In this art-based research project an art therapist utilized reproductions of historic documents and letters discovered in an old building to create a body of three-dimensional art that chronicled local and family history and inquired into societal prejudices of the past. The resulting sculptures and altered books were exhibited in the Missouri…

Evidence that posttraumatic growth is a potential outcome in the process of recovery from trauma and natural disaster highlights the importance of social environmental factors that encourage a growth response in survivors. This art-based research project followed up on a group of youth survivors (N = 11) of the 2007 earthquake in the Ica region of…

This article describes an artistic inquiry conducted by two art therapists using a dialogic method of collage and letter writing over a period of 4 weeks. The goal of the project was to broaden understanding of arts-based research and to discover the properties of collage as a research practice in art therapy. A thematic analysis of the visual and…

The reach of art therapy in assisting a hospice patient in confronting existential issues at the end of life is illustrated in this article with a case that took place over the course of 22 semiweekly sessions. Painting with an art therapist allowed the patient to shift from a state of anxiety and existential dread to a more accepting, fluid…

This article describes an art-based inquiry that explored two contemplative strategies--the conceptual strategy and the awareness strategy--through observation of art images and processes of creation, conceptual understanding, assessment, and the inner movements of self-awareness. Art media and directives were used to subjectively test key…

Using the metaphor of the human life cycle, the author of this viewpoint suggests that consideration of the birth, life, and death of images made in art therapy may promote a new perspective on their ethical treatment. A developmental view of images encourages art therapists to see art images as living entities that undergo a natural life cycle.…

By having their research proposals reviewed and approved by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), art therapists meet important ethical principles regarding responsibility to research participants. This article provides an overview of the history of human subjects protections in the United States; underlying ethical principles and their application…

An estimated 30,000 drawings remain of the concentration camp artworks generated over the course of the Holocaust. Fabricated in a reality conceived to eradicate not just life but the very will to live, concentration camp art raises the question of the persistence of creativity in traumatic situations. This article explores the witness function of…

The art therapist's ability to foster the creative process in service of relationship can be a foundation for infusing a social change paradigm into existing practice. For clients affected by discrimination and stigma, art therapy can promote empathy and understanding of the societal forces involved. In this qualitative study, 46 people…

This viewpoint appeared in its original form as the catalogue essay that accompanied the exhibition "Multiplicity and Self-Identity: Trauma and Integration in Shirley Mason's Art," curated by the author for Gallery 2110, Sacramento, CA, and the 2010 Annual Conference of the American Art Therapy Association. The exhibition featured 17 artworks by…

A case study illustrates how art therapy was used to elicit the narrative of an adolescent male student in transition from incarceration to a transfer school setting. Childhood trauma was addressed in individual sessions and within a literacy group co-led by a reading specialist. The art therapist responded to the client's needs by broadening the…

This article discusses ethical questions raised by an exhibition of work by an artist with a history of mental illness and the exhibition's relevance to art therapy and “outsider art” discourse on the subject. Considerations for how such an exhibit could be handled had the circumstances included an art therapist and art therapy client are…

This viewpoint discusses the history of Jessica Park, a professional artist who is an adult with autism. The narrative was constructed from historical descriptive research conducted by the author using published accounts and interviews with the artist, her mother, and two childhood companions. Examples of artwork produced in elementary through…

Traditional therapy, with its emphasis on verbal communication between therapist and client, may not be appropriate for patients with dementia due to impaired cognitive and verbal abilities. This brief report presents a qualitative study on the use of collage in art therapy to aid in the process of reminiscence in individuals with dementia. Data…

This paper examines the cultivation of artistic sensibility and its impact on the art therapy process and product in a community mental health center. Artistic sensibility embodies the sense of self as an artist through the integration of artistic and aesthetic attributes of self and other. The formation of a gallery to exhibit patient art was…