118 • Introduction to Art Therapy
frailties and the terrific complexity of mental functioning, as well as the delicacy of healing,
I believe that even the most well-intentioned artist is in danger of violating the oath taken
by physician healers, which is to do no harm.
For this reason, art therapists in training are familiarized with many theories of psy-
chology, psychopathology, and psychotherapy. And they are required to work under close
supervision for a substantial period of time before being eligible for registration, in order to
be sure that they have assistance in the difficult task of translating theory into practice.
Theory is what enables any therapist to make sense of the data being received, and to be
thoughtful about technique. Only with a coherent perspective on what she does can the art
therapist make fully available the healing powers of art. In fact, it is only when she has truly
mastered some theory of psychological functioning and of psychotherapy, when it is “in her
bones,” that she can use her intuition in the most helpful way. Theory helps an art therapist
to sharpen both her thinking and her clinical skills.
Since art therapy does have connections with other disciplines, it makes sense in theory,
as elsewhere, to utilize any relevant insights to understand why and how art therapy works.
It seems as unnecessary to throw the baby out with the bathwater as it would be to reinvent
the wheel. Just as those metaphors remind art therapists that they can learn from others,
so the notion that “a picture is worth a thousand words” is one of the reasons art therapy
works. Effectively integrating the synthesis of art and therapy requires an internalized frame
of reference.
The more extensive an art therapist’s understanding of different approaches, the more
clinical lenses she has with which to see (Hedges, 1983). Like a stain on a microscopic slide,
a theory can enable a therapist to literally see somet hing t hat wou ld ot her w ise be inv isible.
And if she can look at a problem from a different angle, she is often able to view possible
solutions from a new perspective. It is a kind of reframing for the therapist, for whom a
cup can look either half-empty or half-full, just as it can for the patient. That is probably
why so many have struggled with the difficult questions of how to view, understand, and
do art therapy—in order to help the people they serve as much as possible through art.
Endnotes
- Harms, E. (1973). “Editorial: Provinces and Boundaries of Art Psychotherapy.” Art Psychotherapy,
Vol. 1, No. 2, p. 1. - Maslow, A. “Creativity in Self-Actualizing People.” In Creativity and its Cultivation, edited by H.
H. Anderson. New York: Harper and Row, 1959, pp. 83–95. - The reader should not assume that an interest in mental imagery is restricted to those favoring
cognitive therapies. My analytic institute graduation paper dealt with spontaneous visual imag-
ery in adult and child analysis, and I included a chapter about its use in Artful Therapy (Rubin,
2005b). - From “An Interview: Helen B. Landgarten, by L. A. Warren, 1995, American Journal of Art
Therapy, 34, p. 36, emphasis added.