Page 44 - ART FORM AND MENTAL HEALTH - Ingrid Pénzes

DISCUSSION
Art therapists in this study focused specifically on the way in which a client interacted with the properties of art materials because this interaction reflected aspects of a client’s mental health. Consequently, material interaction appeared to be the most important and valuable aspect in art therapy assessment. Moreover, material interaction was also linked to other aspects of the art making process and art product. Interacting with the properties of art materials evoked material experiences, and aspects of material interaction became visible in the art product.
The interconnection of these aspects adds to current approaches of art therapy assessment as described in the introduction. These approaches can be characterized as:
• Focusing on assessments based on the formal elements of the art product (Betts, 2006; Gilroy, Brown & Tipple, 2012)
• Focusing on the symbolic interpretation of the art product and its role in the transference and countertransference relationship (Schaverien, 1999)
• Focusing on the process of art making (Hinz, 2009; Rubin, 2009)
These approaches agree that the ‘art form’ is the hallmark of art therapy and art therapy assessment, but they either emphasize the art making or the art product in practice and research. The art therapists in this study noted that material interaction, material experience and art product form one whole: the art making process. This finding is consistent with the ETC (Hinz, 2009) in which several aspects of the art making process and art product are integrated, especially on the perceptual level. Seiden (2001) also notes that the manner in which art material is used strongly impacts the art process and completed art product. Our study further theorized this interconnection, which created the possibility to connect the current approaches of art therapy assessment. Betts (2012, p.205) has argued: “An integration of multiple sources of information derived from the art process allows the art therapist to evaluate and translate meaning in art work, producing a more comprehensive picture of the client.”.
The art therapists in this study also agreed that the art form, specifically the art materials and their properties, is the most distinctive feature in art therapy assessment, which is consistent with the abovementioned approaches. Art therapists characterized these properties in terms of
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