Art Therapy

Definitions of Art Therapy vary due to its origins in two fields: Art and Psychotherapy. It can focus on the art-making process as therapeutic in and of itself ("art as therapy") or it can be “art in therapy” (art psychotherapy). It's a relationship between the client and the therapist where the therapist is able to interpret what the client has made when told to express his or her feelings. There are a lot of approaches to art therapy. For example: Person centered, Cognitive, Behavior, Gestalt, Narrative etc.Art therapy involves humanism, creativity, reconciling emotional effects and personal growth.

Art has always been a very important part of my life. Ever since I was a little girl, I had a weird infatuation with the color red which actually stands for suffering, strength, sacrifice, murder and pain. No, I'm not crazy; it also stands for love, passion, friendship, charm and beauty. I attended a lot of art competitions in my life and always went for art classes even if I had to miss my actual academic classes for that. After I grew up, I got a little disconnected with art and coming back to it was tough but I was ready to do it. It was time to choose my college and I told my parents I want to be an art therapist. My parents were very supportive and told me to choose the path I wanted. I told them I was confused since there were two ways of approaching it , either I take art for my undergrad and psychology for my masters or I do psychology for my undergrad and art for my masters. And by the end of it I chose psychology for my undergrad. Art has always been my passion but what else never left my side was the need to understand abnormal behavior. Now, that I have the opportunity to combine both my passions, why not?

My main interest lies in the study of abnormal behavior and art therapy as a technique to understand it better. One of my friends recently told me about this study conducted by Professor Mike Crawford of Imperial College London, UK. He conducted a study to find out whether art therapy was helpful for patients suffering from schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia affects up to one in a hundred people once in their life time causing hallucinations, delusions, loss of energy and motivation.

Mike and his team examined the benefits of group art therapy among 417 adults with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The patients received group art therapy or non-art group activities each week for a year, or standard care. The art therapy involved a range of art materials which the patients were encouraged to use “to express themselves freely.” Non-art group activities included board games, watching and discussing DVDs, and visiting local cafes.

This study differs from previous trials of art therapy by focusing on clinically important differences in outcomes. It also provides detailed information about attendance rates, and offers art therapy of a duration that is more like that in real-life clinical practice. When patients were assessed after two years, overall functioning, social functioning, and mental health symptoms were similar between the groups. Levels of social functioning and satisfaction with care were also similar.

Patients offered a place in an art therapy group were more likely to attend sessions than those offered a place in an activity group. However, the levels of attendance at both types of group were low, with 39 percent of those referred to art therapy and 48 percent of those referred to activity groups not attending any sessions.

They conclude that art therapy, as delivered in this trial, “did not improve global functioning, mental health, or other health related outcomes.” They point out that “these findings challenge current national treatment guidelines that clinicians should consider referring all people with schizophrenia for arts therapies.” The authors suggest that art therapy should not be offered on a broad basis to all patients, but targeted at those most likely to make use of it, based on an assessment of the patient’s interest and motivation to attend sessions.

Currently, the UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommends that doctors “consider offering arts therapies to all people with schizophrenia, particularly for the alleviation of negative symptoms.” This should be provided by a registered therapist who has experience working with people with schizophrenia.

Professor Mike and his team believe that the lack of clinical improvement in their trial may be due to “the high degree to which people with established schizophrenia are impaired in their clinical and social functioning.” They explain that these impairments are known to increase over time, and the participants had been diagnosed for around 17 years. It may be that to benefit from group art therapy, “patients need a greater capacity for reflective and flexible thinking,” so targeting interventions at an earlier stage of the illness may be more effective.

After reading this study some people might lose interest in the subject or might wonder whether or not it would offer a promising future but for some reason it intrigued me even more. I wanted to read more about the subject and find out what it has to offer.

One day while I was talking to one of my friends, she told me that her mother wanted some volunteers at her prep school as there was going to be an art workshop there, The moment I heard this I accepted the offer. That day cleared all my doubts about whether or not I wanted to take up art therapy as my career line. I happened to meet this 5 year old girl who was suffering from dysgraphia. The workshop also helped children with learning disabilities and Arushi was one of them. When I asked the therapist whether a learning disability would affect the way a kid performs when told to draw something that the therapist can interpret, she told me “Programs are developed around a child’s strengths and abilities, so the kid can use the medium even if he or she has never picked up a crayon before.”

Arushi was able to make a beautiful drawing with a sun and mountains and a smiley face. The teachers were amazed as Arushi could never open up in class since she could never be at the same pace as the other children. Arushi’s mother was in tears as she now had hope that Arushi wouldn’t have to miss any more years of schooling and she would be able to pass the entrance exam for a good school in Delhi now.

Cases like these are what interest me and push me to keep aspiring for the same career line. I am currently in my first year at G D Goenka University, completing my undergraduate degree in psychology. I plan on applying for my Masters in Art Therapy abroad after completing this degree and then doing a diploma course in Art Therapy for the mentally ill.

Blog Writer: Anjali Menon, BA (Hons) Psychology, SOHSS