Synopses & Reviews
An innovative guide to the practice of art therapy
Since 1978, Judith Aron Rubin's Child Art Therapy has become the classic text for conducting art therapy with children. Twenty-five years later, the book still stands as the reference for mental health professionals who incorporate art into their practice. Now, with the publication of this fully updated and revised Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition, which includes a DVD that illustrates art therapy techniques in actual therapy settings, this pioneering guide is available to train, inform, and inspire a new generation of art therapists and those seeking to introduce art therapy into their clinical practice.
The text illustrates how to:
- Set the conditions for creative growth, assess progress, and set goals for therapy
- Use art in individual, group, and family situations, including parent-child pairings, mothers' groups, and adolescent groups
- Work with healthy children and those with disabilities
- Guide parents through art and play
- Talk about art work and encourage art production
- Decode nonverbal messages contained in art and the art-making process
- Use scribbles, drawings, stories, poems, masks, and other methods to facilitate expression
- Understand why and how art therapy works
Along with the useful techniques and activities described, numerous case studies taken from Rubin's years of practice add a vital dimension to the text, exploring how art therapy works in the real world of children's experience. Original artwork from clients and the author illuminate the material throughout. Written by an internationally recognized art therapist, Child Art Therapy, Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition is a comprehensive guide for learning about, practicing, and refining child art therapy.
Synopsis
Art therapy specifically directed to the needs and concerns of children has grown into a major area of psychological interest in a very few years. The original edition of Child Art Therapy was a significant contribution to the literature of this fielddescribing a broad range of educational and clinical settings within which to develop an understanding of a childs ideas and needs, as well as helping the child gain awareness, acceptance, liking, and control of his or her own feeling-self. This revised edition provides updated information on progress in child art therapy and explores the authors recent experiences in the field, including work with deaf children and multimodal therapy involving the closely related activities of art therapy and play therapy. Perhaps the most outstanding feature of this edition is the inclusion of photographs of childrens original art throughout the book: these works, better than any representation, eloquently communicate the often paradoxical combination of simplicity and nuance that typifies the thoughts and feelings of children. An essential tool for art therapists and art teachers, Child Art Therapy will also be a valuable aid for anyone who strives to nurture the creative processes in children and to help children fully realize their potential.
About the Author
Judith A. Rubin received a B.A. in art from Wellesley College, an M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Ph.D. in counseling from the University of Pittsburgh. She later was graduated from the training programs in adult and child psychoanalysis at the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Institute. A registered art therapist and a licensed psychologist, Dr. Rubin is currently Co-Director of the Creative and Expressive Arts Therapy Program at the Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic. She is also Assistant Professor of Child Psychiatry and Health-Related Professions at the University of Pittsburgh, a member of the Faculty-by-Invitation of the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Institute, and a former president and honorary life member of the American Art Therapy Association.
Table of Contents
'Illustrations.
DVD Contents.
Acknowledgments.
Preface: 25th Anniversary Edition.
Background.
Changes in Art Therapy and Mental Health.
Changes in Organization and Content of the Book.
PARTI: The Context.
1. Roots: Personal and Professional.
2. A Framework for Freedom.
3. Understanding Development in Art.
4. A Picture of the Therapeutic Process.
5. Some Ways to Facilitate Expression.
PARTII: The Individual.
6. An Individual Art Evaluation.
7. Decoding Symbolic Messages.
8. Some Case Studies.
9. Case Illustration: Understanding and Helping.
PARTIII: The Family and the Group.
10. A Family Art Evaluation.
11. Family Art Therapy.
12. Art Therapy with Parents.
13. Group Art Therapy.
14. Multimodality Group Therapy.
PARTIV: Art Therapy for Disabled Children.
15. Art as Therapy for Children with Disabilities.
16. Art Therapy with Disabled Children and Their Parents.
PARTV: Art as Therapy for Everyone.
17. Helping the Normal Child through Art.
18. Helping Parents through Art and Play.
PARTVI: General Issues.
19. What Child Art Therapy Is and Who Can Do It.
20. Why and How the Art Therapist Helps.
21. How the Art Therapist Learns through Research.
A Cautionary Note.
References.
Index.
About the DVD. \n
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