Art Therapy (painting, drawing, modelling)
Art therapy uses visual creation (painting, charcoal, clay, cut paper) as a therapeutic mediation, the material forming a third party between patient and therapist and shifting the transferential stake toward the patient-artwork-therapist triad. It rests on the principles of artistic mediation and sublimation. Its indications cover a broad spectrum: adult psychiatry, child psychiatry (ASD, attachment disorders), geriatrics and dementias, psycho-oncology, psychological traumatology and neurological rehabilitation. The historical Naumburg-Kramer debate (an image to be interpreted vs. the creative act that heals) structures the discipline.
| Code | TI70 |
|---|---|
| Name (EN) | Art Therapy (painting, drawing, modelling) |
| French name | Art-thérapie (peinture, dessin, modelage) |
| Acronym (FR) | AT |
| Founder(s) | Adrian Hill (forge le terme « art therapy », 1945 ; BAAT, 1964), Margaret Naumburg (voie « art psychotherapy », dès 1947), Edith Kramer (voie « art as therapy », 1958) |
| Year | 1942 (date charnière communément retenue) |
| School / wave | Arts-thérapies / médiation plastique ; voies Naumburg (psychodynamique) et Kramer (sublimatoire) |
| Source volume | Volume 6 of the Mémento des Psychothérapies |
This therapy is covered in detail (principles, indications, protocol, level of evidence) in Volume 6 of the Mémento des Psychothérapies. See the volume.