotions fine contrivanceisticBecoming An finesse healer machination therapy is a type of noetic hygiene that encourages the recipe of senses d hotshot rexercisingistic representivities such as painting, drawing or sculpture psychotherapy based on the belief that the seminal summons involved in the making of subterfuge is ameliorate and invigoration-enhancing (Websters Dictionary). cunning therapy opens a germinal world for those who cannot express the way they feel by engagement of communicative communication. To some pot, argon not enough.Expression by means of with(predicate) painting, sculpting, and drawing assists unmatched in overcoming the effects of traumatic or unpleasant happenings in his life sentence. Art therapy is a field that is beneficial to populate of all ages, gender, turned on(p) status, or rational ability. It is necessary to examine the knowledge of products resulting from and various methods utilized in a variety of disciplines in order to fully understand the large make headways of implementing imposture therapy (Repko, 2005).It is p subterfuged for a wide variety of checks such as the terminally ill, mentally challenged, emotionally disturbed, those afflicted with eating disorders, the ab lend oneself some(prenominal) sensiblely and verbally, and many more. The polish of Art Therapy is free and open expression, emotional tip-being, mental stability and swell up- labyrinthine sensed coping skills for the client.In the occupation of Psychology, use of Art Therapy is considered a most crucial component in evaluating, analyze and treating patients. Analysis of a persons psyche and mental health is practically severe with the single use of verbal communication. The use of machination in meliorate dates back to the ancient drawings on walls of caves, spread abroading that although the profession of Art Therapy appears genuinely yo ung in the family of mental health disciplines it is very old and in person natural in practice.There is counterbalance evidence that the creative act of fraud whitethorn have prevented or forestalled more serious mental disorders for painters such as Blake, Munch or Van Gogh (McNiff, 1980). Patients who be given the opportunity to free themselves of inhibitions stemming from inner hesitations of unexampled experiences, parental influences, ethnical or economic are qualified to express deep fears, even fantasies or wishes by dint of the expression of graphics.It is the symbolic language of images that initiates the surfacing of feelings and emotions that one often cannot or dares not to express verbally (Meltzer, 1948). As people outgrow inhibitions their personalities are freed and they can express and project feelings as well as face events that once disturbed them.In therapy, the developmental stages of maneuver expression go from quite restricted and simplistic stereotypi c models to images with genuine faces or events expressed. Frustrated or once disassociated personalities are released and reintegrated through the use of craft expression (McNiff, 1948).Art is often neglected as a serious faculty piece subject in rearingal institutions. However, with further investigating it can compliment even the most difficult educational classs. Art is important to every student, entirely e finically in programs educating handicapped or exceptional electric shaverren. J. Dewey expressed in his drive to develop humaneness in exceptional youngsterren that fine occupation is the way in which one whitethorn gain in strength and stature, the belief in his own powers, and the ego respect which makes fine inventionistic creationistic productionistic activity constructive in the growth of temperament (Dewey, 1970 as sited in Integration of Art pedagogics into Special watching method Programs, 1976, n.p.).Curiosity is emerging well-nigh the therap eutic mensurates of art, where once in that location was an emphasis on cognition art is becoming recognized as beneficial in the development and growth of individuals. The goal of both art therapist and art teacher is for an individual to realize his full ego. Teachers and therapists strive to master techniques which affect and develop the inner psyche of students.Margaret Naumburg was the initiatory pedagog who had a sophisticated discernment of the importance of art in education. She coordinated free art expression into her tap and published writings about her experiences. Teachers joined clinicians and educators in institutions dealing with handicapped, the bereaved and the mentally ill (Rubin, 1980). discriminating and long-term education with clinical practice is required for an Art Therapist to obtain software documentation. The very nature of altering ones record or well-being in therapy necessitates the seriousness in consideration of the pedantic and practical p reparation of an art therapist.The the Statesn Art Therapy Association was work on to regulate and determine and delineate the academic degree of education and readying of art therapists. Standards of registration include strict guidelines with requirements including a masters program with a highly valued emphasis on graduate training under the super batch and tutelage of art therapists and psychotherapists within clinical settings (McNiff, 