Approaches • 117synthesizing what they knew about the therapeutic power of art with what they understood
about one or more theories of psychotherapy.
The Unspoken Perspective
Theoretical ideas and the techniques that follow therefrom continually evolve and change
in all forms of treatment, including art therapy. As with clinicians who help through words,
the majority of art therapists don’t think of themselves as following any particular theoreti-
cal model. Yet like talk therapists, all art therapists have some notions of what is amiss and
how to help people to get better. These ideas necessarily underlie what they do and the way
they do it. Though it may remain unarticulated, there is always some kind of unspoken
theory behind any art therapist’s technique.
Any clinician’s preferred theoretical approach is likely to be chosen for largely personal
reasons. These include those by whom she has been trained and with whom she has identi-
fied, as well as those with whom she works. In addition to experiential variables, tempera-
ment is another reason for choosing a preferred framework. The approach selected may be
pure or mixed, rigid or flexible. Hopefully, it is both clear and consistent.
Selective Eclecticism
Although it is essential to have a solid grounding in some coherent notion of how people
function and how to help them to get better, most clinicians are not purists. In fact, most
art therapists are probably mainly pragmatic, selecting the approach that best fits the par-
ticular situation. Robert Ault (1986), who wrote the commentary on the integrative section
for the revision of Approaches, described three different approaches, each one to be utilized
depending on the needs of the patient(s). He called them person-, process-, and product-
centered art therapy (C) (Ault, 1986).
As Helen Landgarten said, “The truth of the matter is that art therapy is not a discipline,
it’s ... a modality. Art therapy is a way of getting there. It operates as a modality because you
can adapt it to any theory.^4
Is Theory Really Necessary?
But what about the art therapist who rejects theory? Isn’t it possible to simply be a sensitive
person and to be a good therapist as well? There is a difference of opinion in art therapy, as in
other clinical disciplines. An intuitive approach is probably more acceptable in art therapy,
because artists pride themselves on their innate sensitivities, and tend to be anti-authoritar-
ian and anti-theoretical. It seems a logical continuation of the romantic, bohemian tradi-
tion, which is appealing to creative people.
Art therapists, however, usually do their work not in artists’ lofts, but in offices and insti-
tutions run by others. The art therapist is responsible for meeting the goals for which she is
being paid, whether she is employed by educators, health professionals, or patients. For an
art therapist in private practice, there is an even greater sense of responsibility, because, in
truth, the patient’s life is in her hands.
Art is a wonderful modality. It has the power to cut through defenses and to uncover
unconscious material quite rapidly. It is also a very exciting modality, with the power to
stimulate a regression which—in those whose defenses are too fragile—may need to be con-
tained. An art therapist needs to know what she is doing, especially when people are in a
vulnerable state.
Most people who come to art therapy, even the “worried well” who are not grossly dis-
turbed, can still be injured by naive or tactless work. Without some understanding of human