Art Therapy

From TC Open Forum

Lucia Šimončičová in Bratislava, Slovakia, asks:

My aim is to find answers mainly for these questions:

• What are the opportunities and options of art therapy in Therapeutic Communities for addicted to psychoactive substances?

• How is it possible to implement art therapy programe into the programme of TC?

• What are the principles of constructing/creating and subsuming/integrating art therapy programme in TC?

• Which art therapy targets/goals are appropriate to set regarding to the goals/needs of TC?

• Which needs of clients are more imporatnt to aim in art therapy sessions at?

• How is it possible through the art therapy to affect (cast aside) their maipulative behaviour?

• Or how to help them to cope with stressors through the art therapy?

• How to create the art therapy programme to enhance self-esteem?

• How is it to improve communication skills through the art therapy?

• And how to help them acqire appropriate problem solving skills; conflict resolution skills?

• How to help them gain affect orientation and regualtion through art therapy?

• How to work with their resistance, lack of motivation, swift changes in mood, that emerge in the art therapy process?

• How to attract them for art therapy to be able to perceive it as helpful/really meaningful for them. How to achieve, that they will try to gain as much as possible from art therapy session?

• How to establish self-dicipline skills? How to help them face and cope with anger, fustration through the art therapy?

• How to help them set in order their thoughts and elimnate their chaos?

• How to help them setting the goals and follow them?

• What kind of tasks/assignements are appopriate for special group of addicted people in TC? (I mean tasks/assignments, that are less psychodynamic orientated and more practical)

• What are the differences of working with underaged clients (adolescents)?

• And what are the special needs of dual diagnosis?

• Which art therapy techniques are useful for different types of clinets?

• When is it appropriate to start with art therapy?

• When is the art therapy useful for clients?

• What is the effect of art therapy in TC?

• What are the particularities of art therapy work in TC?

Useful online and published sources about Art Therapy and Therapeutic Communities

• From Windsor Conference Papers LISTED by DATE on the Planned Emvironment Therapy Trust Archive and Study Centre website
  • 1983 Art Therapy in a Therapeutic Community Maclagan, David
  • 1984 Art Therapy in the Vondelstraat Labruyere, Noortje
  • 1989 Dynamics in Psycho Motor Therapy and Art Therapy in Amstelland A Kunstt, Peter and Kampstra, Yolande
  • 1996 Therapeutic Community Training Sessions from the Perspective of the Art Therapy Gerritsen, Monique

• From International Journal of Therapeutic Communities (Vols. 1-12) which then became Therapeutic Communities (Vols. 13ff.) CONTENTS, by AUTHOR on the Planned Emvironment Therapy Trust Archive and Study Centre website
  • Gerritsen, Monique Art therapy: The real art is in the process 16:1 (1995), 25–35
  • Gerritsen, Monique On an island in the sun: The place of art therapy in training for therapeutic community practice 18:2 (1997) 133–143
  • Teasdale, Colin Art therapy as a part of a group therapy programme for offenders 18:3 (1997) 209–221