ART THERAPY AND SOCIAL ACTION: EXPLORATIONS OF THEORY AND PRACTICE. Alicia Soliz. Saybrook University

Transcription

1 1 ART THERAPY AND SOCIAL ACTION: EXPLORATIONS OF THEORY AND PRACTICE Alicia Soliz Saybrook University Los Angeles, California December 2014

2 2 Art Therapy and Social Action: Explorations of Theory and Practice Art Therapy and Social Action is an especially relevant topic given the current social climate in the US marked with recent movements such as the People s Climate March, Ferguson s Black Lives Matter, and Occupy, and ongoing issues such as immigration reform, war struggles evolved from the wars on terror, education inequities and more. In addition, we are becoming recognized as citizens of a global community made possible by the widespread use of the Internet, social media, and countless other connecting platforms which have changed what it means to be part of community. It seems a natural evolution that professionals in the social services are seeking new ways to integrate and interact with society, and to redefine the clientpractitioner model to incorporate these larger social changes. This paper specifically focuses on how both the field of art therapy and the individuals within the profession can integrate social activism into the work of creative healing. The book, Art Therapy and Social Action (Kaplan, 2007), a collection of articles that explore intertwining elements of creative healing and social activism, is reviewed and discussed alongside relevant humanistic psychology and expressive arts therapy literature. The role of art practitioner and social activist is examined, and examples of creative methods are provided to demonstrate possibilities of healing conflict, aggression, and trauma and building communities (Kaplan, 2007). Art therapy is still considered an emerging field, discovering adequate theories to explore art and therapy, therefore, as Hocoy (2007) states: it is not surprising that there exists no conceptual model that integrates the work of social action with the practice of art therapy in a comprehensive fashion. Yet, an overarching framework that recognizes

3 3 this inherent relationship and articulates its concepts, principles, and orientation would be of value (Hocoy, 2007, p. 21). This paper seeks to illustrate not only examples in practice, but also the value of art and creativity to human nature, principles behind art and healing, and how this can be applied to transformational social change. Expressive Arts Therapy Art has been such an integral part of human evolution and ongoing development that it undoubtedly retains a significant ability to influence our behavior in important ways (Kaplan, 2007, p. 95). As far back as history, the arts were integrated into everyday life through singing, dancing, storytelling, crafting, and more (Kaplan, 2007). Creating art served the purpose of calling attention to significance and was intimately integrated into ritual (Kaplan, 2007). The development of human language acquisition and learning can be linked to art through its use of symbols. Drawing and paintings by cavemen are seen as precursors to written language and as playing a large role in facilitating language acquisition (Kaplan, 2007). The field of Expressive Arts Therapy, which houses Art Therapy, is a form of therapeutic healing that seeks to support understanding and promotion of the psyche/soul, states of consciousness, self-awareness, individual and collective growth, community building and political action through the creative process and use of creative expressive techniques (Donahue, 2011). It includes aspects of creative arts and process, imagination, and ritual. What distinguishes art therapy from other forms of therapy is the image. Images are the chief language of expressive arts processes (Donahue, 2011, p. 498). Depth psychology, pioneered by C. G. Jung and others, focuses on bringing repressed elements from the unconscious into conscious awareness and integrating them with one s

4 4 identity (Hocoy, 2007). The versatility and power of the image is a language is which this is possible. Jung, credited for inspiring the founders of expressive arts therapy, proposed that the psyche is best understood through symbols (Donahue, 2011) and that images illicit emotional responses that can be a source of meaning making of the world and ourselves. As Donahue (2011) explains: Images also become associated with perceptions of other experiences. As the symbolic meaning of an image takes shape, it accesses a never-ending reservoir of meaning. A singular image can offer associations on personal, relational, cultural, and archetypal domains. Archetypes are primordial universal motifs that exist for all people, in all cultures throughout history and they compose the collective unconscious, a reservoir of unconscious imagery that is shared by humanity. These Jungian concepts create a link through imagery, imagination, creativity, and spirituality to earlier Shamanistic practices. (Donahue, 2011, p ) Humanistic Art Therapy Many believe that creativity can help us grow and develop further as human beings (Richards, 2010, p. 193). Natalie Rogers led the expressive arts therapy movement on the West Coast, and was tremendously influenced by her father, Carl Rogers humanistic psychology orientation (Donahue, 2011). Both Maslow and Rogers identified creativity and creative expression as part of self-actualization (Runco, 2009). Natalie Rogers model emphasized growth, self-actualization, consciousness, and creativity as life-fulfilling expressions of the healthy individual (Donahue, 2011). Further, according to Josef Garai, the goal of a humanistic approach to art therapy is not so much to eliminate anxiety, unhappiness, or other emotions but to assist the individual in transforming them into authentic expressions through art modalities (Malchiodi, 2014, abstract).

