Art therapy enables the client and therapist to explore issues that may ordinarily be difficult to articulate in words; one such issue is the complexity of gender, which can be a subject of therapy in a range of ways. These wide-ranging papers cover both theoretical and practical topics, giving clinical examples and instances of clients' artwork.

A comprehensive survey of women's issues within art therapy. Leading international practitioners discuss topics such as assertiveness, empowerment, sexuality and childbirth, as well as issues around class, race and age.

Arts Therapies and Gender Issues offers international perspectives on gender in arts therapies research and demonstrates understandings of gender and arts therapies in a variety of global contexts. Analysing current innovations and approaches in the arts therapies, it discusses issues of cultural identity, which intersect with sex, gender norms, stereotypes and sexual identity. The book includes unique and detailed case studies such as the emerging discipline of creative writing for therapeutic purposes, re-enactment phototherapy, performative practice and virtual reality. Bringing together leading researchers, it demonstrates clinical applications and shares ideas about best practice. Incorporating art, drama, dance and music therapy, this book will be of great interest to academics and researchers in the fields of arts therapies, psychology, medicine, psychotherapy, health and education. It will also appeal to practitioners and teachers of art, dance-movement, drama and music therapy.

Arts Therapies and Gender Issues offers international perspectives on gender in arts therapies research and demonstrates understandings of gender and arts therapies in a variety of global contexts. Analysing current innovations and approaches in the arts therapies, it discusses issues of cultural identity, which intersect with sex, gender norms, stereotypes and sexual identity. The book includes unique and detailed case studies such as the emerging discipline of creative writing for therapeutic purposes, re-enactment phototherapy, performative practice and virtual reality. Bringing together leading researchers, it demonstrates clinical applications and shares ideas about best practice. Incorporating art, drama, dance and music therapy, this book will be of great interest to academics and researchers in the fields of arts therapies, psychology, medicine, psychotherapy, health and education. It will also appeal to practitioners and teachers of art, dance-movement, drama and music therapy.

Gender and Difference in the Arts Therapies: Inscribed on the Body offers worldwide perspectives on gender in arts therapies practice and provides understandings of gender and arts therapies in a variety of global contexts. Bringing together leading researchers and lesser-known voices, it contains an eclectic mix of viewpoints, and includes detailed case studies of arts therapies practice in an array of social settings and with different populations. In addition to themes of gender identification, body politics and gender fluidity, this title discusses gender and arts therapies across the life-course, encompassing in its scope, art, music, dance and dramatic play therapy. Gender and Difference in the Arts Therapies demonstrates clinical applications of the arts therapies in relation to gender, along with ideas about best practice. It will be of great interest to academics and practitioners in the field of arts therapies globally.

Appropriate for both sex therapists and art therapists, When Art Therapy Meets Sex Therapy explores sexuality and gender through the use of art making, connecting relevant theories and research from both fields. It begins with a historical review of how explorations of anatomy, physiology, and sexual identity manifested in art making in different cultures and discusses why a clinician must take these spiritual, medical, and socioeconomic factors in account to offer effective and culturally competent therapy. The second part of the book discusses clinically effective treatments in art and sex therapy, and contains numerous case illustrations. Included are interventions for important issues in therapy, such as exploring gender identity, sexual health and shame, processing sexual abuse, couples' intimacy, parenting concerns regarding their children's sexuality, and treating sex addiction.

An educational and inspirational book that offers practical guidance for art therapists working with transgender and gender-expansive youth and their families. It provides art therapy goals, recommended treatments and coping skills to use with this client group. Each chapter looks at how art therapy can address a different concern or aspect of the experience, such as transitioning, bullying, and recognizing or building a support system. It includes detailed case studies and cutting-edge art therapy interventions, which help young people to express the emotions surrounding the discovery of gender identity, the transition process, and self-care.

Art therapy has been slow to embrace the critical and theoretical viewpoints, including feminism, that have made a huge impact on other areas of the humanities and social sciences. Art therapists are ideally situated, however, to respond to the growing awareness of how language, media and images influence gender inequality and the pressures that can lead to poor mental health, and diminished well being, among women. The contributors explore the ways in which gender issues can be addressed through art therapy. By being sensitive to the socio-cultural dimensions of women's lives, therapists can become more receptive to the needs of their female clients. The case studies included here illustrate how issues of class, ethnicity and gender introduce a social element into what is sometimes described as a purely personal, cathartic process. By discussing empowerment, sexuality, pregnancy and childbirth, this volume provides a comprehensive survey of women's issues within art therapy and will prompt a reevaluation of current training and practice in the field.

Art therapists work with a range of distinct philosophical and theoretical underpinnings, but as yet there has been no single book to offer an overview of these theories. Art Therapy Theories provides an introductory, non-partisan overview of art therapy theories outlining the following therapy approaches: Cognitive Behavioural Art Therapy Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Psychoanalytical (Freudian) Art Therapy Analytical (Jungian) Art Therapy Gestalt Art Therapy Person-Centred or ‘Rogerian’ Art Therapy Mindfulness Art Therapy Integrative Art Therapy (the Group-Interactive Model) Feminist Art Therapy Art Therapy as Social Action Art Therapy as a Research Tool Each chapter provides a non-judgemental, yet analytical, synopsis of each approach. No detailed knowledge is necessary to understand the different approaches, as the book explains them in clear and concise English. Difficult terms and concepts are explained as they arise, and a glossary of terms is also provided. Art Therapy Theories is aimed at trainee art therapists who need to demonstrate that they have a grasp of theory, as well as a sense of how the theory can translate into practice. It will also appeal to seasoned therapists, counsellors and to a wide range of professionals in the mental health field.

This text introduces readers to the diverse and unique ways art therapy is used with women who are undergoing various stages of the childbearing process, including conception, pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, and postpartum. Art Therapy and Childbearing Issues discusses a range of topics including the role of transference/countertransference, attachment and maternal tasks, and neuropsychology. The book also addresses several motifs that are outside cultural norms of pregnancy and childbearing, such as racial sociopolitical issues, grief and loss, palliative care, midwifery, menstruation, sex-trafficking, disadvantaged populations, and incarceration. Each chapter offers research, modalities, case studies and suggestions on how to work in this field in a new way, accompanied by visual representations of different therapy methods and practices. The approachable style will appeal to a range of readers who will come away with a new awareness of art therapy and a greater knowledge of how to work with women as they enter and exit this universal, psychobiological experience.