Page 28 - ART FORM AND MENTAL HEALTH - Ingrid Pénzes

the assessment is limited.
Another approach to art therapy assessment originated from the per-
spective of ‘art as therapy’, which was first described by Hill (1948) and Kramer (1958). This approach is called “creative art therapy”, and it focuses on the inherently therapeutic nature of art making. This approach empha- sizes the intrinsic healing properties of the creative process and the pri- mary role of art and creating art in the therapeutic process (Rubin, 2009). Early art therapists wrote about art materials and the influence of these materials on the art process and product (Betensky, 1973; Kramer, 1971, 1975; Lowenfeld, 1952; Naumburg, 1966; Rhyne, 1973; Rubin, 1984, 2009; Wadeson, 1980), but theories and research on the role of art materials and art properties focused on the ongoing art therapy more than the initial as- sessment. A more eclectic approach was used in recent literature on art materials (Hinz, 2009; Moon Hyland, 2010), which integrated diverse per- spectives. For example, Hinz (2009) describes the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC), based on the work of Kagin and Lusebrink (1978). They developed the ETC from their observations of developmentally challenged and acutely psychotic individuals. The ETC extensively describes the role of “media”, which is categorized on continua from fluid to resistive. Hinz (2009) discusses the influence of media choice on image formation and informa- tion processing. The ETC describes information processes in four levels based on developmental hierarchy: the kinesthetic/sensory level, percep- tual/affective level, cognitive/symbolic and creative level. The ETC can as- sess clients’ preferred levels of information processing, but it is especially useful in decision making of media choice in art therapy to evoke diverse therapeutic experiences.
Despite obvious differences, these approaches agree that art therapy assessment has unique characteristics compared to other forms of assessment (Gannt, 2004; Gilroy, Tipple & Brown, 2012). These unique characteristics are reflected in the ‘triangular relationship’ between the client, the therapist and the art form (Schaverien, 2000; Schweizer et.al., 2009). The three axes of the triangle refer to the dynamics between client, therapist and art form. Different art therapy approaches place greater or lesser emphasis on each axis, but the role of ‘art’ is present in all axes. All orientations agree that the art form itself provides essential, valuable information about a client’s mental health. Assessments for further treatment also involve the formulation of treatment goals and interventions. The therapeutic application of art materials is the core feature of art therapy
26 | Chapter 2