The Phenomenological Approach to Art Therapy

The present paper discusses the phenomenological approach to art-therapy and suggests an operational terminology for its main theoretical concepts. First we present the general assumptions that underline art therapy. Definitions, leading approaches, and the therapeutic effect of artwork are considered. Next we indicate the need for relevant and particular theories of art therapy. Phenomenological theory is examined as a case in point because of its popularity among art therapists. Despite its philosophical appeal, however, we find phenomenological theory lacking the operational terminology that is essential to form a coherent and distinct school of therapy. In the present paper, we extract from phenomenological theory operational principles, which can be followed and applied by art therapists. In this analysis, we take into consideration Betensky's pioneer attempt to create the bridge between phenomenological theory as applied in verbal psychotherapy and art therapy. We end by discussing the urgent need to operationalize other verbal psychotherapeutic theories so they are relevant for art-therapy practice and may help create greater similarities among art therapists of the same school of psychotherapy.     

Tanztherapie

Dance therapy is presented as a processorientated psychotherapeutic method. Its historical roots in the German Expressive Dance and in the Human Potential Movement in the USA are discussed together with current trends in Germany. Phenomena as rhythm, the experience of space, vitality contours, nonverbal attunement and movement analysis are discussed theoretically and backed up by short examples of dance therapeutic sessions. The integration of psychoanalysis and dance therapy is illustrated by the approach of Elaine V. Siegel, speaking about physical transference and counter transference. The therapeutic work with body image and the idea of creative movement and playfulness for the purpose of a new orientation of Stern’s RIG`s (representations of interactions that have been generalized) are fit in a modern and psychodynamic oriented concept of dance therapy. Questions concerning indication and current research are shortly summarized. Dance therapy, as the youngest creative therapeutic method beside music therapy and art therapy, is characterized by its openness for interactive scopes, the integration of behavior observation (through movement analysis) and psychodynamic reconstructions.     

Übertragung und Gegenübertragung in Verhaltenstherapie und Psychoanalyse

Most psychotherapists and researchers agree that a good relationship essentially contributes to therapeutic change. The psychoanalytic concepts transference and countertransference which describe fundamental aspects of the psychotherapeutic relationship have now become integrated into behavior therapy. These concepts, however, are used differently in psychoanalysis as well as in behavior therapy. This makes the communication between psychotherapists coming from different orientations difficult. Therefore, a research approach which describes the important verbal and nonverbal elements of a helpful therapeutic interaction independently from therapeutic orientation could help to evaluate their effectiveness in different psychotherapeutic methods. In this way a culture of integration into psychotherapy could be encouraged.     

Creativity,Acceptance, and the Pause: A Case Example of Mindfulness and Art in Therapy with an Adolescent

ABSTRACT

Mindfulness, defined as nonjudgmental awareness, has been integrated into a variety of therapeutic approaches. The benefits of mindfulness for adults have been demonstrated, and mindful interventions for youth are increasing. Creating a space for mindfulness to arise can be challenging within the hectic and technology-filled lives adolescents often lead. Art in therapy with adolescents can be a beneficial way of creating a pause, thereby helping clients to connect to a mindful state. The use of art in therapy to promote mindfulness can be especially useful for adolescents who can be reluctant to engage in traditional forms of talk therapy. In this article, we use a case example of therapy with a Mexican-American male youth to exemplify the clinical application of a combination of mindfulness and various art modalities.     

Nature as therapist: Integrating permaculture with mindfulness- and acceptance-based therapy in the Danish Healing Forest Garden Nacadia

Nature-based therapy can be considered an umbrella term for a diverse range of psychotherapeutic and allied practices which integrate experiences and activities in nature as therapeutic means. The objective of this article is to describe the theoretical framework for nature-based therapy in a university-founded healing forest garden near Copenhagen, Denmark. The garden will offer a 10-week treatment for people who are on sick leave with stress-related illness. This article focuses on clarifying the integration between the psychotherapeutic and gardening aspects of the nature-based therapy. The psychotherapeutic aspects are based on mindfulness and an acceptance therapy, while the gardening aspects are highly inspired by permacultural principles and methods.     

Exploring the Use of Family Therapy with Adults with a Learning Disability

Clients with a learning disability have received little attention so far from psychotherapeutic services. Systems thinking seems to have obvious potential for this group, given the stresses which such a disability puts on the client and his family and the variety of different organizations with which they become involved. This paper describes the use of family therapy within a clinic setting and considers similarities to and differences from general family therapy practice. Ways of overcoming communication difficulties are highlighted, as is the need to redress the power imbalance within the therapeutic situation.     