1980).A wide variety of disciplines could be examined to understand the value of Art Therapy. slightly are sociology, psychology, economics, artand education. The scope of this paper will concentrate onhow art therapy is utilize in analyzing the psychological health of patients and discourse of the development of individuality through art interconnected into education and the aesthetic value of expression through the creative act of art. The most critical disciplines to determine the benefits of Art Therapy incorporated into its goal are psychology, art, and education.Examining the perspective of psychology will allow judgment of how a person can be evaluated for emotional and mental health, and methods of manipulation prescribed to achieve the last-ditch of balanced well-being through the use of the creative act. Psychology is the science of the status of the mind and it outgrowthes. Many conditions and happenings in life affect an individuals physical and mental health. It is desperate to evaluate and prescribe the most beneficial methods of word to achieve this balance of mental status.Examining the perspective of art will reveal how expression of emotion and experience within the freedom of verbal communication has a mend affect on an individual and can rid him of past traumas or harmful experiences that prevent ultimate health. Art is the production of what is appealing, considered beautiful or that which is of more than ordinary significance. The avenue of communication through this type of creative expr ession enhances all individuals who utilize it. Not exclusively is aesthetic value received through artistic expression, rather the therapeutic value off the beaten track(predicate) outweighs the former benefits.Finally, in looking at the perspective of education may explain why there is a necessity of years of academic information and clinical practice to obtain the certification of art therapy. Education is considered the intellectual preparation for mature life through acquiring knowledge. Its goal is to develop the power to reason based on knowledge and instruction that is imparted to the student. The profession of Art Therapy requires many years of academic study as well as clinical study and internship to obtain certification. Intense focus is on the importance of proper study and training to perform art therapy with an individual.Research of articles, journals and literary information pertaining to each discipline will be conducted. Products of the three disciplines mentio ned concerning art therapy will be discussed such as American Art Therapy Association standards and requirements, artistic work of individuals before and later on treatment, and exhibits of artistic expression from a variety of painters. The effectiveness of art therapy will to a fault be revealed through drawings and paintings exhibited by different artists and individuals.The purpose of this paper is to reveal the therapeutic value of free expression in drawing, sculpting and the use of images how art expands the imagination and educational scope of tykeren and adults and how the development of personality and character is touch when allowed expression through non- verbal means. By looking at similarities in the end product of individuals through various disciplines, the benefits of implementing art therapy will be revealed.BackgroundArt Therapy (All in bold will be be in Appendix A) began its history in the 1930s in America because of the efforts of Margaret Naumburg. In thir ty years it essential into seven courses taught in tail fin institutions by foursome art therapists including Ms. Naumburg. By 1971 four programs offered masters degrees in art therapy. These degrees were offered in universities, a medical college and a college cognize for its fine arts studies.Single courses in art therapy were offered across the region in academic institutions as supplemental education. The historical background of art therapy began very slowly with enamormingly nothing happening and then it developed with great speed (Agell, 1980).In the early development of art therapy professionals utilise it as case work for treating children with behavioral problems in residencies and special schools, hospitalized patients and close clients. Art therapists who, convinced of the special qualities inherent in art, persuaded others artists, teachers, and clinicians that art expression provided an enduring, moving, and sometimes exquisite message of human experience (Ag ell, 1980, p. 9).During the pioneering days, many therapists had been doing art therapy but didnt know what to call the process or results of something special that was happening in their work.Elinor Utman founded the American daybook of Art Therapy in 1961. This military issue provided information regarding the therapeutic use of art in professions. It also enabled art therapists who had formerly been isolated to be unified. This ultimately led to the founding of the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) in 1969 that gave therapists a building for promoting their field of work, and its ultimate priority was to support the training development of art therapists.Two documents, Guidelines for ArtTherapy reproduction and Guidelines were