Suchergebnisse

Artist. Art therapist. Activist. What is the relationship between these identities held by the author, and what is their significance to Queering art therapy? This is the central question the author, as a Queer art therapist, interrogates in this graduate project. Engaging in critical, art based inquiry, this researcher addresses the historic and contemporary engagement of the art therapy profession with the Queer community in terms of training, practice, and research, pointing to specific ways art therapy has reified material and symbolic forms of oppression and, in turn, caused harm to Queer practitioners and clients. Centering collaborative and individual art making focused on quilting, comics, and other fiber crafts, the author engages in a reflective, intersectional exploration of Queer experience, ultimately proposing the practice of Queering art therapy as a political act. Specifically, the author challenges the American Art Therapy Association's alignment with Karen Pence and the role of this partnership in affirming anti-LGBT+ federal legislation implemented by the Trump/Pence administration. Queering art therapy is a call to action for art therapists to push the field toward a truly inclusive space for Queer people through centering Queer voices and experiences.

As a Black art therapist and researcher it is central to my practice to center the experiences and stories of Black women and girls as an act of resistance to the way we have been historically misrepresented and erased. This thesis highlights the importance of creating identity-affirming counter-spaces for Black art therapy students to tell their story with their voice. Looking at witnessing and storytelling through participating in a story circle, and concepts such as community, care, and action. Utilizing narrative inquiry and grounded theory as methods of investigation. The literature review investigates the use of counter-spaces, the impact of storytelling and witnessing among Black women, campus climate in predominantly White learning spaces, the intersection of being Black and women, the representation of Black women within the U.S. and art therapy research will be briefly discussed, and the work of three Black women who were pioneers within the field of Art Therapy will be presented.

As art therapy evolves over generations and geography, its practitioners must learn to negotiate complex professional identities in the context of ever-changing needs and challenges for which there are no maps. The world in which art therapy originated no longer exists; the world we are entering is in constant flux. We are greeted here by unfamiliar ideas and technologies, new science, conflicting social and political agendas, and as-yet unimagined practice arenas. This paper considers a long-standing dialectic in art therapy: the desire for a safe harbor among our own kind and the pressing need to journey into the unknown. It discusses reinvention as a pragmatic practice that awakens the expectation of change. Once awakened, it becomes necessary to recreate paradigms, myths, and frameworks, and to realign with the new and emerging world.

AbstractIntergroup dialogue contributes to community development by providing structured and facilitated opportunities for narrative engagement and perspective taking that can foster social change. Both art and art therapy can be infused within intergroup dialogue to harness imagination and creativity in order to heighten reflection and promote emotional connections. An art therapy‐informed model enhanced self‐awareness, storytelling, and interpersonal interactions by helping participants discuss direct encounters of difference as well as specific events and people.

Exhibitions have the potential to affect the lives of visitors and the artists themselves. This article considers the potential influence of exhibitions as a culminating factor in creative arts therapy experiences for young adults with autism. It explores the therapeutic potential of using the gallery as a space for change as well as to enhance socially inclusive experiences for the participating artists. Findings from this study suggest that participating in an exhibition as a final component of creative arts therapy sessions may enhance the therapeutic benefits for client-artists with autism and may influence the perception of visitors.