5 5 Art therapy and art can decrease stress, promote relaxation and ease difficult emotions such as grief and anger (Kaplan, 2007). Art therapy provides a setting in which clients can exercise the process of creativity. Art can help solve problems in that it forms a record of imagery upon which one can reflect (Kapland, 2007, p. 100) and can can a Pandora s box of material from our unconscious (Richards, 2010). The literature citing the benefits of art therapy in working with trauma includes the important role of visual media as assisting with bringing traumatic memories to consciousness, the role of the artistic process in assisting with observing and identifying difficult emotions, externalizing painful experiences and identifying coping mechanisms that are healthy and therapeutic (Wiesel & Slater, 2007). Art Therapist as Social Activist? Creativity is inexplicably intertwined with human nature. Runco (2009) reminds us that the process of knowledge construction is essentially a creative act and the process of creativity provides an original interpretation of experience. This process is a creative one, at least when the resulting interpretations are both original and effective (p. 91). This is relevant when considering the potential of art therapy and social activism; the creative processes involved in both are deeply aligned with human nature. For art therapy to be a force of individual and societal liberation rather than an unwitting vehicle of social compliance, the therapy itself must be liberated from the invisible structures and biases inherent in it (Hocoy, 2007, p. 24). Viewing an art therapist as a social activist lies in reframing traditional views of the client-practitioner model. It is widely recognized that within the therapeutic relationship, societal disparities can be either mutually reinforced or actively challenged " (Hocoy, 2007, p.

6 6 28). Traditional and dominant frameworks of psychopathology lie in diagnosing the individual with pathology, identifying something broken within the individual to fix, and/or finding ways for the individual to cope and become functional within society that is assumed to be healthy. However, in reframing, it s possible to see that tools such as the DSM, which relies on an individualistic worldview, frequently mask the relationship between the symptoms that are expressed by individuals and societal imbalances (Hocoy, 2007, p. 25). Adopting a systems framework facilitates the development of the art therapist as a social activist. The art therapist must widen her lens of vision to see the context of the individual or group seeking therapy (Allen, 2007). Junge (2007) compares systems view to painting: Systems thinking is natural to any painter. A painting is a system in which all parts must work together to make a whole. To change one things is to change the whole (Junge, 2007, p. 41). Creativity itself is contextually embedded, and cultural differences exist about concepts of creativity (Lubart, 2010). The therapist can recognize the family, other people and factors that create the system in which the client is operating and work to adjust that system s culture rather than the client (Junge, 2007). When the art therapist becomes aware of the interconnectivity of the individual and the system as a whole, between the person s suffering and larger social structure, and consequently experiences a commitment for the disenfranchised and marginalized, they become a social activist (Hocoy, 2007). In other words, the job of the activist is to connect with what needs activating, with what has been pushed outside the margins and silenced while listening carefully to the silence that is charged with unspoken truth and giving it form through the image (Allen, 2007, p ). The art therapist must also address their own

7 7 role in the system as well and come to terms with their own unconscious shadow so as not to perpetuate society s injustices. Hocoy (2007) illustrates this: This awareness and commitment should not be underestimated; in the fog of individualism that conceals the personal price of the social order, this clarity constitutes a transforming act of empowerment and revolution...the activisttherapist understands that political neutrality and therapeutic passivity only serve the omnipresent forces of oppression and injustice (p ) No matter how much therapy we do and how self-enlightened we are, there is no possibility to end psychological suffering until we work on the social disparities that result in intrapsychic trauma, and, no matter how much political activism and community service we do, there is no possibility for social justice until we come to terms with the forces of marginalization within our own psyches. (p ) Creatively Therapeutic Social Action Projects There are three main levels of interventions an art therapist (and any therapist) can engage in. Primary intervention works to prevent violence before it occurs; secondary interventions focus on immediate response to suffering; and tertiary interventions focus on the long-term care after suffering (O Rourke, 2007). Social activism and art therapy can combine to address all three types of intervention with goals to empower individuals, groups and communities to take action (O Rourke, 2007). One key possible role of the art therapist is to develop a social action project that a community can engage with. For any project to be successful, it s important to identify purpose and intention (Allen, 2007). O Rourke (2007) recommends the following steps when developing a clinically appropriate and socially relevant art therapy social action project. The art therapist: 1. brainstorms an idea 2. conducts research 3. collaborates with allied professionals and organizations 4. develops project materials 5. identifies funding 6. markets and launches the project 7. develops an interactive exhibition of the project (O Rourke, 2007)

