APPLICATIONS OF ART THERAPY

Art therapists have found a place not only in all kinds of psychiatric institutions (ranging from mental hospitals to community mental health centers) but also in private practice. In addition, Art therapy is used in many nonpsychiatric settings, such as geriatric centers, rehabilitation programs for the physically disabled, residential centers for children suffering from a wide range of disorders and deficiencies, special education schools and classes, prisons, and centers devoted to enriching the lives of people without any recognized psychiatric problems.

Applications to which Art Therapy has been adapted include psychological assessment, the training of members of other

psychotherapeutic disciplines, intensive individual psychotherapy, formal Group Art Therapy where art productions serve as a springboard for group discussion — assessment of family dynamics, ongoing psychotherapy with family groups, and adjunctive therapy with patients seen in informal groups.

Because art product inevitably bears the stamp of its creator, Art Therapy cannot help impinging on the territory of psychotherapy and

psychological assessment. Painting and sculpture are, in addition, susceptible to such a broad range of applications that the boundaries between Art Therapy and other uses of art materials are inevitably blurred. Recreation and rehabilitation programs use art activity to serve purposes other than those of Art Therapy, as does Occupational Therapy. Art education in residential facilities for emotionally disturbed children seldom makes the most of the therapeutic possibilities of art.

At best, all institutional uses of art materials will be coordinated by a person who understands their similarities, differences, and possible points of conflict as well as the usually untapped opportunities for collaboration.