Witnessing the devastating impacts of climate change and species loss has left many of us grappling with inexpressible grief for our more-than-human world. The importance of creating therapeutic environments to facilitate ecological grieving is greater than ever. This article examines the potential benefits of art therapy in this context. These…

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,…

A diorama, a three-dimensional scene created within a box or vessel, can be used in art therapy to explore aspects of the sexual self, including: sexual identity, fantasy, and desire, as well as issues pertaining to self-image, gender identity, and sexual empowerment. Based on case examples in workshop settings, the sexuality diorama intervention…

This article presents a therapeutic framework to examine the continuum of creative destruction to transformation through altered book making. The rebuilding of a printed book parallels desired changes that bring individuals to art therapy, including concepts related to reframing, reforming, and reclaiming. The relationship between creative…

The integration of somatic approaches in art therapy can counter the trauma of microaggressions. By adopting a power-from-within stance, art therapists can facilitate sessions for clients to affirm their LGBTQIA+ identities while resisting the impact of discrimination. This article, co-written by an art therapist and client, provides lived…

Climate change is contributing to the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events globally. Numerous Australian communities have been affected by severe bushfires, floods, and droughts over the past decades. In response to natural disasters, art therapists should focus on trauma healing, community resilience, while maintaining…

The Embodied Art Therapy Process (TEATP) focuses on the co-creation of embodied artistic expressions to promote self-awareness and autonomy for children. A case study describes how TEATP was implemented to support a child in gaining self-awareness and autonomy. Awareness of her own body, sensations, and feeling allowed her to assert her voice and…

In the wake of 2020's racial tension and civil unrest in the United States, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) art therapists and graduate students found themselves in need of support from like-minded, social justice-oriented peers. A virtual monthly peer support group called the BIPOC Art Therapists' Circle was formed. A different…

This case study describes art therapy with a client diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. Throughout 26 group art therapy sessions, significant emotional and behavioral changes unfolded along three distinct phases of the process. These stages included: identifying losses, reconciling difficult relationships, and articulating her dreams…

With growing trends toward preventative, community-based health care, art therapists must expand their scope of practice beyond the medical model and individual psychodynamics in order to serve, include, and empower those in need. In this article the authors review literature that illustrates the unique qualities art therapists can contribute to…

Punk culture is based on an ideology that emphasizes questioning conformity and creating a space for individuality within community. It has inspired fans to create their own music and art as part of their quest for authenticity. Art therapy informed by punk culture can be a way to create a culture of connection while also building resiliency and…

Clinical art therapy and studio-based community art therapy represent two major paradigms in art therapy practice. This viewpoint explores how critical theory can be incorporated into both paradigms and result in common ground between them. Critical theory encompasses an understanding of oppression in psychological, social, and cultural contexts…

Social Empowerment Art Therapy (SEAT) aims to address the stigma of mental illness through the artistic empowerment of participants. The model was developed within an inpatient psychiatric setting from observations of a shared governance structure that empowered residents. Incorporating an open art studio approach and social action art therapy,…

How does arts activism relate to concepts of voice, issues of social justice, and ideas about sustainable change and transformative processes? Does arts activism imply a particular set of values? This article describes an arts activism course that is designed to raise critical discourse on these and other questions and to provide a structure for…

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…