134 • Introduction to Art Therapy
On the DVD (6.8), you can see still photographs as well as excerpts from two of the post-
program evaluation sessions, which were filmed because by then we had received a grant to
record the program. There is no question that the growth indicated by the observers’ ratings
was evident to me and, I think, to the children as well, who were quite pleased with them-
selves. Because they had multiple disabilities, they had not been in any sort of art program
at the school and were delighted with their accomplishments.
Art Therapy Assessments
Overview
Linda Gantt’s chapter in A Guide to Conducting Art Therapy Research (Wadeson, 1992) was
an excellent “description and history of art therapy assessment” 15 years ago. The next two
chapters described a number of drawing batteries and art-based assessment procedures and
instruments, including some unpublished materials.
Stephanie Brooke’s recent revision of her book (2004) on that topic includes not only
more art therapy assessments, but also references to material on the Internet. In a book
addressed to non–art therapists (Rubin, 2005a), I included two chapters on the use of art
in assessment, because I believe that art therapists’ greater knowledge and flexibility about
possible materials, themes, and ways of working can enrich other professionals’ use of draw-
ings to get to know the people they see.
There is no standardized or commonly accepted approach to diagnostic art interviews,
any more than there is a universally accepted way of doing art therapy. A great many differ-
ent and varied approaches are used by art therapists today. In the responses to a 1991 survey
of those who work with children, many different art assessment tasks and batteries were
described, in addition to the nine that were listed.
It seemed that art therapists at all levels of experience had modified existing techniques
and created new ones, rather than relying on published tools. Perhaps because of this
inventiveness, art therapists have typically contributed their own ideas to the evaluation so
critical to effective treatment.
Unstructured Approaches
Some approaches to art therapy assessment are unstructured, like my own free choice pro-
cedure, for which I have also described ways of “decoding symbolic messages” in art and
behavior (Rubin, 2005b). Edith Kramer (2000) suggested a series of art activities—drawing,
painting, and working with clay—the sequence of which can be varied, and outlined “obser-
vational considerations” (DVD 6.9; cf. also DVD 3.11H).
Neither of these interviews specifies subject matter. In Bruce Moon’s (1992) chapter, “The
Role of Assessment,” he proposed a wide range of choices of media and topic. He also noted the
importance of attending closely to the individual’s mode of working with the art materials.
I was surprised when I came across my original proposal for an art evaluation, which
was dated April 1969. Although I had first suggested that a free choice be followed by offer-
ing a different art medium (like Kramer) and, if time permitted, requesting a self or family
portrait (like many assessment batteries), I ended up finding the open-ended approach to be
the most fruitful (DVD 6.10).
The following vignettes illustrate its power. For Evelyn, free art expression was able to pro-
vide evidence not available elsewhere. For Melanie, she needed the help of a “scribble” draw-
ing to be able to create an image, from which she and I were then able to learn a good deal.