The document discusses the principles and historical development of art therapy, emphasizing its nonverbal communication and healing aspects. Key figures in the field include Margaret Naumburg, Edith Kramer, and Elinor Ulman, each contributing unique approaches focused on psychoanalysis, sublimation, and the publication of art therapy literature. The document also explores the therapeutic processes involved in addressing trauma, cognitive behavior, and the application of art in treatment for children, including those with ADHD and sexual abuse histories.

2. INTRODUCTION
• Art therapy is based on the idea that the creative process of art making
is healing and life enhancing and is a form of nonverbal communication
of thoughts and feelings (American Art Therapy Association, 1996).
• Art therapy supports the belief that all individuals have the capacity to
express themselves creatively and that the product is less important
than the therapeutic process involved.
• The therapist’s focus is not specifically on the aesthetic merits of art
making but on the therapeutic needs of the person to express.
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3. HISTORY
The four leading writers universally recognised for their
contributions to the development of the field during 1940s-
1970sare:-
• Margaret Naumburg,
• Edith Kramer,
• Elinor Ulman
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4. HISTORY
• Naumburg is seen as the primary founder of American art therapy and is frequently referred to as the
“Mother of Art Therapy”.
• Through her early work in the innovative Walden School, which she founded (along with her sister
Florence Cane), and later in psychiatric settings she developed her ideas and, in the 1940s, began to
write about what was to become known as art therapy.
• Analytic therapy, whether through art or words, relies on the method of free association.
• Familiar with the ideas of both Freud and Jung, Naumburg (1966/1987) conceived her “dynamically
oriented art therapy” to be largely analogous to the psychoanalytic practices of the day.
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5. HISTORY
• The clients’ art productions were viewed as symbolic communication of unconscious material in a direct, uncensored,
and concrete form that Naumburg (1950/1973)argued would aid in the resolution of the transference.
• While Naumburg borrowed heavily from the techniques of psychoanalytic practice, Kramer took a different approach
by adapting concepts from Freud’s personality theory to explain the art therapy process. Her “art as therapy” approach
emphasizes the intrinsic therapeutic potential in the art- making process and the central role the defense mechanism of
sublimation plays in this experience.
• Ulman’s most outstanding contributions to the field have been as an editor and writer. She founded The Bulletin of Art
Therapy in 1961(The American Journal of Art Therapy after 1970)when no other publication of its kind existed.
• All analytically based approaches value and foster free expression of the person’s own imagery. Some emphasize
spontaneity, while others stress the achievement of formed expression.
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6. PSYCHODYNAMIC
• Naumburg emphasized insight, uncovering unconscious forces through images and associations to them.
• Kramer focused on sublimation through the creative process, a form of ego mastery.
• Most art therapists who think analytically have emphasized one or another component of Freudian theory. Some examples are:-
‣ Margaret Naumburg’s (1966)stress on the dynamic unconscious,
‣ Edith Kramer’s (2000) on sublimation,
‣ Laurie Wilson’s (Rubin, 2001)on symbolism,
‣ Arthur Robbins’s (1997;Rubin, 2001)on object relations,
‣ Mildred Lachman Chapin’s (Rubin, 2001)on self-psychology, and
‣ Myra Levick’s (1983)on defense mechanisms.
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7. PSYCHODYNAMIC
Jung’s approach to mental and artistic imagery was respectful and intuitive—much less
analytical and deductive than Freud’s. He advocated the use of movement, drama, and visual
imagery in the technique he called “active imagination,” which was a creative way of amplifying
ideas and feelings in therapy.
He wrote: “An emotional disturbance can also be dealt with in another way, not by
clarifying it intellectually, but by giving it visible shape”. (Jung, 1916/1952).
Jungians are more likely than Freudians to promote art activity as part of analytic therapy,
making Jungian analysis attractive to artists.
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8. HUMANISTIC
A major group of therapies developed in reaction to the psychoanalytic focus on the past, on the
unconscious, and on conflict.
One of these famous approaches were the humanistic approaches, which emphasize the
acceptance and development of individuals in the present.
Such approaches were very popular in the 1960s during the flowering of the human potential
movement. Humanistic psychology offered a wellness model of change, as opposed to a med- ical
model of illness.
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9. HUMANISTIC
A major group of therapies developed in reaction to the psychoanalytic focus on the past, on the unconscious,
and on conflict.
One of these famous approaches were the humanistic approaches, which emphasize the acceptance and
development of individuals in the present.
Such approaches were very popular in the 1960s during the flowering of the human potential movement.
Humanistic psychology offered a wellness model of change, as opposed to a medical model of illness.
Holistic ideas about healing are an outgrowth of humanistic ones, as are those in what is known as transpersonal
psychology and psychotherapy. Abraham Maslow, an early humanistic psychologist, emphasized “self
actualization,” or the fulfillment of the individual’s innate potential for growth.
