Professional Issues • 253Ownership and Storage Although institutions sometimes view patient art as a part of the
clinical or educational record, most art therapists feel that the art ultimately belongs to
the artist. Many of us encourage patients to store artwork in the therapy space if at all
possible during treatment, since it offers a marvelous opportunity to reflect on the prog-
ress of the therapy. While potentially useful at any point in time, such a visual review is
especially worthwhile as part of the termination process. On the DVD (11. 2), you can
see Mala Betensky reviewing and comparing art with an adolescent in the course of their
therapeutic work.
Confidentiality and Exhibitions Because patient art cannot only be displayed in its original
state, but can also be reproduced as photographs or slides, guidelines have been developed
for this delicate area of confidentiality and are part of the Ethical Principles for Art Therapists.
Spaniol, who has been concerned about the possible use of artwork without explicit consent
by “outsider artists,” has proposed respectful agreement forms, ways of writing about and
displaying client art, and has written a manual on organizing such shows (Spaniol, 1990).
Over the years, I have participated in a variety of public activities involving art by patients
with mental illness and retardation. They have been in connection with many types of set-
tings, from inpatient units to partial hospitals to museums, and have included competitions
and exhibitions for which I have served as a judge. It seems to me that, as with our overall
stance in relation to our clients, the notion of respect offers an appropriate guiding principle
for assessing what is best in each instance.
When it is possible to bring admiration and sometimes income to individuals through
their art, exhibiting their products can be a wonderful experience, as long as they are in full
agreement. It is a bonus beyond the intrinsic pleasures and therapeutic benefit of involve-
ment in creative activity. When we are also able to use such expressions of the human spirit
to educate the public and to demystify the myths about mental illness, it seems to me to be
a marvelous message for our medium. The key to doing it ethically is respecting the artists
whose work is involved.
Ethics and Client/Therapist Differences
Disability Issues
Although respect is essential when doing art therapy with anyone in any setting, it may be
more difficult to achieve when the client is radically different in some way that might not
be fully grasped by the therapist. The difference might be the particular disorder or dis-
ability from which the person suffers. David Henley has pointed out ethical considerations,
for example, in the use of art for assessment with those who are physically or mentally
handicapped.^1
The otherness of the disabled person’s experience is difficult but vital for any therapist to
comprehend. It can affect how the individual experiences the world and art as well, both when
responding and while creating with materials. Just as it is crucial for art therapists to know
developmental issues when working with people at different stages of growth, so it is necessary
to try to apprehend, as much as possible, the different person’s way of being-in-the-world.
For example, Viktor Lowenfeld noticed that some partially sighted and blind children
used their sense of touch and kinesthesis more to “see” the world, whereas others relied
more on their limited vision. He named the two types of perception haptic and visual. In
experiments with sighted individuals, he concluded that the two perceptual types were also