Relational art therapy implemented in a women's prison, as demonstrated by the Expressive Post program, illustrates a transformative method for overcoming psychological obstacles. Embedded in relational theory and response-based art making, this method emphasizes the establishment of a therapeutic milieu characterized by mutual empathy,…

Contributing factors to occurrences of workplace violence (WPV) vary based on the setting and clientele. While no workplace can be guaranteed free from potential violence, research shows that agencies and creative arts therapists (CATs) can use preventative measures to increase workplace safety. To illustrate the impact of WPV, three CATs share…

The multicultural orientation framework centers on three pillars of cultural humility, cultural opportunities, and cultural comfort. Cultural humility is the foundational pillar that encompasses intrapersonal and interpersonal essence of which cultural self-awareness is a vital component. Cultural self-awareness involves an awareness of a…

Therapeutic services for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) often follow a medicalized narrative, focusing on treatment of the individual without attending to social and political factors. Drawing from disability theory and relational framework, art therapists can address and rebalance the therapeutic relationship. Three professional…

In order to advance Chinese culturally-appropriate art therapy practice, a qualitative study identified key indigenous factors. The investigation documented contextual adaptations made by 7 Taiwanese "sojourner" art therapists. Inductive thematic analysis yielded six themes, which identified from the participants' descriptions of art…

The authors recount a collaborative art-making journey centered on self-reflexivity to sustain a partnership across racial, social, and cultural differences. The image of a chair, re-imagined as a Humble Chair, was a symbol to anchor critical inquiry. The authors' explorations provide a pragmatic and artful approach to fostering cultural humility.

This article presents the author's experiences of practicing as an art therapist with a visible disability working alongside disabled art therapy participants in two settings--one that operates from the social model of disability and the other from the medical model of disability. Based on autoethnographic research, the author describes community…

Biopsychosocial theory is strengthening psychotherapy by focusing on interactions that engage the attachment system. Art therapy has the potential to align coherently with current theory provided it addresses the value of art in engaging with the attachment system. This article describes an interpersonal theory of art therapy based on a model of…

The combination of an art therapist's personal trauma with secondary traumatic stress can lead to compassion fatigue. Inspired by narrative art therapy methods, the author engaged in memoir writing, art responses, authentic movement, and public exhibition. This creative life review identified ways in which her nervous system responses to clients'…

The predominant medical model prioritizes physical conditions, often overlooking cultural identities and psychological needs of patients that are necessary considerations for holistic treatment. This pilot study aimed to explore how cultural humility is practiced in medical art therapy. Using descriptive qualitative study methodology, 6…

This exploratory study examined associations between the therapist-client bond and outcomes in individual and group art therapy in the Israeli school system. Children (n = 77; aged 7-13) and art therapists (n = 50) reported on the therapist-client bond at three time points. At the onset and conclusion of art therapy, children also reported on…

A new method of art therapy is described, based on Developmental Transformations, in which the therapist participates in joint art making with a client. The therapist's task is to present a graduated set of interpersonal demands on the client through the artwork, helping the client find adaptive responses to accommodations required by others, as…

Art therapists working with trauma populations are continually exposed to traumatic stories and experiences from their clients. The negative effects of such exposure can begin to cause the therapists to become oversaturated with trauma and decrease their resiliency and balance in their lives. This viewpoint explores the effectiveness of using a…

This study examined how a sample of art therapists (N = 14) describe their experience of therapeutic presence in the art therapy triangular relationship formed among the therapist, the client, and the artwork. Qualitative data were collected in semistructured interviews and analyzed using a grounded theory method. Component themes of therapeutic…

I describe an approach to art therapy treatment for survivors of traumatic brain injury developed at a rehabilitation facility for adults that serves inpatient, outpatient, and long-term residential clients. This approach is based on a review of the literature on traumatic brain injury, comprehensive neurorehabilitation, brain plasticity, and art…