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10. HUMANISTIC
The Person- Centered Approach, developed by Carl Rogers, was originally called the client-centered approach.
It is based on the therapist’s unconditional positive regard for the patient, and the powerful effect of empathy
(feeling with) as a way of fully responding to the person in pain.
His daughter, Natalie (Rogers, 1993) was taught by Maslow. Initially trained as a play therapist and a dancer,
she used art along with movement, music, and drama in what she called “Person- Centered Expressive
Therapy” .
A recent methodological contribution to this orientation is Laury Rappaport’s adaptation of the work of Carl
Rogers’s colleague Eugene Gendlin in Focusing- Oriented Art Therapy.
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11. HUMANISTIC
Gestalt therapy was the creation of an analytically trained psychiatrist, Fritz Perls, who
integrated his dynamic understandings with the findings of Gestalt psychology. The latter
was an experimental approach that focused on sensation and perception. A major area of
interest was visual per- ception, as in the work of Rudolf Arnheim (1954, 1967, 1969), who
influenced many art therapists, including his student, Shaun McNiff (1988).
Existentialism also began in philosophy and was then embraced by a number of psychologists
and psychiatrists. A strong element was the centrality of meaning, a key factor in art therapist
Bruce Moon’s work with adults, described in his book Existential Art Therapy.
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12. COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL
One of the first to espouse a cognitive approach to therapy was psychologist Albert Ellis,
who developed what he called rational- emotive therapy (RET) in the 1960s.
At the 1982American Art Therapy Association (AATA) conference, art therapist Sondra
Geller and a colleague described how they could “unblock the creative process” for
students unable to complete theses who were seen in the George Washington University
Counseling Center. They felt that the effectiveness of art therapy was enhanced when
combined with the cognitive- behavioral strategies of RET (AATA, 1982Proceedings).
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13. ART AND NEUROSCIENCE
Art therapist Vija Lusebrink (1990) observes that images are “a bridge between body and
mind, or between the conscious levels of information processing and the physiological
changes in the body”.
Guided imagery, an experiential process in which an individual is directed through
relaxation followed by suggestions to imagine specific images, has been used to reduce
symptoms, change mood, and harness the body’s healing capacities.
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14. ART AND NEUROSCIENCE
• Research shows that imagery we see or we imagine activates the visual cortex of the brain in similar
ways.
• In other words, according to Damasio (1994),our bodies respond to mental images as if they are
reality.
• He also notes that images are not just visual and include all sensory modalities—auditory,
olfactory, gustatory, and somatosensory (touch, muscular, temperature, pain, visceral, and vestibular
senses).
• Images are not stored in any one part of the brain; rather, many regions of the brain are part of
image formation, storage, and retrieval.
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15. ART AND NEUROSCIENCE
Some claimed art therapy’s value was due to its ability to tap right brain functions, observing that art making is a “right-
brained” activity (Virshup, 1978).
In reality, the brain’s left hemisphere (where language is located) is also involved in making art. Gardner (1984),
Ramachandran (1999), and others have demonstrated that both hemispheres of the brain are necessary for art expression
and evidence can be seen in the drawings of people with damage to specific areas of the brain.
Images and image formation, whether mental images or those drawn on paper, are important in all art therapy practice
because through art making clients are invited to reframe how they feel, respond to an event or experience, and work on
emotional and behavioral change.
In contrast to mental images, however, art making allows an individual to actively try out, experiment with, or rehearse a
desired change through a drawing, painting, or collage; that is, it involves a tangible object that can be physically altered.
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16. NARRATIVE THERAPY
Narrative therapy (White & Epston, 1990) is considered a relatively new direction in family therapy and is
similar to solution-focused approaches to treatment. The term “narrative” has been used to refer to the telling or
retelling of stories as part of therapy. While narrative therapy involves a highly focused set of intervention
techniques, its basic principles complement those of art therapy, and for this reason, it is a useful approach in
work with children, adults, and families.
The primary goal of narrative therapy is to help people externalize their problems (White 1989; White &
Epston, 1990) to separate the individual from the problem. In fact, the maxim of narrative therapy is “the
problem is the problem, the person is not the problem.” When a person believes the problem is part of his or her
character, it is difficult to make changes and to call on inner resources to make those changes. Separating the
problem from the person relieves the pressure of blame and responsibility and frees the therapist and client to
focus on how to solve the problem.
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17. NARRATIVE THERAPY
Narrative therapy uses primarily verbal means—storytelling and therapeutic letters—to help people
externalize their problems.
In taking a narrative approach to art therapy, the art expression also becomes a form of externalization with
added benefits to the therapeutic process.