Empowering chronic headache sufferers

Chronic headache pain affects sufferers and their families. Many headache sufferers lack self-discipline in controlling their headache pains. Although preventive medication is a must, medical treatment which excludes psychotherapeutic intervention reduces its effectiveness. Sufferers report increased tensions and stress with members of their families. This article reports on a program which includes headache sufferers' involvement in both family and individual therapy activities in a clinical setting. The role of the family therapist is primarily to encourage and empower sufferers to become involved in activities which can promote and increase communication, trust and self-confidence, leading toward a development of skills which can enable sufferers to utilize positive coping strategies in their effort to control headaches.     

Testimonio,a Bridge Between Psychotherapy and Sociotherapy

The Testimonio, or Testimony, is a therapeutic tool in the treatment of people who have suffered psychological trauma under state terrorism. This article discusses the historical origins and social and clinical applications. The objective realities of the terrorist state are examined in terms of their toxic effects on the community, and the process of Testimony is presented as both a psychotherapeutic clinical method for improving the mental health of the individual, and an act of social and political therapy that makes a significant contribution to community mental health. Using examples drawn from women who are managing an accomodation to political repression, and their exiled sisters who have had to flee for refuge, the article compares the use of Testimony in a public, social setting with its use in the clinical setting. Through this comparison the interactive psychological and political dimensions of the process are observed as critical for the healing of personal and social wounds, and equally effective in both settings.     

艺术教育的精神保健功能

艺术治疗是一个古老的话题,向我们揭示了艺术活动在促进人类的精神成长和心理健康方面的意义和价值.学校中的艺术教育作为教育制度中最能体现人文关怀的学科,不应回避青少年对于精神保健和心理卫生的需求.从艺术治疗中汲取有益的经验,探索艺术活动如何为青少年提供长期而稳定的心理支持,是艺术教育在现代社会应该承担的职责.     

Indikation zur strukturbezogenen Psychotherapie

The distinction of conflict processing and structure promoting psychotherapeutic approaches in the psychodynamic field is now common knowledge and has now been incorporated into the guideline comments. The differentiation of treatment presupposes theoretical knowledge of the dynamics of conflict and structure and corresponding thorough initial diagnostics. Based on these foundations an appropriate focus of therapy can be agreed with the patient and the therapy target can be set. This focussed working towards a joint target is especially important for psychodynamic psychotherapeutic treatment, which is of limited duration. The actively accompanying therapeutic process differs from older assumptions that positive developments on the foundation of a therapeutic relationship occur quasi automatically but possibly need a long time. Aspects of the treatment technique and the therapeutic attitude, estimation of the therapeutic development and typical age-related modifications in adolescents and older persons are discussed.     

Humor in therapy: the case for training therapists in its uses and risks

Formal humor training for therapists is proposed as an elective part of their academic curriculum. The paucity of rigorous empirical research on the effectiveness of this historically controversial form of clinical intervention is exceeded only by the absence of any training for those practitioners interested in applying humor techniques. A representative sample of its many advocates' recommendations to incorporate humor in the practice of psychological therapies is reviewed. Therapeutic humor is defined, the role of therapists' personal qualities is discussed, and possible reasons for the profession's past resistance to promoting humor in therapy are described. Research perspectives for the evaluation of humor training are presented with illustrative examples of important empirical questions. In addition to its potential salubrious effects on clients, therapeutic humor might have the positive side effect of preventing or minimizing professional burnout in therapists. This potentially major psychotherapeutic resource, highly praised by some, remains insufficiently evaluated and essentially untapped.     

Therapeutisches Gruppenprogramm für Stalking-Opfer

Stalking victims show a high level of psychological disturbance and frequently need professional help. Thus, stalking must be considered as a serious issue in the field of psychosocial care. However, specific intervention programs to support stalking victims are not available. This paper reports on a pilot project that offers therapeutic help to stalking victims via a structured outpatient group therapy approach. The program aims at setting up appropriate behavior patterns concerning contact with the stalker, strengthening the victims’ self-efficacy and developing coping strategies for stalking-related stress situations. To investigate the effectiveness of the group program, an evaluation study has been conducted using self-report inventories, interview data and biological parameters. Preliminary results from 4 completed groups with 13 participants, indicating that the approach is highly effective, are reported. The potential of the group approach to improve psychosocial care provision for stalking victims is discussed. The need to integrate psychotherapeutic approaches into a multi-professional support system for stalking victims, comprising legal counsel, police measures and psychosocial interventions, is emphasized.     

INTRINSIC AESTHETIC VALUE REVISTED

Abstract: Every sentient organism needs constantly to re‐assess its environment in order to adjust to any changes in it and to ascertain which aspects are, or become, salient for its current purposes. Such adaptation is of basic evolutionary importance, but for human beings it can be difficult to achieve in the face of radical novelty or when different frames of reference are in conflict. Art by virtue of its integrated structure presents examples of how a partial unification of experience may be envisaged. Art thus helps to meet our constant need for orientation and re‐orientation, though its operation in this respect is invariably outside consciousness. So art can be said to have intrinsic value only within a strictly subjective, phenomenological perspective; more broadly considered from a third‐person viewpoint, the value of art is instrumental. Questions then arise concerning our motivation for seeking or producing art, about the relation of art to other cultural activities, and about the role of pleasure in connection with aesthetic experience; these are briefly discussed.     

