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The links below are excellent videos showcasing Focusing Oriented Art Therapy with Dr. Laury Rappaport (Ph.D., REAT, ATR-BC). For those of you reading this who are in physical or emotional pain, watching this video may clarify the benefits of working this way and noticing how Art Therapy helps express your inner experience.
Focusing Oriented Art Therapy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhuYUXIEOe8&feature=share
Clearing a Space with Art
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_LoEjwGd2Y&feature=related
Art therapy is a way to get some distance from our losses, to give vent to the anger, pain, sadness and confusion.
There is no quick cure, no quick answers, no immediate cessation of pain, but there is a glimmer of relief, a whisper of hope and a hint of direction.
....... Cathy A. Malchiodi ATR, LPCC
Journey Beyond Road Trauma
www.journeybeyondroadtrauma.org
Survivors of Suicide Bereavement Support Association Inc.
Random Acts of Kindness
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvG1iVw8IjQ
Welcome to our website!
'A picture paints a thousand words' or 'Each picture tells a story' are such apt phrases for Art Therapy.
Art Therapy is a form of interaction between the Therapist and the Client that invites you to make an image of your thoughts, ideas and feelings before you verbally discuss them, sometimes it can be quite tempting to hide behind words as a way of intellectualising your situation but your Artwork goes much deeper than that. Art Therapy can be used with individuals or group. Schools and Community Care agencies may also benefit from the use of an Art Therapist to assist with the personal, spiritual and mental well being of their clients.
Within the language of visual art (using colour, shape and lines), descriptions of our inner and outer realities speak to us in ways that words sometimes fail to accurately describe, it does this by bypassing the intellectual processes and it helps us uncover all those feelings that cover up our wellness and confidence. Art Therapy helps us to share life events and therefore experience personal growth, insight and transformation. It brings to us an awareness of our thoughts, feelings and perceptions.
Art is one of the most ancient forms of healing. The visual arts are a powerful form of communication between our subconscious and conscious mind. Since earliest times art making has rehabilitated and transformed our physical, psychological and spiritual well being.
In this day and age Art Therapy benefits us in personal growth, self-expression, transformation and wellness. It encourages us to be authentic and urges us to be curious about our inner private lives and gives us a path to our core personal beliefs and values. It opens an inner personal door to our 'self' that may not be available by other means of communication.
Art Therapy is for any person that needs to share a life altering experience, wants to problem solve and/or has feelings that diminish their quality of life. Art Therapy is a key that can unlock our capacity for mindful acceptance of life experiences and enhance life skills.
Art Therapy also has a special place for those that are disabled/impaired physically, cognitively or mentally.
Excerp taken from:
“DRAWN TO THE TABLE”
WHY CHILDREN ON THE SPECTRUM NEED ART PSYCHOTHERAPY AS A REQUIRED SERVICE
by: Ed
Firstly, the aspect of Behavioral Functioning is the primary attribute that MUST be addressed. Arriving on time for a session finding the correct seat in the Art Room, receiving the appropriate materials, following instructions, appropriate handling of the materials (art supplies), and cleaning up are some of the many behavioral (or functional) steps a child must deal with in order to be “successfully” engaged in Art Therapy.
Secondly, the powerful internal process of conscious / unconscious emotional and spiritual expression of the self is at work, moving towards resolution all the time. This includes processes such as deductive reasoning, discriminatory selection (choosing the right color), cathartic release, spiritual perceptions, sublimation of aggressive drives (transformation), orientation to time and space, conquering the fear of failure as it is replaced with pride and accomplishment (which is even more scary than failure) and more detailed neurological phenomena (ie: recent research involving hormonal release, gene switching on / off when imagery is involved) (Hancock, 2). Even when it seems like the process is chaotic and it looks like “out of control behavior”, more times than not it is but a necessary phase of the treatment where it can be understood as an adaptive regression in service of the ego (Kris, 1952). This is an older term that puts a handle on the idea of becoming more primitive (chaotic) in expression in order to build skills of conscious control (self regulation) and purpose.
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