For example, a drawing, painting, or collage of the presenting problem is a natural way of separating the
person from the problem because through art, the problem becomes visible. It allows the person to literally
see the problem and think about it as something outside him- or herself. Visual modes of externalization are
particularly helpful with children who do not have the verbal capacity to communicate details.
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18. CASE STUDY
A young woman came to therapy to explore her struggles with her family’s expectations for her after her graduation from
college. She was the first person in her family to obtain a college degree and the first young woman to move out of the
family home before marriage. Her parents had immigrated and had lived in the United States since their early 20s; the
woman’s mother had not mastered English and was still very much involved in the customs and belief systems of her
country. In her parent’s culture a woman had a lesser stature than a man and was expected to behave according to old
world rules of feminine behavior. The young woman wanted to choose her male relationships independently, but her
family’s influence created deeply ambivalent feelings in her.
The therapist asked her to create a collage image of the demands of her culture to externalize the “problem-saturated
story” and ascribe to this image all the positive and negative demands that had taken control of her life. The therapist then
asked her to cut out from the image those traits that she wanted to keep and those she wished to discard. With the
preferred traits, the woman made a collage that illustrated both her attachment to her family’s culture and the freedom to
decide how she wanted to live. By visually separating the problem from her family and herself she was able to create an
alternate definition of her life choices.
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19. TRAUMA INTERVENTION WITH
CHILDREN
The major components of intervention with children who have experienced trauma
include the following: reexposure to the trauma memories and experiences, develop- ing a
trauma narrative or telling of the story, and cognitive reframing. Externalizing the story
into a visual representation of the elements of that experience and the cognitive reframing
of that experience into one that is manageable are the goals of successful trauma
intervention. Drawing is a critical component of both re-exposure and telling the story
Structure is also an important component that promotes safety and must be maintained
throughout the entire process for children to actively participate in trauma intervention.
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20. TRAUMA INTERVENTION WITH
CHILDREN
Drawing activities should relate to the major themes of trauma.
For example, children are asked to draw “what happened,” and “what the victim looked like at the time.”
The purpose of drawing is not to analyze or evaluate but to trigger sensory memories of the trauma.
When the child externalizes and “concretizes” experiences in a way that makes us a witness to the
experience, it allows the child to regain power over these memories and reorder them in a way that is
manageable.
Drawings are initiated in a sequential order and in association with specific themes and activities. The
instruction is not, “Draw whatever you like.” It is specific; for example, “Draw me a picture of what your
hurt looks like.”
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21. •
TRAUMA INTERVENTION WITH
CHILDREN
Drawing is a psychomotor activity. Because trauma is a sensory experience, not solely a cognitive
experience, intervention must include waysto tap sensory memories of the trauma.
• Drawing provides a safe vehicle to communicate what children, even adults, often have no words to
describe.
• Drawing engages children in the active involvement in their own healing. It en- ables them to move from
passive, internal, and uncontrollable reactions to their traumas into an active, directed, controlled
externalization of those trauma experiences.
• Drawing provides a symbolic representation of the trauma experience in a language and a format that is
external and concrete and therefore manageable.
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22. •
TRAUMA INTERVENTION WITH
CHILDREN
The drawing format itself is effective: The paper acts as a container of that trauma. The contained
trauma can now be managed at a sensory, tactile level by the child. The child can use it as he or she
wants, thereby giving the child a sense of empowerment over the trauma.
• Drawing provides a visual focus on details that encourages children, via trauma-specific questions, to
tell their story and to give it a “language” which can then be recorded in a way that is also manageable.
• Drawing provides for the diminishing of reactivity (anxiety) to these memories through repeated
visual reexposure in a medium that is perceived and felt to be safe by the child.
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23. SEXUALLY ABUSED CHILDREN
Sexually abused children deserve age-appropriate opportunities to recover from highly stressful and confusing
experiences (Klein, 2001). Art and play therapy are universal activities that most children view as outlets for
expression and which are perceived as inviting and low stress.
These activities allow children to make intolerable feelings tolerable, make chaotic and disorganized thoughts
more contained and therefore manageable, and process emotions in a once-removed stance that facilitates
identification, projection, and working through of difficult or conflictual thoughts and feelings. Art and play are
windows into the child’s perceptions of self and the world in which he or she lives.
When children reflect and respond to the images, symbols, and metaphors they create, their first glimpse of
positive change (transformation) may become available—imagining change is the first step to creating positive
change.
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24. ART AS FORENSIC EVIDENCE
The literature indicates that sole reliance on a child’s drawing as confirmation of sex- ual abuse is not plausible at this
time (Cohen-Liebman, 1995; Levick, 1986; Malchiodi, 1990, 1998). Although empirical data are not available to
conclusively support graphic indicators as the sole indication of sexual abuse, consensus is evident with regard to the
use of drawings within the assessment or investigation of sexual abuse in an ancillary or adjunctive capacity (Cohen-
Liebman, 1995;Poole & Lamb, 1998).
