Dynamically Oriented Art Therapy
What is Art Therapy? A Comparison of Two Theories
An academic paper by Kassandra E. Baecker Art Therapy is a process of tapping into the unconscious conflicts, the hidden id impulses, by utilizing the libidinal energy through an array of materials and mediums to create art. The aim behind this, encouraged expulsion of unconscious force, is to transform the energy into a healing process. There are two main factions of thought for this art therapy process. Firstly, one is the use of art “in” the therapy process via “transference”, and secondly, the other considers the art “as” the therapeutic process through “sublimation.” (Lee, 2014) Each theory is associated to the two main pioneers of art therapy, Margaret Naumburg and Edith Kramer. These …show more content…
(p. 84) According to this particular story, Naumburg explained how, after many sessions, Mrs. Felix was able to recognize her own unconsciousness with minimal guidance. (p. 84) Specifically, after a drawing of her mother Mrs. Felix declared that what she created was not “really a portrait of [her] mother but a picture of one of [her] attitudes toward [her] mother.” (Naumburg, 1966, p. 84) The aftermath led to Mrs. Felix’s increase in ego strength, and her awareness of the “transference” process onto the art from the client. Mrs. Felix’s awareness exhibits the true core of Naumburg’s aims in “dynamically oriented art therapy.” (Junge, 2010, p. …show more content…
They both saw the value to employ both traditional psychological, and/or psychiatric, treatment in tandem with art therapy. Naumburg (1966) found that art therapy had an evident decrease in a client’s length of recovery. (p. 19) Kramer (1993) viewed art therapy as an integral component of therapy that lends to a symbiotic relationship with psychotherapy. (p. 33)
In closure, there are, to this day, varied concepts of what art therapy is defined as. However, the essential aims of art therapy, which appear to be unanimous, are to encourage the growth and well being of a client in need. Indeed, it is through the unspoken language of images that art therapy implements change in the client’s psyche. Further, with the assistance of a trained art therapist, whether they guide a client towards “transference” or “sublimation,” the client’s unconscious will hopefully be uncovered and the opportunity for resolution
An academic paper by Kassandra E. Baecker Art Therapy is a process of tapping into the unconscious conflicts, the hidden id impulses, by utilizing the libidinal energy through an array of materials and mediums to create art. The aim behind this, encouraged expulsion of unconscious force, is to transform the energy into a healing process. There are two main factions of thought for this art therapy process. Firstly, one is the use of art “in” the therapy process via “transference”, and secondly, the other considers the art “as” the therapeutic process through “sublimation.” (Lee, 2014) Each theory is associated to the two main pioneers of art therapy, Margaret Naumburg and Edith Kramer. These …show more content…
(p. 84) According to this particular story, Naumburg explained how, after many sessions, Mrs. Felix was able to recognize her own unconsciousness with minimal guidance. (p. 84) Specifically, after a drawing of her mother Mrs. Felix declared that what she created was not “really a portrait of [her] mother but a picture of one of [her] attitudes toward [her] mother.” (Naumburg, 1966, p. 84) The aftermath led to Mrs. Felix’s increase in ego strength, and her awareness of the “transference” process onto the art from the client. Mrs. Felix’s awareness exhibits the true core of Naumburg’s aims in “dynamically oriented art therapy.” (Junge, 2010, p. …show more content…
They both saw the value to employ both traditional psychological, and/or psychiatric, treatment in tandem with art therapy. Naumburg (1966) found that art therapy had an evident decrease in a client’s length of recovery. (p. 19) Kramer (1993) viewed art therapy as an integral component of therapy that lends to a symbiotic relationship with psychotherapy. (p. 33)
In closure, there are, to this day, varied concepts of what art therapy is defined as. However, the essential aims of art therapy, which appear to be unanimous, are to encourage the growth and well being of a client in need. Indeed, it is through the unspoken language of images that art therapy implements change in the client’s psyche. Further, with the assistance of a trained art therapist, whether they guide a client towards “transference” or “sublimation,” the client’s unconscious will hopefully be uncovered and the opportunity for resolution