created to provide the fundamental standards for training and the educational level required for certification of art therapy. It was determined that professional certification should be with a accomplishs degree with recommended didactic and pra cticum experience (Agell, 1980).Art therapy has developed into four categories recreational, occupation, general therapeutic and actual art therapy. These types of therapy are typically apply with a variety of patients the most intensive application of the therapy was used on institutionalized tubercular patients. Handicrafts and major arts were used to aid in the depression caused by elongated institutionalization.Physically handicapped patients were trained how to use other limbs or a different set of instruction functions. Neurologically stricken patients such as those with cerebral palsy, mongoloid or the blind go through the benefit of release or development of a satisfactory degree of intellectual functioning through the creative act of art.Those with mental and psychologically deviant conditions experienced art therapy as a therapeutic process and sometimes as a curative process. Art therapy was used for the occupational benefit as well as for enjoyment.With the retarded and pathological child we have begun to realize the great help that can be gained from art psychotherapy in the youngest age group (Harms, 1975, p. 242). Research in do shows that we ought first to distinguish between intellectual and perceptive learning. An impaired child will comprehend a branch of green leaves or a flower much more readily if it is not provided explained to him but if he also has drawn it with crayons. The creative method of comprehending is not still much simpler but also reaches deeper into the apperceptive nature of the young child (Harms, 1975, p.242).Development of Art therapy is used for people with health issues. Anna, age twelve, is a patient who came to treatment after having suffered many traumatic experiences due to a heart defect. She endured five major cardiac surgeries and had many problems that compounded her condition other than the physical difficulties. Having been sexually convoluted by a family member she exhibited difficulty coping with h er feelings about the issues in her life causing plump for aches and a lack in friendships.Annas treatment included art therapy and resulted in better management of her anxiety and depression. A part of her treatment was to create a collage to draw out the subconscious feelings she had reached regarding her life issues. The focus of treatment and healing was her serious medical condition along with abuses. Annas depiction of herself in the collage was a figure with a large head and small body shown in the center of the paper. She had rap out magazine and placed the good describing herself on the right of her head and to the left, the bad.It was determined that she could not see both sides as a part of the whole head indicating she viewed herself as divided. It was only through art instead of traditional verbal therapy that this depiction of self was revealed. Though she was initially unaware of the divided view of herself through art therapy she reached a esteem of healing result ing in healthier coping skills. This was confirmed by the modify of images in her art, proving the benefit of art in treatment as well as recovery (Lees, 2003-2005).Victims of violent physical abuse also benefit from art therapy in that they are able to express in images frightful experiences that are either no longer conscious or are too painful to verbalize. As a sexual abuse survivor Susan exhibited a common theme of confusion of feelings and devaluation of self that is often only revealed through art. Art therapy reveals through images the impact the violence of sexual abuse creates.The first drawing of Susan reflected her pain with a single tear on an expressionless face. Her torment was silent, but through continued use of art she was able to express her suppressed emotions and the feelings that overwhelmed her. Progressive pictures depicted images of her feelings of loneliness and helplessness. Art allowed Susan to step outside herself and view what her feelings look like. T his was a step used for her to learn how to own her true feelings. Through art she was able to see herself as a grown woman with an inner child.The burnishs in her art turned from black and colorless to vibrant and vivid. Emotions of anger appeared after the fifth drawing and as art drawings continued through treatment deeper emotions were depicted in the images and color selection. Through art therapy Susan was able to work through the steps of healing which brought hope of a new life without the pain from past experiences (Lees, 2003-2005).A third use of art therapy is with people who have challenges living in the normal realm of life. Children with autism benefit from art therapy by the opportunity to express and communicate with the world through images since they often cannot verbally. Sung, a Korean five year old girl, was filmed with a 35 mm camera to determine the benefit of art in autistic children. In her first session she became familiarized with the supplies used in art sketchbook and a box of bright wax craypas.Her first drawings