146 • Introduction to Art Therapy
special area of expertise, evoking expression. Another element central to art therapy is facil-
itating that expression once it has begun, which requires sensitivity as well as skill.
After the work is completed, the art therapist turns her energies to helping the artist to
learn from expression—from the process of creating and from the art product that is made.
At each step of the process, art therapists use what they know about art and therapy to make
the experience as helpful as possible for the person(s) involved.
This work, like all therapy, is most effective when it is done artistically, with tact, sensitiv-
ity, and a well-integrated technique. Although I added the optional “s” to this chapter title, I
have been concerned, as was Hanna Kwiatkowska quoted above, about the apparently insa-
tiable hunger among beginners for lists of techniques. I suspect Kwiatkowska would have
agreed with dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who said “the reason for technique is to have some-
thing to fall back on when you lose your inspiration.” Despite those insecure practitioners
who want to be told what to do, most art therapists value individual creativity, including
their own.
Evolution of Art Therapy Technique
Because of its historic roots in psychoanalysis, free art, like free association, was initially
the most common method in art therapy. Although some of us still feel most comfortable
with that approach, there is much to be said for a thoughtful consideration and selection of
specific tasks, especially under circumstances such as time-limited therapy or work with
certain groups.
Ernest Harms long ago called for art therapists to “design specific art interventions to
address specific psychopathology.”^1 Aina Nucho’s (2003) book, which has been thoroughly
revised since the first edition of this book, contains a thoughtful discussion about what an
art therapist might do during each phase of the therapeutic process. The names she coined
are useful too: Unfreezing, Doing, Dialoguing, Ending, and Integrating. Dr. Nucho articu-
lated many of the considerations that go into decisions about what to offer, how to offer it,
and how to behave during each phase of a session and of a course of art therapy. This chapter
will offer just a sampling of the many ways art therapists work.
Evoking Expression (DVD 7.1)
Warming Up
Aina Nucho gave considerable attention to the idea of what she called Unfreezing. Overcoming
natural resistances and blocks to creativity is often called Warming Up. All art therapists
are concerned with helping individuals of any age who are uneasy about using art media.
From Florence Cane’s (1951) use of rhythmic body movements before a scribble drawing,
to the recent popularity of guided imagery, art therapists have always looked for methods
of releasing the creative stream. For they are confident that such a force flows in all human
beings, even though it may be temporarily dammed up and therefore inaccessible.
Several popular techniques for loosening inhibitions use some kind of stimulus, like
music, stories, or fantasy. It may be active and focused, as in a planned sequence of activi-
ties, or it may be background and subliminal, as in the soft lighting and music provided by
art therapist Bernard Stone to enhance the dreamy atmosphere of his hospital studio, a place
I visited 20 years ago but have never forgotten. I have found that by modifying the light—by
using candles, flashlights, or projectors and shadows—I can also promote an altered state of
mind. On the DVD (A), you can see Janie Rhyne motivating an intellectual group of adults