Page 149 - ART FORM AND MENTAL HEALTH - Ingrid Pénzes

(see Figure 1). Art therapists in this research project specified the art- making process – the axis client-art form in the art therapy triad – through the concept of material interaction. These art therapists also directed our study toward the investigation of the formal elements of the art products – the entity art form in the art therapy triad – because it was assumed that formal elements of the art product reflected the material interaction. The combination of ‘movement,’ ‘dynamic’ and ‘contour’ significantly related to clients’ resiliency and experiential acceptance – the entity client in the art therapy triad –.
Our findings add to the current landscape of art therapy observation and assessment that was largely colored by a stagnated debate with diverse art therapy perspectives trying to convince each other. Instead, we reduced and simplified the complexity of art therapy observation and assessment by focusing on a small part of the art form: the formal elements of the art product. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the experiential entrance through the use of the art form allows the art therapist to observe a client’s resiliency and experiential behavior, i.e., psychological flexibility. They also provide an empirical fundament for the relationship between the art form and adult mental health in art therapy.
Art therapy
Therapist
Figure 1: The art therapy “triad”
Client
Summary and general discussion | 147
Art form
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