Bilateral Art: Integrating Art Therapy,Family Therapy,and Neuroscience

This paper describes the systemic use of a neurologically-based art therapy modality—bilateral art—that engages both dominant and non-dominant hands in the process of creating images in response to opposing cognitions or feelings. It describes both neuroscience and family therapy perspectives that argue for the use of bilateral art. A specific protocol for bilateral art therapy is provided along with a case study demonstrating integration of the protocol into the systemic treatment of a young family. Carole M. McNamee, PhD, is Research Professor and Clinical Associate, Director of the Arts in Healthcare Project, The Family Therapy Center, Department of Human Development, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061 (cmcnamee@vt.edu).     

On the Tedium of the Good

It seems to be a phenomenon of contemporary life that we consider goodness embarrassing and rather dull. In contrast, the activities and inner lives of villains are deemed more complex and fascinating than those of good people. This paper attempts to understand the conception of goodness that underlies this phenomenon, and I suggest that informing it is the combination of two ideas, in tension with each other: firstly, a distorted understanding of the ancient conception of full virtue as the absence of all inner conflict; and secondly, the intuition that real goodness is only apparent and generated in inner conflict. In response, I offer an alternative picture of goodness as an ongoing, active and progressive relation to value, and conclude that in order to render goodness attractive again we need more adequate portraits of goodness from both philosophy and art.     

Intimacy, Psyche, and Spirit in the Experience of Chinese and Japanese Calligraphy

In the West, we have adoped the word calligraphy to describe Chinese and Japanese writing out of the recognition that there is an aesthetic component inherent in the written characters. The author shows how Chinese and Japanese calligraphy is much more than writing; it must be approached as one would any piece of art. A brief history of Chinese and Japanese calligraphy is explored, including the elements and methods of brushwork and overall creation of the expressions themselves. The article concludes by looking at how calligraphy is a mode of self-discovery and self-development that opens us to a substantial dialogue between cultures and the paths of inner conversation.     

Psychological Distress and Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Jewish Adolescents Following a Brief Exposure to Concentration Camps

We investigated the psychological impact of an organized visit to Polish concentration camps on Jewish-American adolescents. Eighty-seven adolescents who participated in a B'nai B'rith memorial visit to concentration camps in Poland completed measures of general psychological adjustment and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at four time-points: pretest, posttest, 6-month follow-up and 12-month follow-up. Measures included the SCL-90-R, the Mississippi Scale for PTSD, and the Impact of Events Scale (IES) for PTSD. On the SCL-90-R, changes in somatization, interpersonal sensitivity, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, depression, anxiety, and phobic anxiety were observed over time, with peak symptom scores at posttest and 6-month follow-up. Scores on the Mississippi Scale for PTSD and the IES Intrusion subscale also increased at 6-months. Predictors of PTSD symptoms on the Mississippi Scale included previous psychiatric treatment and SCL-90-R symptoms of paranoia, depression, and psychosis. Elevated psychotic symptoms on the SCL-90-R predicted PTSD symptoms on the IES. Jewish adolescents with preexisting symptoms of generalized distress or psychoticism appeared at increased risk for PTSD symptoms following exposure to Holocaust stimuli. This study contributes a prospective, multi-measure assessment of trauma reactions in adolescents.     

John Cage and W. R. Bion: an exercise in interdisciplinary dialogue

The author discusses some striking convergences which appear in the thought of two unsettling and powerfully stimulating personalities of the 20th century: John Cage in music and art, and W.R. Bion in psychoanalysis. Both foster openness to the unknown and the need to tolerate 'uncertainties, mysteries, doubts', arguing for an attitude requiring negative valence and receptive emptiness. In their search for fresh personal awareness of reality aimed at allowing mental transformation and growth, both strive to disturb intellectual comfort and do not hesitate to use pro(e)vocative and even shocking means. They both propose an attitude towards tradition which demands the freedom to use and recreate inherited knowledge in a personal and innovative way. Finally, both Cage and Bion maintained a highly auto-reflective attitude, carefully considering the artist's/psychoanalyst's contribution to the process of art and psychoanalysis. These convergences probably represent important and wider contemporary cultural trends which permeate in their different realizations.     

