Clinical Art Therapy Paper

Stephen Phillips Mid-Term Paper 4/4/17

“Oh, so you want to work with children,” the response I always get when I tell people about the field of psychology I am interested in. Learning about Clinical Art Therapy has taught me that there is so much more to be learned about people from the artwork they produce. In this Clinical Art Therapy, Art as Therapy, Expressive Therapy, and Art Education. Next I describe how, in the future, I would choose to use a person-centered approach to therapy, and use the expressive therapy definition to work with my clients. I then conclude by describing the creative art process and my personal experiences. Clinical Art Therapy as defined by the American Art Therapy Association is, “a mental health profession

It is defined as, “using the arts and their products to foster awareness, encourage emotional growth, and enhance relationships with others through access to imagination; including arts for therapy, arts for psychotherapy, and the use of arts for traditional healing; and emphasizing the interrelatedness of the arts in therapy” (Malchiodi, 2012, p. 131). Expressive Art Therapy is different because it includes art, music, dance, movement, drama, poetry, and writing, and may use more than one of these mediums in a session. Malchiodi states, “The basic premise is that the expressive arts experiences . . . allow people to explore unknown facets of themselves, communicate nonverbally, and achieve insight” (Malchiodi, 2012, p.

I believe that this approach is the closest way I have read of my own understanding of what psychology is, and by using the expressive therapy definition, I am able to tailor suit the therapy session to each individual client. I believe that Carl Rogers had a lot of great ideas, and a lot of them, unconditional positive regard, for one, are crucial in helping clients progress. I like the person-centered approach because it allows space for the client to interpret the art, and the meanings behind their works. I believe that it is important for the client to be able to express themselves, and by using more than one art therapy technique allows for me as the therapist to use the technique and media that would best be able to help them in viewing their situation from a different perspective. A population that I am interested in working with are people who have been in prison, and people in prison for life. In working with inmates, I would choose techniques to help them gain insight, or acceptance of their situations. Many prisoners have constructed large barriers between themselves and the world, and being able to use non-verbal communication like painting and drawing, the client will be able to communicate their feelings without having said anything, and may provide a way for them to