Page 17 - ART FORM AND MENTAL HEALTH - Ingrid Pénzes

assume that not only the content of the art product mirrors the individual process by the personal style, but that the shaping with characteristics in line, colors and structure in the art product is in fact much more important (Chilton, 2013; Gussak & Rosal, 2016; Hass-Cohen & Findlay, 2015). The art product is considered to be the result of the art-making process. The implicit, non-verbal and automatic processes involved in the client’s actions and movements during art making are assumed to become visible within the art product.
These considerations may explain why art therapists assume a relationship between the art form and mental health. There are, however, different perspectives on how exactly mental health is represented in the art form.
Perspectives on the art-making process and the art product in art therapy assessment
Several art therapy perspectives that draw from diverse approaches, such as psychodynamic, humanistic, behavioral, developmental and integrative approaches (Jones, 2005; Rubin, 2001, 2005; Van Lith, 2016), have different views and theories on how exactly the art form relates to mental health. Some perspectives emphasize the importance of the art product, of the art-making process or of both. These perspectives vary regarding how they observe and interpret the art-making process and the art product in terms of mental health.
Some perspectives, such as art psychotherapy or analytical art therapy that originate from psychoanalytical theories, interpret the art-making process as a transference relationship between the client, the therapist and the art product (e.g. Case & Dalley, 2014; Eisenbach, Snir & Regev, 2015; Gilroy & McNeilly, 2000; Schaverien, 1994, 1999, 2005). According to psychoanalytical thinking, artistic expression provides access to unconscious feelings, thoughts and memories (Hilbuch, Snir, Regev, & Orbiki, 2016). Transference during the art-making process emerges in the way clients handle the art materials provided by the psychotherapist and the corresponding client-psychotherapist interaction. The art psychotherapist is not the only object of transference: the art materials, which are located outside the therapist and client, can also act as objects of transference. Art materials are considered to play a central role in the art-making process because working with materials that are fluid, potentially messy, colorful and
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