Die Therapie-Vorbereitungsgruppe

There are different kinds of pretraining for psychotherapeutic treatment. They have two objectives: to get future patients in the right frame of mind for the imminent psychotherapy by informing them about the treatment, and to support therapists while clarifying the indication and selecting patients. Pretherapy training for group psychotherapy is frequently offered in Anglo-American countries. So far empirical studies have only partly been able to prove the supposed positive effects of pretraining on process and outcome of psychotherapy treatment, particularly as the studies showed profound flaws with regard to methods and pretraining concepts. The “Therapie-Vorbereitungsgruppe” presented here is a pretherapy training group in the run-up to inpatient group psychotherapy at a German university clinic. In Germany, such groups are rarely offered. The “Therapie-Vorbereitungsgruppe” consists of weekly meetings of therapists of a psychotherapeutic ward and applicants for inpatient treatment. Ward members introduce the applicants into the concept of treatment and the treatment setting and they explore the psychological background of each of the applicants. Besides economical the concept has clinical and therapeutic advantages. Future inpatients get a realistic view of the treatment, they can build up a relationship to other inpatients and to therapists, and besides waiting for the admission to the clinic is made more bearable. Therapists are helped with their decision on the admission. The concept has proved itself in clinical practice for many years. The empirical proof of its effectiveness and a comparison with other, similar concepts fall due.     

The effects of visual context and individual differences on perception and evaluation of modern art and graffiti art

Traditionally, artworks are seen as autonomous objects that stand (or should stand) on their own. However, at least since the emergence of Conceptual Art in the 1920s and Pop Art in the 1960s, art lacks any distinctive perceptual features that define it as such. Art, therefore, cannot be defined without reference to its context. Some studies have shown that context affects the evaluation of artworks, and that specific contexts (street for graffiti art, museum for modern art) elicit specific effects (Gartus & Leder, 2014). However, it is yet unclear how context changes perception and appreciation processes. In our study we measured eye-movements while participants (64 psychology undergraduates, 48% women) perceived and evaluated beauty, interest, emotional valence, as well as perceived style for modern art and graffiti art embedded into either museum or street contexts. For modern art, beauty and interest ratings were higher in a museum than in a street context, but context made no difference for the ratings of graffiti art. Importantly, we also found an interaction of context and individual interest in graffiti for beauty and interest ratings, as well as for number of fixations. Analyses of eye-movements also revealed that viewing times were in general significantly longer in museum than in street contexts. We conclude that context can have an important influence on aesthetic appreciation. However, some effects depend also on the style of the artworks and the individual art interests of the viewers.     

Building an Expanded Therapeutic Alliance: A Task Analysis with Families Trapped in Parental-Adolescent Conflict

Parental-adolescent conflict is part of the normal developmental cycle of families, but when it occurs in a dysfunctional way, it is associated with the appearance of various harmful conditions for the family system and for the adolescent in particular. Family therapy is one of the main options for psychotherapeutic intervention in these cases and has ample evidence of its effectiveness. The success of this intervention is conditioned to the construction of an adequate therapeutic alliance with the family, but the process of this task has not been clarified yet. The present study is a task analysis, the purpose of which was to create a heuristic model of how an expanded alliance may be built in these kinds of cases. The model was revised and improved from the intensive analysis of six cases. The resulting model can be a useful guide for family therapists in that it describes the specific client and therapist behaviors involved in balancing the alliance, as well as the potential obstacles and suggested ways to resolve them.     

Value for money?: Issues of fees in counselling and psychotherapy

Drawing on literature from different psychotherapeutic traditions, the meaning of money is reviewed, and the psychological and practical issues which arise from the setting, changing and payment of fees in counselling and psychotherapy are discussed. A person-centred approach is offered as a framework for the counsellor's understanding of fees in the therapeutic relationship.     

Biofeedback without a technical team--simple and cost effective

An important psychotherapeutic process is that of autogenous training, whose effectiveness can be improved by the use of biofeedback. Biofeedback procedures have hitherto called for considerable expenditure on apparatus and frequent therapy sessions. Despite this, it has not been possible to extend the relaxation effect to more general situations. This paper describes an inexpensive and practical method of utilising all the advantages afforded by the underlying therapeutic concept, on the basis of experience gained with cutaneous thermography. Further information, notably on the preparation of the laminae, can be had on request from the authors.