Drawings have been used in the evaluation and assessment of sexual abuse most often in the form of interview aids,
props, and communication tools. They can provide assistance in the assessment and evaluation of sexual abuse for
forensic purposes.
Drawings created within the context of an investigative interview provide data for both investigative and prosecutorial
purposes while minimizing interviewer interpretation due to the integration within the fact-finding process.
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25. ART AS FORENSIC EVIDENCE
Drawings employed in combination with other investigative processes may yield additional
information which may provoke further exploration. An investigative interview which includes
drawing tasks can provide insight into a child’s coping skills, level of trauma, emotional
reaction to the abuse, and, in many cases, abuse-specific information (Cohen-Liebman, 1999).
The increased acceptance of drawings in investigative interviews is due, as Smart (1986)states,
to the recognition of the field of art therapy and its expansion and collaboration with other
disciplines. Forensic use of drawings extends the potentialities inherent in the modality
beyond traditional application and signifies the interface of art therapy within the judicial
arena.
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26. ADHD
Art therapy is an active form of therapy that provides a kinesthetic and visual approach to learning for children with
AD/HD. It is a viable tool for enhancing the skills that children with AD/HD require in order to be successful.
Children learn more about their disorder through drawings, and this enhances their self-esteem.
Art therapy groups provide AD/HD children with an opportunity to learn from each other. Sharing their drawings
and thoughts becomes a vehicle for change and at the same time enhances self-worth. Families of children with AD/
H D can benefit from family art therapy. Joint drawings or murals provide parents, siblings, and the child with AD/
H D with a voice to express the experience of AD/HD and its impact on family dynamics. The art products become
powerful tools for the therapist to understand, intervene, and assist children and parents in effectively coping with
this disorder. Many children in art therapy, came to see AD/HD not as a curse but pos- sibly as an advantage, and
certainly not something to be ashamed of.
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27. AUTISM
Art therapy can serve a valuable role as part of multidisciplinary interventions to assist young
children who have autism in the development and generalization of foundation skills needed
in the areas of preacademics, art, play, and socialization.
In addition, the sensory nature of art media can entice children with autism to engage with
others. After these basic foundation skills are developed, art activities can be used to promote
meaningful social interactions for children with autism and their peers and family members.
Art therapy group activities can also provide a forum for siblings and parents to garner
support from each other to identify better ways to cope with the child who has autism.
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28. CHILDREN WITH ILLNESS
Children coping with medical conditions face many physical and emotional challenges.
They must at times relax developmentally appropriate defenses to allow
medical intervention, and endure long periods of isolation from peers, school, and
home.
Simultaneously, they must somehow accept the idea that treatments that are at
least unpleasant and often painful are working for their benefit.
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29. CHILDREN WITH ILLNESS
Art therapy brings familiar materials and the universal language of visual ex- pression to the
foreign land of medicine.
Through artwork and a sensitive therapist, ill children can respond to their situation with meaning
and purpose.
Judy Rubin (1984)conveys a profound trust in the ability of children to find ways to use the creative
process to heal themselves.
When art therapy is available to ill children, many pathways can be found to offer emotional support
and connection in verystressful circumstances.
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30. ADOLESCENTS WITH DEPRESSION
Art therapy with adolescents with depression can be successful modality of treatment because the client does
the following:
• Controlscommunication.The adolescent can draw whatever he or she wishes and share verbally what he or she chooses.
Nonverbal communication is more comfortable than attempting to put ambivalent feelings into words.
• F
eelsrespected.The therapist honours the content and meaning of the adolescent’s art, reinforcing a sense of respect
within the client.
• Has an opportunity to feel omnipotent. The adolescent can project idealistic viewpoints, intellectualize experiences,
or criticize other adults or peers in a safe environment.
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31. ADOLESCENTS WITH DEPRESSION
• Externaliz
es problems. Creating a tangible product provides the opportunity for the
adolescent to take a fresh view of problems at a distance.
They can experiment with changes to the problem through changing the art image
before they risk making a change in reality.
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32. ADOLESCENTS WITH DEPRESSION
• Art therapy is a modality that suits adolescents’ psychological needs and stage of development.
• With adolescents who are depressed, art therapy offers a unique way to communicate complex feelings in an active
manner.
• Activity, in and of itself, is an antidepressant, at the same time stimulating the adolescent to take a step toward finding a
solution.
• Art products allow the therapist to see the individual stressors that the adolescent is experiencing but may be too
overwhelmed to manage.
• Letting adolescents express themselves creatively offers a greater possibility for understanding depression, its causes,
and ways to reduce or eliminate it.
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37. Recognition &
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38. Thank you!