Mental Health and Wellness at OCAD U

The purpose of this book is to introduce a new method of interpreting art: art as a form of therapy. It's the authors' contention that certain art works provide powerful solutions to our problems, but that in order for this potential to be released, the audience's attention has to be directed towards it in a new way (which they demonstrate), rather than towards the more normal historical or stylistic concerns with which art books and museum captions are traditionally associated. The authors propose that the squeamish belief that art should be 'for art's sake' has unnecessarily held back art from revealing its latent therapeutic potential. This book involves reframing and recontextualising a series of art works from across the ages and genres, so that they can be approached as tools for the resolution of difficult issues in individual life.

Using Art Media in Psychotherapy makes a thoughtful and contextual argument for using graphic art materials in psychotherapy, providing historical context for art materials and their uses and incorporating them with contemporary practices and theories. Written with an analytic focus, many of the psychological references nod to Jung and post-Jungian thought with keen attention to image and to symbolic function. This book jettisons the idea of reductionist, cookbook approaches and instead provides an integrated and contextual understanding of the origins of each art form as well as an insightful use for each in its application in mental health healing practices. Using Art Media in Psychotherapy gives clinicians and students alike the tools they need to offer psychologically minded and clinically astute choices that honor their clients.

This bestselling introduction to art therapy brings theory to life through case material and examples of real artwork produced during therapy sessions. Practising art therapist, Dave Edwards, explains key theoretical ideas - such as symbolism, play, transference and interpretation - and shows how these relate to practice. As well as providing useful information on training, employment and the role of the HPC, the book offers extra practical guidance on: - assessing clients - establishing and maintaining boundaries - ending therapy - conducting and participating in workshops. Now even more practical and accessible, this fully updated Second Edition includes a glossary, chapter summaries and other learning features, as well as a number of visual aids. Case studies from a variety of settings show trainees 'how to do' art therapy in real-life scenarios. An extended case study provides an overview of the whole process from beginning to end, tying together issues discussed in earlier chapters. This book offers an excellent foundation on which to build future knowledge and skills.

This latest edition of The Creative Arts in Counseling is a powerful, evidence-based examination of how creative expression can be used in counseling with clients of various ages and backgrounds. It explores the clinical application of all of the major creative arts, including music, dance/movement, imagery, visual arts, writing/literature, drama, play and humor, and--new to this edition--animal-assisted therapy, therapeutic horticulture, and nature/wilderness experiences. The history, rationale, and theory behind each art form are discussed, in addition to its clinical benefits and uses in counseling settings. Each chapter contains a variety of practical exercises that clinicians, instructors, and students can incorporate immediately into their work, as well as "creative reflections" for personal and professional self-evaluation. The final chapter summarizes the 126 exercises that appear throughout the text so that readers can quickly access exercises that meet their needs.

The Wiley Handbook of Art Therapy is a collection of original, internationally diverse essays, that provides unsurpassed breadth and depth of coverage of the subject.  The most comprehensive art therapy book in the field, exploring a wide range of themes A unique collection of the current and innovative clinical, theoretical and research approaches in the field Cutting-edge in its content, the handbook includes the very latest trends in the subject, and in-depth accounts of the advances in the art therapy arena.

Providing theory and practical interventions, this book is the perfect companion to creative arts therapy students and professionals who wish to work with the LGBTQ community and the unique challenges that sexual minorities, transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) clients face today. Considering ally development, unconscious bias and intersectionality, the book provides theory, case studies and practical guidance for working with this client group, as well as experiences emerging from within the LGBTQ and CATs community.

Art and Mourning explores the relationship between creativity and the work of self-mourning in the lives of 20th century artists and thinkers. The role of artistic and creative endeavours is well-known within psychoanalytic circles in helping to heal in the face of personal loss, trauma, and mourning. In this book, Esther Dreifuss-Kattan, a psychoanalyst, art therapist and artist - analyses the work of major modernist and contemporary artists and thinkers through a psychoanalytic lens. In coming to terms with their own mortality, figures like Albert Einstein, Louise Bourgeois, Paul Klee, Eva Hesse and others were able to access previously unknown reserves of creative energy in their late works, as well as a new healing experience of time outside of the continuous temporality of everyday life. Dreifuss-Kattan explores what we can learn about using the creative process to face and work through traumatic and painful experiences of loss. Art and Mourning will inspire psychoanalysts and psychotherapists to understand the power of artistic expression in transforming loss and traumas into perseverance, survival and gain. Art and Mourning offers a new perspective on trauma and will appeal to psychoanalysts and psychotherapists, psychologists, clinical social workers and mental health workers, as well as artists and art historians.