86 • Introduction to Art Therapy
fact, there is no question that a great deal of human thought, at all levels of consciousness, is
what psychologist Rudolf Arnheim (1969) called “Visual Thinking.” Mardi Horowitz (1983),
a psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who did considerable research on imagery, used both art
and mental imagery in therapy. He suggested that there are good neurological reasons why
people can gain access to material not otherwise available by visual means.
Psychiatrist Louis Tinnin has also proposed several physiological explanations for the
effectiveness of art therapy, citing the fundamental biological processes in nonverbal com-
munication, mimicry, and the placebo effect. With art therapist Linda Gantt, he has devel-
oped a powerfully effective methodology for helping individuals who have been traumatized,
based on theories related to brain functioning (Tinnin & Gantt, 2000).
Memories May Be Preverbal or Forbidden
A variety of conditions can be the outcome of a childhood environment full of painful
experiences. Because their origins are so early, they are often more easily accessible through
a nonverbal therapy. This is especially true for eating disorders, addictions, and severe nar-
cissistic disturbances—in fact, most of what are commonly called borderline conditions,
as well as many other personality disorders. Since their development has been distorted
and fixated at preverbal levels, such individuals respond well to art therapy, which often
becomes the treatment of choice, since it can help them to express, to see, and to accept their
tumultuous internal states.
Whether because we are dealing with memories from a period before the patient had
words, or because there is an injunction that a traumatic memory must not be told, much
of the anguish behind the dissociative disorders is most accessible through images. It is no
surprise that, as inhibitions about reporting have been overcome, more art therapists are
working with people who have suffered abuse, who may be unable to speak about their expe-
riences, but who can use art as a way of “telling without talking” (Cohen & Cox, 1995).
In Bridging the Silence, dance therapist Susan Simonds (1994) argued for the use of “non-
verbal modalities in the treatment of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.” Simonds
proposed that a combination of movement and art therapy was optimal, due to the inevi-
table body image distortions that are the residue of such painful assaults.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) seems to be increasing, probably because it is more
often recognized by clinicians and also because of the increasing number of cataclysmic
events, such as what happened on 9/11, which create stress in observers as well as participants.
Since such traumatic experiences tend to render those involved speechless in relation to them,
art therapy is often the treatment of choice where PTSD is common, as in veterans’ hospitals
(American Art Therapy Association [AATA], 2006). Art therapy with those who have suffered
abuse is being described with increasing frequency (Brooke, 1997, 2007; Cohen & Cox, 1995;
Gil, 1991; 2006a, 2006b; Hagood, 2000; Murphy, 2001; Spencer, 1997; Spring, 1993, 2001).
Negative Ideas and Feelings Are More Easily Expressed in Art
In addition to the fact that the images at the root of a disorder may be inaccessible in other
ways, there is another advantage of art therapy. Because art is symbolic and essentially value
free, it is an easier modality than words through which people can begin to express their
dark side. These disowned aspects of the self are called the shadow by Jungian therapists. It
is always hard to represent what has been rejected, either consciously because of shame or
unconsciously due to anxiety. But if the unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and impulses can
be seen and accepted, the individual is then free to use otherwise-destructive energy for
more constructive aims.