Thr AN in Pqrhotherap~. Vol. 19, pp. 395-396. 1992 01974556/92 S.5.a) + .

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Printed in the USA. All nghts reserved. Copyright t 1992 Pergamon Press Ltd.

BOOK REVIEW

Art Therapy in Practice

Marian Liebmann (Ed.)

(London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. IWO. I92 pages. 556.00 hardcover. 527.00 paperback)
U.S. Distributor-Bristol PA: Taylor & Francis

To learn by observation and participation is a ma-
jor aspect of most art therapy educational programs in
the United States. As a student, one is expected to
complete a prescribed number of hours in field work
and internship at various sites employing an art thcr-
apist. Unfortunately. in most cases, the number of
sites visited is gcncrally limited to four. To supple-
ment actual experience, one can read how various
programs have used art therapy for the benefit of their
patients/clients.
There now exists a good range of literature on art
therapy, both in the United States and in Great Brit-
ain, most of which is devoted to the development of
art therapy and its progress. As more ways of using
this therapy have evolved. more of the caring profes-
sionals have begun to show interest in art therapy.
A book giving specifics of how art therapy actually
works is welcomed. Art 7krupy in Practice is easily
read by non-art therapists. It explains the benefits of
art therapy as actually experienced by patients/clients
in various settings. The contributors all live or work
in the same geographical region in England. Employ-
ers of art therapists include the National Health Ser-
vice, an education authority, a probation service and
voluntary organizations. Client groups consist of both
acute and long-term psychiatric patients, psychogeri-
attic patients, people with learning difficulties, chil-
dren with psychological problems, criminal offenders
and homeless people. Reading this book gave me a
vicarious experience of doing field work in Great
Britain.
Deciding on a site or population for an internship
can be difficuh for some students. How is one to
know where ones interest lies without knowledge of
specific populations? This book can help. The student
is given a variety of perspectives on ways in which art
therapists have worked with different populations.
Roy Thorntons chapter on Valuing the Middle
Ground: Art Therapy and Manic Depression explains
the benefits of working with patients when they are
neither high nor low. Thornton writes that art
therapy can be used to help manic depressives value and
trust their inner world and thus become less vulnerable.
Sarah Lewis. whose concern is working with the
psychogeriatric population, lists some specific needs
art therapy can help to meet, with particular applica-
tion to long-term psychiatric groups. Two concepts
especially helpful are having no goal, and actively
doing nothing. Both arc ways for the art therapist to
be with the group members. Karen Drucker, whose
chapter, Swimming Upstream . . . , is on working
with the same ~pulat~on, concentrates on people di-
agnosed with depression and grief reactions swim-
ming upstream against physical illness and emo-
tional loss.
Creative media have been used for people with
learning difficulties, usually with a set project in
mind. Edward Kuczaj writes how art therapy has an

395
 BOOK REVIEW
even greater potential for growth using nonjudgmen-
tal goals. He notes that art therapy has specific qual-
ities appropriate for these clients. such as (a) creative
involvement, (b) a nonjudgmental nature, (c) a po-
tential for self-expression at the clients own pace and
(d) an image that can be kept.
Marian Liebmann. in addition to acting as Editor
of Art Therap? in Practice. has also written a chapter
on working wtth the criminal population, explaining a
technique whereby the client draws a comic strip
describing a crime as seen from his or her point
of view. As clients draw, they see themselves as
the center of the story rather than as victims of
circumstance.
Art therapy with the homeless is a unique use of
this treatment method. Claire Swainson finds it effec-
tive to engage the staff of hostels for the homeless to
model ways of using material and of looking at issues
through images. Radical change for homeless per-
sons is unlikely. Progress is limited to enabling them
to cope better in their environment rather than encour-
aging them to move into other accommodations.
Other contributors also offer viewpoints and meth-
ods used in their places of employment. Tish Feilden,
a freelance psychotherapist, writes how art therapy is
used with dyslexic children. John Ford, whose intcr-
ests include Gestalt and psychodrama as well as art,
tells of his work in a psychotherapy day treatment
center. His focus is on the value of using a holistic
approach to treatment. The day hospital is also the
subject matter for Claire Skailes. who finds it frus-
trating that patients are discharged from hospitals just
as they become comfortable with the therapeutic use
of art materials.
In introducing this book, Marian Liebmann lists
the advantages of art therapy-how art can help peo-
ple to release feelings in a safe acceptable way, how
pictures can act as a bridge between the client and
therapist on embarrassing subject matter and how dis-
cussion of the products can lead to explorations of
important issues. Pictures are often ambiguous. It is
most important for the creator to seek out his or her
own meanings.
As a source of information for mental health work-
ers unfamiliar with art therapy or as a written account
for students of specific techniques with different pop-
ulations, Art Therapy in Practice is to be read, ab-
sorbed, enjoyed and kept on the library shelf for fu-
ture reference.
Cate Loughran, MA Candidate
for Creative Arts Therapy degree
Hofstra University
Hempstead, NY