First published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Illustrated with over 100 children's drawings, this practical resource demonstrates how all clinicians can broaden and enhance their work with young people by integrating drawing into therapy. Topics covered include how to assist children in making art, what questions to ask and when, and how to motivate children who are initially resistant to drawing.

Art therapy and all of the other creative arts therapies have promoted themselves as ways of expressing what cannot be conveyed in conventional language. Why is it that creative arts therapists fail to apply this line of thinking to research? In this exciting and innovative book, Shaun McNiff, one of the field's pioneering educators and authors, breaks new ground in defining and inspiring art-based research. He illustrates how practitioner-researchers can become involved in art-based inquiries during their educational studies and throughout their careers, and shows how new types of research...

Contemporary Art Therapy with Adolescents offers practical and imaginative solutions to the multifaceted challenges that clinicians face when treating young people. The author fuses the contemporary theories of clinical treatment with the creative processes of art therapy to arrive at a synthesis which yields successful outcomes when working with adolescents. Clinicians of allied disciplines, particularly art therapists, will find practical suggestions for using imagery to enrich their relationships with teenaged clients. The process of using art-making therapeutically, and the challenges of...

Medical Art Therapy with Children is a ground-breaking book, the first work to tackle this rapidly growing field. It will be an essential resource for professionals, psychologists, counsellors, play therapists and art therapists working with physically ill children on a day-to-day basis. Medical art therapy is defined as the use of drawings, art expression and imagery with individuals who are physically ill or disabled, or are undergoing aggressive medical treatment such as surgery or chemotherapy. Children in such situations may find it easier to express their emotions, and their fears,...

Medical Art Therapy with Children is a ground-breaking book, the first work to tackle this rapidly growing field. It will be an essential resource for professionals, psychologists, counsellors, play therapists and art therapists working with physically ill children on a day-to-day basis. Medical art therapy is defined as the use of drawings, art expression and imagery with individuals who are physically ill or disabled, or are undergoing aggressive medical treatment such as surgery or chemotherapy. Children in such situations may find it easier to express their emotions, and their fears,...

Using art as therapy or intervention permits people with serious or life-threatening physical illnesses to express themselves in a manner that is often felt to be safer and less difficult than a strictly verbal means. When coping with serious illness, invasive medical procedures, drug, chemotherapy or radiation treatment, and, in some cases, terminal illness, art expression is a powerful method for dealing with physical changes, emotional trauma, interpersonal problems and spiritual dilemmas. It can also enhance a therapist's understanding of patients' perceptions of themselves, their...

Patients with eating disorders often respond well to the creative and non-threatening environment of the arts therapies. Susan Makin, who has worked closely with anorexics and bulimics, here explores how art therapies, art therapy in particular, but also creative journalling and poetry-writing, can be integrated into a multi-disciplinary approach to the treatment of eating disorders, in conjunction with medical programmes. Makin discusses the creative work and personal accounts of around thirty patients, examining their use of media, imagery and symbolism. She analyses the patterns which...

Demonstrating the benefits of creative expression for patients living with acute or chronic illness, this volume provides a complete, practical introduction to medical art therapy. It presents evidence-based strategies for helping people of all ages -- from young children to older adults -- cope with physical and cognitive symptoms, reduce stress, and improve their quality of life. Detailed case material and approximately 100 drawings and other artwork illustrate ways to work with individuals and groups with specific health conditions and challenges, as well as their family members....