Page 101 - ART FORM AND MENTAL HEALTH - Ingrid Pénzes

art product. It is this relation between formal elements and the making process that could explain why they provide information about clinically significant emotional and behavioral concerns of clients (Conrad et al., 2011; Hinz, 2009). In previous studies this was specified by the concept of material interaction (Pénzes et al., 2014, 2015).
With regard to the art therapists’ perspective on mental health, results of this study show that art therapists do estimate potential psychopathology. They rarely use symptoms or specific diagnoses used in DSM or ICD. Instead, they use concepts as balance and adaptability (i.e. self-management, openness, flexibility, and creativity). Emphasis on adaptability, i.e. resources and strengths, is in line with the perspective of positive health (Huber, et al., 2016) in which health is defined as “the ability to adapt and self manage physical, emotional and social challenges in life”. This perspective shows resemblance to the “recovery approach”(Anthony, 1993), which focuses on fulfilling, meaningful life beyond the limitations of illness or symptomatology and emphasizes the empowerment of clients’ and their potential for change and growth.
The art therapists’ perspective on mental health certainly influences the way the formal elements are interpreted. Not relating the formal elements to symptoms and/or disorders, transcends any classification and is in line with other perspectives on mental health such as those of Siegel (2010, 2012, 2017) and Cozolino (2017) who also stress the importance of integrating “thought” and “feeling” to achieve, restore or maintain mental health and well-functioning.
If the art therapists observe clients being out of balance - which is more or less always the case in health care situations- they actively start searching for the elements of variation. Variation is associated with making choices, play, experimentation and exploration of the art materials. This relates to what in the literature is referred to as ‘material interaction’ (Pénzes et al., 2014, 2015). Material interaction refers to the clients’ dialogue with art materials’ properties. Variation is subsequently related to self-management, openness, flexibility and creativity, i.e. adaptability. Lusebrink (1990), Hinz (2009) and Bucciarelli (2011) also pointed out creativity might be a sign of mental health. However they did not explore this further.
Balance and adaptability are conceptualized as two separate concepts; out of balance indicates the severity of the problems, whilst adaptability indicates present or potential resources which allow change in therapy. One might say that being out of balance refers to “mental-illness” and variation to “
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