Page 71 - ART FORM AND MENTAL HEALTH - Ingrid Pénzes

a client’s style of material interaction indicates if a client is flexible in using both rational and affective aspects in adapting to the intrinsic properties of the art materials being used. When a person overuses either a rational or affective style and shows limited flexibility in material interaction, this person might have difficulties in coping with and adapting to daily life challenges. Art materials can be placed on a continuum from high to low structure; materials such as pencils have intrinsic structure and evoke more rational responses whereas fluid materials such as ink have no intrinsic structure and evoke more affective responses (Hinz, 2009; Hyland Moon, 2010; Malchiodi, 2012). There for, assessing material interaction gives the art therapist direction for choosing the appropriate art materials to improve flexibility in thought, emotion and behaviour. Clients who demonstrate a more rational style of material interaction can be offered art materials that gradually evoke more affective responses to achieve a balanced psychological functioning and vice versa; offering art materials that evoke more rational responses to clients who demonstrate a more affective style of material interaction. Offering alternative strategies opens up the possibility to integrate both rational as affective aspects and impart appreciation for already achieved skills; i.e. knowing in which situations and contexts familiar strategies are adequate and how they can be applied and experienced as a client’s strength. This might enhance a client’s resilience in adapting to daily life challenges and cope with stress in appropriate ways. As this might differ between clients individually, art therapy offers the opportunity to tune into clients’ specific needs in treatment.
The results of study 3 show that art therapists are able to describe clients’ material interaction and psychological characteristics based on the analysis of the formal elements of the clients’ art product. Connecting the material interaction (art making process) and formal elements (art product) bridges the diverse perspectives of art therapy assessment and contributes to the on-going discussion about art therapy assessment (Gilroy, Tipple & Brown, 2012).
Methodological considerations
Despite the efforts to meet the criteria of “trustworthiness” of this research there are limitations.
The art therapists in study three have mentioned that they would have preferred the original art products. Also, only one art product of each client has been analysed. All though the art therapists are perfectly able to
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