8 8 In the following sections, examples of art therapy social action projects and techniques are reviewed and can be found illustrated at length in Art Therapy and Social Action (Kaplan, 2007). The projects demonstrate the role of the art therapist, the successes and failures that can arise while engaging in social action projects, and the power of art to facilitate healing. Facing Homelessness: Example of a Community Activist Project In her article, Facing Homelessness, Pat B. Allen (2007) discusses a year-long community collaborative project between a local homeless shelter and an artist-run community studio in Oak Park, Illinois. The main goals of the project were three-fold: 1) to raise awareness about homelessness in the local community; 2) break down stereotypes of people experiencing homelessness; and 3) experiment with an art-based social action project to create community and address a social issue (Allen, 2007). The project created, exhibited and auctioned over 100 plaster gauze masks and vignettes from interviews of people experiencing homelessness were posted alongside each mask with myths and facts about homelessness during three exhibitions (Allen, 2007). In her article, Allen (2007) describes the profound results and take-away messages from the project. She explains that although the project accomplished the goals of raising awareness and creating artmaking opportunities in the community, the project was defined and driven by employees of the art studio and shelter. In the future, she discussed incorporating the individuals experiencing homelessness in the planning of the project. The following excerpt illustrates some of the beautifully incidental and profound moments that can occur from a community art project:

9 9 We did experience moments when all roles dropped away and we became artists together in the studio for example, when a homeless man interviewed and applied the plaster for the mask of one of our village officials. This was the fulfillment of a goal of the project and one of the amazing possibilities inherent in making art in community: our common humanity revealed, amplified, and celebrated. (Allen, 2007, p. 65) Drawing Out Conflict: Art and Conflict Resolution in a Workshop Setting As one example of the usefulness of art and conflict resolution, Wiselogle (2007) describes an art therapy workshop designed to mediate conflict called Drawing Out Conflict (Wiselogle, 2007). The workshop consists of several activities through which the participants learn about personal conflicts and possibly achieve feelings of hope, possibility and empowerment (Wiselogle, 2007). The first activity has the participants draw squiggles as a way to become familiar with the materials and their partner (whom they later share elements of their conflict throughout the workshop). The second activity asks the participants to draw their conflict and then to share their drawings with their partner with the following instructions that illicit listening, openness, and safety: 1. Suspend all judgment of your own and others work 2. This is a good time to practice active listening 3. Don t give advice or suggestions 4. Everything said and drawn in the workshops stays in the workshop. Keep confidential what you hear and see (Wisegogle, 2007, p ). The third activity asks the participants to draw potential personal tools and resources available in the participants life and environment to work with the identified conflict. After sharing with their partner, the final activity aims to affirm everyone s process and shared experience by going around the room listening to elements of each participants experience. Wiselogle (2007) provides these participants quotes as examples of spontaneous and unique experiences of this type of workshop: I felt a physical release

10 10 This helped identify my own role in the conflict Seeing it on paper let me remove myself from the situation Talking with my partner was very useful to me (p. 107) After facilitating these workshops, Wiselogle (2007) provides explanations of benefits of this type of creative therapeutic experience. Participants can gain clarity of their perspective, freedom of expression in the safe environment without judgment, observation of the conflict, and gain insight into emotions. Art Making as a Response to Terrorism: In Art Making as a Response to Terrorism, Lev-Wiesel and Slater (2007) describe a qualitative research project involving graduate students from the Department of Social Work at a university in the Negev, Israel. The goals of the project were to (a) gather information to add to the understanding of the emotional effects of massive terrorism and (b) create a therapeutic intervention that could possibly serve as a model for future interventions (Lev-Weisel & Slater, 2007, p. 197). The project included twentyseven students placed in two groups; one group was asked to respond to the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US, while the other group was asked to respond to ongoing terrorism in Israel. During the day long project, students engaged in drawing activities, writing narratives and group discussions. Lev-Wiesel and Slater (2007) examined the students responses as well as their own perceptions and reflections influenced by their own cultural backgrounds and experiences of terrorism. Lev-Wiesel and Slater (2007) found that the project created a positive process for the participants to express their powerful feelings about the topic, and validated the potential of just one art therapy workshop in eliciting conversation, community and deep expression of emotional pain in relation to terrorism. The intervention created a place for

