270 • Introduction to Art Therapy
demonstrated that people with diverse preparation and training who offer the arts for heal-
ing can co-exist under the same umbrella.
I believe that this is a healthy development, because it means that more people in more
places will have access to the healing power of art. The challenge for art therapists is to resist
feeling threatened and becoming exclusive, and to instead find mutually supportive ways to
work together, whether through collaboration, supervision, training, consultation, or some
combination. (See Chapter 2 for a more extensive discussion of this topic.)
The Future of Art Therapy
Art Therapist Predictions: Past and Present
By now you may be wondering not so much where art therapy came from, or even where it
is right now, but rather where it seems to be going. The present health care situation con-
tinues to be characterized by its volatility and unpredictability. Nevertheless, it is worth
trying to identify probable and possible directions for this evolving discipline. During
A ATA’s 2 5th anniversary year (1994), the editor of Art Therapy invited all those who had
been honored by the association to answer the following questions: “How will the profes-
sion of art therapy change in the next 25 years? In other words, what is your vision of the
21st century art therapist?”
While reviewing the responses, I was reminded of a panel organized by Arthur Robbins
at the 1979 conference entitled “The Future of Art Therapy: Fantasy vs. Reality.” As a panel
member, I had both wishful dreams and fearful nightmares about the field, and—like
many—I found myself vacillating between great optimism and equally strong pessimism.
By the time of AATA’s 25th anniversary, despite the insecure and unpredictable quality of
the times, I found myself much more squarely in the camp of those who saw the future as
holding mostly promise for the therapeutic use of art, especially in nontraditional settings.
It seemed to me that we had become remarkably well established for a profession that was
still practically brand-new. We were even listed as one of the “top 40 niche specialties” in
mental health in a 1995 newsletter for clinical practitioners. And in 2007 art therapy was
listed in another survey as one of the “10 hot jobs” for that year.
Some of my colleagues were more pessimistic, warning that the degree of diversity we
were encompassing within the definition of art therapy might be less enlivening than we
would like to think and might even be hazardous to effective growth and communication.
Many were concerned that art therapy would have a difficult time surviving the massive
budget cutting of human services in the 1990s.
Worries about the instability of the system prompted a good deal of advice, including an
injunction to conduct more rigorous outcome studies, some of which are now underway.
Some recommended that art therapists form alliances with much larger groups with greater
political power, such as the American Counseling Association with its 60,000 members,
which has recently become a reality.
Some exhorted us to hold fast to our roots, and to the central vision of the healing power
of art. Others urged us to let go of outmoded theories and ways of working, and to embrace
and explore new concepts. Despite differences in the details, almost everyone remarked on
the need to go beyond the past, to work with others in a more mature and collaborative fash-
ion, and to embrace the incredible challenges of our times by offering creative solutions.
All suggested being active rather than passive. And, in one way or other, almost everyone
had something to say about the risks and hazards of the previous trend toward “clinification”