Written on the body? Individual differences between British adults who do and do not obtain a first tattoo

Swami, V. (2012). Written on the body? Individual differences between British adults who do and do not obtain a first tattoo. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 407–412. This study compared individual psychological differences of individuals who do and not obtain their first tattoo. A total of 136 British residents visiting a tattoo parlour completed measures of the Big Five personality factors, Sensation Seeking, Need for Uniqueness, distinctive appearance investment, attitudes to authority, and sociosexual orientation. As compared to individuals who did not subsequently obtain a tattoo, individuals that did were significantly less conscientious, more extraverted, more willing to engage in sexual relations in the absence of commitment, and had higher scores on sensation seeking, Need for Uniqueness, and distinctive appearance investment. The effect sizes of uncovered differences were small‐to‐moderate (η_p² = .07–.14). These results are discussed in relation to the mainstreaming of tattoos in contemporary, post‐industrialised societies.     

Towards a symbol literacy approach in the education of children

Abstract

Children enter a world that is full of symbols, most of which have become inaccessible. This is true not only because of a positivistic attitude that views analogical truth as nonsensical, but also because of the fragmentation that we experience. This situation is impoverishing children’s awareness, connectedness as well as their ability to access and express existential concerns and the answers different generations have tried to provide. It is for this reason that children need to learn a variety of symbols and the ‘grammar’ of how they form meaning. A symbolic literacy approach not only helps them to read symbols but also enables them to formulate meaning and to connect with the deeper reality and facilitates their ability to transcend physical reality. The paper will also refer to the development of an interdisciplinary pedagogy and its implementation through a project that is being done in collaboration with Maltese primary schools.     

The West Bank “Alternative Peace Movement” and its transnational infrastructure: a case study in “primordialist universalism”

This article provides an overview and theorization of the “Alternative Peace Movement” (APM), a transnational education and advocacy network based in the West Bank. Emerging in the troubled context of current Israel-diaspora relations and US campus politics, the APM promotes a syncretic Jewish identity narrative and boundary-crossing political programme. Drawing on a content and discourse analysis of the movement’s online documentation, as well as interviews with movement leaders, participants, and allies, the article outlines the APM’s infrastructure and discourse, and provides an historical backdrop and set of theoretical tools for rendering comprehensible the movement’s seeming contradictions and incoherencies. It describes the APM as a case study in “primordialist universalism,” a political orientation that aims to pursue civic and human rights of a universal character by inhabiting a “hard” ethnonational subjectivity and discursive frame. The concept of primordialist universalism offers social scientists a tool for making sense of hybrid social phenomena that confound traditional categories of political analysis.     

Art Making and Identity Formation in Children and Adolescents with Differing Social Behaviors

Not everyone develops social behaviors and interaction skills in an expected manner. This study explored the relationship between art making and identity formation in children and adolescents who were identified as having differing social behaviors. In three small group settings, 17 participants created abstract self-portraits from modeling compound and responded to questions about their self, self-concept, and self-esteem. From this, a model was created to describe identity formation as it relates to the relationships between social environment, desired occupations and activities, and creativity. Practice guidelines are proposed for those who provide children and adolescents with opportunities to make art as part of sessions aimed to promote the development of a healthy self-concept.     

Using Artist Trading Cards as an Expressive Arts Intervention in Counseling

Artist trading cards (ATCs) are miniature works of art that are created within the dimensions of standardized trading cards or playing cards (2.5 inches × 3.5 inches). ATCs can be made with a variety of media—everything from pen and ink to oil paints, collages, mosaics, stamping, and altered photos. Using this compact art format as an expressive arts intervention in the therapeutic environment provides the counselor with most, if not all, of the same therapeutic benefits of larger art media (e.g., expressive release, creativity, artistic communication, symbolic self-expression, self-exploration, etc.). The unique benefit of the ATC format is that ATCs allow for traditional expressive arts interventions to be “better, faster, and cheaper” in many ways.