What do you think of when you hear the words “art therapy”? Do you think of a therapist for artists? A psychologist who holds up inkblot images to analyse patients’ personalities or disorders based off of what they see (better known as ‘The Rorschach Test’)? Or perhaps you think of a person who teaches art to children? The above are common fallacies that I have heard firsthand after telling people, “I’m an Art Psychotherapist”.
Although art therapy (also interchangeable with art psychotherapy) has various definitions, its common element includes it being an expressive therapy that uses art and the creative process as a primary mode of communication. This, however, does not explain the therapeutic and psychodynamic aspects of the therapy, rather the simplistic definition that I seem to say as if on autopilot. Who else can relate to having an internal debate about where to begin to explain what art therapy is? I’ve gathered that it’s the lack of a concise definition combining all the multi-layered factors of this therapy that leads to the misconception of it.
I am demystifying five of the most popular misconceptions made by clients, employers and caregivers.
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