Frequently Asked Questions
What is Art Therapy?
The simple answer is: Art Therapy is a form of therapy encompassing certain
principles from the different fields of psychology, psychoanalysis, clinical
disciplines, and the visual arts. AT proposes creative, meaningful and visually
oriented experiences, and involves symbolic self-expression combined mostly
with non-verbal and sometimes verbal and other types of expression. That means
that a client in therapy creates a work of art in any of the mediums he/she
feels comfortable with, and the artistic product becomes the focus of the discussion
if it happens. With some clients there tend to be more art work and less of
a discussion, with other ones the opposite happens. It is mainly the client
who defines the proportion; the therapist guides the client on this journey,
carefully attending to everything that is happening with the client.
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I like comparing the AT process of the client to a journey over a bridge that
connects two parts of the client’s life. The therapist is like a careful
guide in this journey. This carefulness is very important, because in the therapeutic
relationship which is established within the therapeutic space, the therapist
makes sense of the images, words, and emotional contents that emerge during
the client’s journey. Some of them could be unpleasant or even frightening,
and only a joint effort between the traveler and the guide could bring both
safely to the other side of the bridge. The guide has to be there to prevent
the client from falling in the water, which sometimes could be very far, at
the bottom of a deep canyon.
There is a lot more to say about Art Therapy. You can check the recommended
readings section for books on AT. As I already explained elsewhere Art Therapy
is developed on the basis of several disciplines - psychiatry, clinical psychology,
and of course art. In its development it started using a variety of theoretical
approaches—psychoanalysis, cognitive-behavioral, Gestalt, existentialistic,
etc., and developed into different areas of application, such as diagnostic
and therapeutic.
Art therapy is one of the creative therapies fostering creative development
of the personality (the other ones are drama therapy, psychotherapy, music therapy,
play- and sand-therapy). It can be effectively used in treating mental disorders,
developmental problems in children and post-traumatic and post-burn-out effects.
A more complex understanding of the ways the human body and mind function,
and of the development of mental and physical disorders, creates the need for
the Art and other Creative Therapies. The secret is that Creative Therapies
can help where medications cannot.
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What is Sandplay Therapy?
Sandplay is becoming better known, though it still is a very new approach in
therapy. It is a naturally growing field of human psychology, based on the roots
of Jungian analysis.
To explain how Sandplay works, I will quote Kay Bradway’s voice:
«Sandplay is a form of active imagination… Even a
single sandtray can have healing power… In the Sandplay process, one can
often see order emerging from the chaos… It is the experiencing of molding
the sand, of adding water in sprinkles or by cupfuls, of placing the objects,
of burying them, of letting something happen, be it felt as creative or destructive,
and of honoring whatever process takes over, that is healing.»
Bradway, K., & McCoard, B. Sandplay – Silent Workshop of the
Psyche. Routledge: London and New York, 1997.
Part of a therapist's sandplay collection
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I became aware of the existence of Sandplay Therapy during the course of my
studies in Art Therapy. I was fascinated with the power of this approach in
therapy, with the intensity of the symbols, and with the process itself. It
feels as if you are taking part in real magic when you are involved in the creation
of a sand picture. I see similarities between Art Therapy and Sandplay Therapy:
both work through a spontaneous creative process, involving active work of our
symbolic function. In both cases the client creates a work of art, which in
the case of Sandplay is a sand picture.
What is a sand picture?
It is the final product in Sandplay; it is created throughout the session in
a sand box of specific dimensions. The client chooses objects from the therapist’s
Sandplay collection, and constructs the picture. The client can add water, construct
a landscape, «plant» a garden or build a new town – the client
can ‘play in the sand’. Creation of the sand picture constitutes
the individual process which is essential in personal healing and growth. In
the course of sandplay therapy this process is based on spontaneously created
images, which generates a highly individualized symbolic field, pregnant with
meaning and energy.
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Who can benefit?
Examples of circumstances where Art Therapy can be beneficial:
- families with children and adolescents challenged:
- in the school environment
- in communication with parents and others
- women experiencing life changes and exploring special issues
- young people exploring sexual, professional and self-identity issues
- people of various ethnic backgrounds, including those facing stress associated with a new beginning in a foreign country and the adjustment to a new culture
- people experiencing difficulties in the work place due to high stress, showing signs of burn-out
- people in their mid/late life searching for a new meaning and fulfillment in their life
>> To show or hide Case Example
Case example:
Jason (the name has been changed) was experiencing difficulties in his relationships with peers at kindergarten. Both his teacher and his parents complained about his aggressive behavior.When Jason came to therapy, his sleep and his appetite were affected, he had angry outbursts, and would bite his peers.
In therapy, Jason was doing active play working through his kindergarten situation and his unresolved problems with peers and adults in a symbolic form: mainly through play with animals. He and the therapist also role played the class situations where Jason practiced being a successful student. He appeared to be a bright child whose ability to learn was jeopardized by a high level of anxiety due to an unfriendly environment at his kindergarten. His angry outbursts were the only way he could express himself while constantly remaining in defensive mode.
After remaining in the safe and friendly therapeutic environment, Jason was able to regain his positive self-regard and ability to focus and to learn successfully. After six months of therapy, and a change of classroom, Jason successfully continued to attend his kindergarten and school later.
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