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Fish with Roses, 1997
Watercolour, 10" x 14"
What is Art Therapy?
Fish with Roses, 1997
Watercolour, 10" x 14"
What is Art Therapy?
Relatively new in Canada, and even moreso in the Province of Alberta,
Art Therapy has been accepted as an alternate form of Therapy in the United
States, Europe and the United Kingdom for nearly fifty years. Offering
opportunity for participants to explore their own creative process, Art
Therapy has been used to explore and develop insight for the individual
in transition and facilitating a healing process for those who seek
alternate forms of therapy.' When words fail.....' is an motto often used
by Art Therapists.
Art Therapists work in private practice or as part of a clinical team.
Some facilitate workshops for the workplace, corporate sector, health care
industry, schools and the public at large. Art Therapists also train other
Art Therapists, teaching in post-secondary institutions all over the world,
including Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Finland, France, England, Canada,
the United States, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Europe.
Art Therapists have training in cross-cultural counselling, family
therapy, human development, psychopathology and group process. Emphasis
of modality is directly linked tothe institution where the AT was trained.
The Creative or Expressive Arts Therapies can include music, visual arts,
drama, dance and poetry.
In traditional 'talk therapy', words are often difficult to express.
In Art Therapy, the visual image is the form of expression, remaining long
after the session is finished...a visual documentation of significance
for the creator. You do not have to be an artist to participate in an Art
Therapy session. Art Therapists are trained to offer support for
participants and clients, encouraging exploration of the creative process
of the individual.
Art Therapists are trained at the Graduate level, having completed
an undergraduate degree in the fine arts and psychology.
There are several schools in British Columbia and Ontario that offer
Diplomas in Art Therapy; Masters Degree at Concordia University in Montreal,
PQ. Currently, in Alberta, Athabasca University has joined with the
University of Calgary and University of Lethbridge to offer an MA in Counselling
with Art Therapy as a specialty. This is through linking with the Vancouver
Art Therapy Institute
