"This book is a personal, political and philosophical exploration of doing both therapy and research: an enquiry into how the process of therapy shapes the therapist as well as the client, and how the researcher is shaped by her research. A guiding theme i"

This book explores how ‘the hostile environment’ of neoliberalism affects art therapy in Britain. It shows how ambiguity in art and in psychoanalytically understood relationships can enable art psychotherapy groups to engage with class dynamics and aspire to democracy. The book argues that art therapy needs to become a political practice if it is to resist collusion with a system that marginalises collectivity and holds individuals responsible for both their suffering and their recovery. It provides accounts of the contradictions that are thrown up by neoliberalism in art therapists’ workplaces as well as accounts of art therapy groups with those affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower, in an acute ward, a women’s prison, a community art studio and in a refugee camp. Written by art psychotherapists for arts therapists and other mental health workers, the book will bring political awareness and consideration of resistance into all art therapy relationships, whatever the context and client group.

Art Therapy in Australia: Taking a Postcolonial, Aesthetic Turn explores and enacts established and emergent art therapy histories, narratives and practices in the specific postcolonial context of contemporary Australia. It is the first published book to attempt to map this terrain. In doing so, the book aims to document important aspects of art therapy in Australia, including how Australian approaches both reiterate and challenge the dominant discourse of art therapy. This book is as much a performance as an account of the potential of art therapy to honour alterity, illuminate possibilities and bear witness to the intrapsychic, relational and social realms. The book offers a selective window into the rambling assemblage that is art therapy in the ‘Great Southern Land’. Contributors are: Jan Allen, Bronwyn Davies, Claire Edwards, Nicolette Eisdell, Patricia Fenner, John Henzell, Pam Johnston, Lynn Kapitan, Carmen Lawson, Sheridan Linnell, Tarquam McKenna, Michelle Moss, Suzanne Perry, Josephine Pretorius, Jean Rumbold, Victoria Schnaedelbach, Lilian Tan, Jody Thomson, Jill Westwood, Amanda Woodford, and Davina Woods.

Art therapy literature is often based either on practice in a specific setting, art material or population, or if taking a more theoretical focus, on illustrative case studies. This book provides a theory-based approach to research, teaching, and practicing art therapy, including verbal and arts based techniques, settings, art processes and analyses, and the principles of supervision, evaluation, and research. It also offers an overview and discussion of how the different orientations of psychological and social theories are interpreted and implemented by art therapy. The book provides an integrative perspective that anchors methodology within a rigorous theoretical background. Focusing on three sub-groups of Dynamic, Humanistic and Systemic-social theories, each chapter outlines the central concepts of varying sub-theories within a general heading, and their interpretation from an art therapy perspective. Ephrat Huss explores the respective and shifting roles of art, client, and therapist through each theory, demonstrating the practical implications for creating a coherent intervention that informs all parts of the setting, therapy, client evaluation, and supervision. A Theory-based Approach to Art Therapy draws on the latest research in the field and will be a valuable text for art therapy theorists, educators, students and researchers, as well as for other social practitioners interested in understanding how to integrate the arts into their practice.

This book originates from the experience of providing Art Therapy for adults diagnosed with learning disabilities living in an institutional setting. It follows two longitudinal case studies in an attempt to understand dyadic relations in Art Therapy. Representing an important contribution to the history of Art Therapy, especially as it relates to the history of learning disabilities, this book explores past and contemporary discourses and contexts to identify a meaningful, thoughtful approach to the making and reading of images and the client/therapist relationship. It presents the thinking that informed the author’s practice at the time, from both the point of view of the time and its present moment, to contextualize contemporary Art Therapy practice. Through the storytelling of long-term Art Therapy cases with thoughtful investigation, the author explores themes of melancholia, abjection, and alienation, while also creating a depth to current practice. The chapters are richly illustrated, the two case studies are personal and compelling, and the writing is accessible to all readers. The book will appeal to practicing and training therapists of all persuasions, but especially those in Art Therapy or learning disability fields that have an interest in the visual forms of imagining and communicating.

An Introduction to Art Therapy Research is a pragmatic text that introduces readers to the basics of research design in quantitative and qualitative methodology written in the language of art therapy, with particular attention to the field’s unique aspects, current thinking, and exemplars from published art therapy research studies. This combination of a broad, standard approach to research design plus art therapy’s particular perspective and major contributions to the subject make the text suitable for courses in introductory research, survey of art therapy history and literature, art therapy assessment, and ethics. The book includes strategies for evaluating research reports and writing for peer-reviewed publication, features that make the text of special value to students, practitioners, doctoral candidates, and academics writing for publication. An online instructor's manual with student resources is available and offers material to enhance the pedagogical features of the text.

The narrative turn in psychotherapy entails practitioners seeing their work as appreciating client stories and helping clients re-author their life stories. Twenty-one chapters, presented by Angus (York U., UK) and McLeod (U. of Abertay Dundee, UK) bring together different strands of thinking ab

Therapeutic Arts in Pregnancy, Birth and New Parenthood explores the use of arts in relation to infertility, pregnancy, childbirth and new parenthood. It is the first book to bring all these subjects together into one accessible volume with an international perspective. The book looks at the role of the arts in health with respect to the pregnancy journey, from conception to new parenthood. It introduces readers to the ways in which art is being used with women who are experiencing different stages of childbearing – who may be unable to conceive and are struggling with infertility treatment, or who experience miscarriage and loss, a traumatic birth, or grief over the loss of a baby. It also elucidates how art-making offers a means for women to express and understand their changed sense of self-identity and sexuality as a result of pregnancy and motherhood. The book has an international compass and is essential reading for arts therapy trainees and arts in health courses and will also be of interest to other health professionals and artists.

A focus on the developmental progress of children before the age of eight helps to inform their future successes, including their personality, social behavior, and intellectual capacity. However, it is difficult for experts to pinpoint best learning and parenting practices for young children. Early Childhood Development: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is an innovative reference source for the latest research on the cognitive, socio-emotional, physical, and linguistic development of children in settings such as homes, community-based centers, health facilities, and school. Highlighting a range of topics such as cognitive development, parental involvement, and school readiness, this multi-volume book is designed for educators, healthcare professionals, parents, academicians, and researchers interested in all aspects of early childhood development.

This best-selling book is an easy-to-read introduction to the ideas and practices of narrative therapy. It uses accessible language, has a concise structure and includes a wide range of practical examples. What Is Narrative Practice? covers a broad spectrum of narrative practices including externalisation, re-membering, therapeutic letter writing, rituals, leagues, reflecting teams and much more. If you are a therapist, health worker or community worker who is interesting in applying narrative ideas in your own work context, this book was written with you in mind.