11 11 the participants to express their beliefs, reactions, grief and empathy. It also elicited awareness of the realities of living in continuous ongoing violence. In the past two decades, research in art therapy interventions as a response to terrorism and war has increased (Lev-Wiesel & Slater, 2007). The authors credit Goff Jones (1997) in providing the framework from which they developed their current project and cite the importance of Jones contribution to art therapy and usefulness in healing trauma following massive acts of violence and terrorism: The art therapy process gave the patients permission to deal with the intensity of feelings they were experiencing, including anger, guilt, sadness, helplessness, and being completely overwhelmed by the expansiveness of the tragedy. (p. 91 as cited in Lev-Wiesel & Slater, 2007, p. 193) Conclusion Art therapy, as illustrated in Art Therapy and Social Action (Kaplan, 2007), is not only a viable form of therapeutic healing on the individual level, but with a widened lens, the therapist can become a social activist, working to provide transformative social healing on a larger scale. The role of psychology in healing communities and the role of therapist as social healer (Hall & Pilisuk, 2006) involves the importance of considering the environment and larger social systems where "the client is no longer an abused or unfortunate victim but part of a threadbare social fabric that must be rewoven" (Hall & Pilisuk 2006, p. 17). The work of the art therapist can include addressing disparities and working to empower the disenfranchised through creating dialogue via the creative arts process (Hocoy, 2007). However, as Allen (2007) cautions, the role of the art therapist won t always guarantee positive feelings and outcomes, but is still a necessary form of service:

12 12 The art therapist as activist is not the can do American of our dominant myth who charges in, rolls up her sleeves, and pitches in, painting a rosy glow over all she sees. Instead, she must be willing to be in the paradox that, on one hand, making art is ridiculously inadequate, and, on the other, making art in service to the pain of the world is necessary. (p. 75) It s the creative act of bravery in facing emotional depths that art therapy can facilitate, and in this act, we can realize our common humanity (Richards, 2011) and offer a means of strengthening the Self (Shore, 2007). In our increasingly interdependent world, Kaplan (2007) suggests that we should leave no avenue unexplored that has potential for easing tensions at all levels of society, from the interpersonal to the international (p. 95). The potential to heal trauma, build community, assist in solving conflicts, and transform emotions all speak to the reality that, in fact, the art therapist is already a social activist.

13 13 References Allen, P. B. (2007). Facing homelessness: A community mask making project. In F. F. Kaplan (Ed.), Art therapy and social action (pp ). Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Allen, P. B. (2007). Wielding the shield: The art therapist as conscious witness in the realm of social action. In F. F. Kaplan (Ed.), Art therapy and social action (pp ). Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Donohue, K. T. (2011). Expressive Arts Therapy. In M. Runco, & S. Pritzker (Eds.), Encyclopedia of creativity second edition (pp ). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. Franklin, M., Rothaus, M. E., & Schpok, K. (2007). Unity in diversity: Communal pluralism in the art studio and the classroom. In F. F. Kaplan (Ed.), Art therapy and social action (pp ). Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Hall, M. & Pilisuk. M. (2006, August). The social healer. Paper presented at the 114th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, New Orleans, LA. Hocoy D. (2007). Art therapy as a tool for social change: A conceptual model. In F. F. Kaplan (Ed.), Art therapy and social action (pp ). Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Junge, M. B. (2007). The art therapist as social activist: Reflections on a life. In F. F. Kaplan (Ed.), Art therapy and social action (pp ). Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Leung, A. K., Maddux, W. W., Galinsky, A. D., & Chiu, C. (2008). Multicultural experience enhances creativity: The when and how. American Psychologist, 63(3), Lubart, T. (2010). Everyday Creativity. In J. C. Kaufman and R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of creativity (pp ). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Malchiodi, C. A. (2012). Humanistic approaches. In C. A. Malchiodi (Ed.), Handbook of art therapy second edition (pp ). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Richards, R. (2010). Everyday creativity: Process and way of life four key issues. In J. C. Kaufman and R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of creativity (pp ). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Runco, M. A. (2009). To understand is to create: An epistemological perspective on

14 14 human nature and personal creativity. In R. Richards (Ed.), Everyday creativity (pp ). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Shore, A. (2007). Some personal and clinical thoughts about trauma, art, and world events. In F. F. Kaplan (Ed.), Art therapy and social action (pp ). Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Wiselogle, A. (2007). Drawing out conflict. In F. F. Kaplan (Ed.), Art therapy and social action (pp ). Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.