were banana-like arcs with heavy lines or large unfaltering dots also containing rectangular patches. former(a) forms come and go in her depictions. Eventually she became mesmerized by activity which fills her entire visual field and is absorbed by the deepening color and her rapidly moving hand seen from scant inches away (Kellman, 2004, p.13). Sungs art developed into additional shapes and a common images of heads with big solid eye dots and facial features. As time went on her pictures became more fine including bodies with clothes and thinner lines. Paints and origami were introduced which developed dexterity.She was able to develop keen vision with spatial capacities as well as the control of fine repel skills. Her art revealed that autistic children frequently focus on the geometric structure of a visual scene and on the forms and structures of objects themselves in their drawings (Kellman, 2004, p.16). Sung wa s develop her available skills through art.Art therapy has developed into an essential and beneficial form of treatment and therapy. The above three scenarios prove the variety of uses in the communicatory language of art. People with physical, mental or emotional difficulties are able to heal or develop with the use of art expression. The extent of healing/development can be measured through the progression of decimal point in the images. The scope of treatment is determined by the extent or type of art medium necessary. From its beginning in the 1930s, art therapy has developed and become recognized as an authentic therapy to assist people through a variety of disciplines.The objective of this paper is to explain how to become a successful art therapist by showing examples of treatments and giving the guidelines of the educational process. Integrating several disciplines forms a holistic, comprehensive understanding of how to accomplish this profession by using the Comprehensiv e Perspectives Model (Repko, 2005). Psychology not only benefits the therapist but is also the core reason patients turn to art therapy.Having a background in psychology will give an understanding of the brain and gives insights of how to cope and treat the issue. Art consists of the therapeutic process of learning to show emotion by using drawing pencils, paints and clay for sculpturing. all individual can benefit from art alone because it subconsciously uses all the senses.Education is what ties the two above disciplines in concert. Psychology and art alone are very different but with having the proper process in both, together they form a creative solution for those not only in need of therapy, but for all.ReferencesPsychologyEvans, R., Tissot, C. (2003). Children with autistic spectrum disorders Perspectives on current research. primordial Childhood Development and Care173, 361-362.Kellman, J. (2004).Art of a child with autism Drawing systems and proto mathematics. Journal o f Aesthetic Education. 38, 12-22.Lusebrink, V.B., (2004). Art therapy and the brain An attempt to understand the underlying process of art expression in therapy. Art Therapy Journal of the American Art Therapy Association21, 125-135.Meltzer, H. (1948). Studies of the free art expression of behavior problem children and adolescents as a means of diagnosis and therapy.The Journal of Educational Psychology39(6), 382-384.ArtHarms, E. (1975). The development of art therapy. Leonardo8, 214-244.Lees, L. A. (2003-2005). Lees psychological services, inc.. Retrieved March 8, 2008, fromExamples of How Art Therapy Works Websitehttp//heartandmindmatters.com/ sate/view/8/7/Packard, S. (1980). The history of art therapy education. Art Education33, 10-13.Rubin, J.A. (1980). Art therapy today. Art Education33, 6-8.EducationMay, D.C. (1976). Integration of art education into special education programs.Art Education. 29, 16-20.McNiff, Shaun (1980). Art therapy registration and standards of practice.A rt Education. 33, 29-30.Stoner, S.D., Drachnik, C., Jensch, K., Jungles, G., Levick, M., Minar, V. (1980). Employment, training program development, and legislative issues. 33, 25-28.Additional SourcesRepko, A. (2005) Interdisciplinary practice A student guide to research and writing. Boston Pearson.Webster, N (1961). Websters new international dictionary. Cambridge, MA Riverside Press. lick CaptionsFigure 1 Untitled (Lees, 2003 2005)Figure 2 Letting Go (Lees, 2003 2005)Figure 3 Inner Child (Lees, 2003 005)Figure 4 Haling wish (Lees, 2003 2005)Appendix AGlossary (Preston, 2008)apperceptive able to relate new percepts to past experienceart the means of widening the range of human experiences and creating equivalents for such experiences an area where experience can be chosen, varied and reiterate at will. In the creative act, conflict is re-experienced, resolved and integrated (Kramer, 1958, p. 6)art therapy therapy with the use of creative activities to express emotions e nabling individuals to manage/overcome physical and mental problems.curative something that cures a remedy.dexterity skill and grace in physical movement, especially in the use of the hands or mental skill or cleverness.didactic intended to instruct inclined to teach or moralize excessively.craypas painting media such as watercolor, temper, acrylic, oils, wax crayons