The published literature suggests that art therapy began in Australia in 1950’s. Artists like Guy Grey-Smith and psychiatrists like Eric Cunningham-Dax and Ainslie Mears were pioneers in this field. Cunningham-Dax (1908-2008) a leading psychologist who migrated from UK emphasised on the separation of art activity and art psychotherapy (Westwood & Linnell, 2001). The period of 1950s and 1960s marked the growth of art therapy in UK and USA. Several Australians travelled overseas to undertake education and returned in 1980s to contribute to this growing profession. Art therapy in Australia has been largely influenced by these returning Australians and conferences that supported the professions emergence (Westwood & Linnell, 2001).
As art therapy …show more content…
The indentation caused by folded page, represents the division of binaries; the left mask decorated with linear purple lines representing “Art Psychotherapy” viewpoint and right mask decorated with red swirls, organically moving beyond the boundary representing “Art in Therapy” viewpoint. Placing both masks next to each other surrounded by the silver shading represents the therapy that eventuates irrespective of the approach.
Figure 1. a) The red border represents the angst, concern, uneasiness, the energy that accompanies any new learning; the charged emotional state of unrest when experiencing unchartered territory. The smudged red paint into the silver shaded area, visual representation of my personal location in this debate; originating from the “Art in therapy” side of the debate however blending in with “Art in Psychotherapy” end.
Figure 1.b) The contrasting white border represents the expanse of the literature yet to be read and understood, the red and blue cut stripes symbolic representation of the influence rendered by American and British literary works and acknowledging how it has influenced the emergence of Art therapy in …show more content…
It has and still means very different things to different people, including to art therapists themselves (Waller & Dalley, 1992, p.3). Rubin (2010) describes art therapists as people with artist’s identity and creativity who strive to help others heal and grow. As the overall aim of an art therapist is to effect change and growth, building a therapeutic alliance with the client to facilitate a safe environment is crucial (Hogan, 2014). The role of the art therapist is conceptualised varyingly depending on the where they are placed in the debate, with certain commonalities and differences among them (Rubin,