Existential and Expressive Arts Therapy
Existential and Expressive Arts Therapy
Saré Gebhardt
GEXTH 5102.01
Karen Estrella
November 30, 2008
Sometime in the late eighties, Shaun McNiff, Sr. Kathleen Burke and I sat in a small pub in Cleveland, Ohio. It was after midnight when conversation turned to my writing project, this book. Sr. Kathleen asked, “What’s the title going to be?”
“Well,” I replied, “the working title is Existential Art Therapy.”
Shaun sighed. “Bruce, don’t be redundant. All art is existential.”
…I have thought often of Shaun’s admonition. He is right, all art is existential. Perhaps that is why the concepts…have held up as the world of health care has revolutionized, i.e., all art has to do with the basic human experience of life as it is. (Moon, 2005, p. xiii)
I have always had an interest in existential theory and its use in psychotherapy. Every person shares the experience with those around them of just living. Existential theory focuses on “how does a person survive the difficulties and losses of life, and is it possible to emerge from such experience as fuller, better, stronger human beings?” (Magnione & Keady, 2007). It seems that expressive arts therapy would help in this process, but how? Can the arts be used in the existential framework of psychotherapy?
Existential Theory and Psychotherapy To better understand how the expressive arts can be used in this framework, we must fully understand the framework itself. “Existentialism is the belief that, to find meaning and purpose in one’s life, one must undertake a challenging emotional and spiritual journey” (Kanaly & Slater, 2003). Furthermore, “existentialism has assumed profound dimensions in our modern emotional and spiritual belief systems and can be found in nearly all aspects of our culture, particularly art, literature and psychology” (Magnione & Keady, 2007). Magnione, et al, continues to explore the concepts in the movie What Dreams May Come and its correlation to the artwork of
Saré Gebhardt
GEXTH 5102.01
Karen Estrella
November 30, 2008
Sometime in the late eighties, Shaun McNiff, Sr. Kathleen Burke and I sat in a small pub in Cleveland, Ohio. It was after midnight when conversation turned to my writing project, this book. Sr. Kathleen asked, “What’s the title going to be?”
“Well,” I replied, “the working title is Existential Art Therapy.”
Shaun sighed. “Bruce, don’t be redundant. All art is existential.”
…I have thought often of Shaun’s admonition. He is right, all art is existential. Perhaps that is why the concepts…have held up as the world of health care has revolutionized, i.e., all art has to do with the basic human experience of life as it is. (Moon, 2005, p. xiii)
I have always had an interest in existential theory and its use in psychotherapy. Every person shares the experience with those around them of just living. Existential theory focuses on “how does a person survive the difficulties and losses of life, and is it possible to emerge from such experience as fuller, better, stronger human beings?” (Magnione & Keady, 2007). It seems that expressive arts therapy would help in this process, but how? Can the arts be used in the existential framework of psychotherapy?
Existential Theory and Psychotherapy To better understand how the expressive arts can be used in this framework, we must fully understand the framework itself. “Existentialism is the belief that, to find meaning and purpose in one’s life, one must undertake a challenging emotional and spiritual journey” (Kanaly & Slater, 2003). Furthermore, “existentialism has assumed profound dimensions in our modern emotional and spiritual belief systems and can be found in nearly all aspects of our culture, particularly art, literature and psychology” (Magnione & Keady, 2007). Magnione, et al, continues to explore the concepts in the movie What Dreams May Come and its correlation to the artwork of
Bibliography: Bugental, J., & Bracke, P. (1992). The future of existential-humanistic psychotherapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 29(1), 28-33. Corey, G. (2005) Existential Therapy. In Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (7th ed.) (pp.128-161). Belmont, CA: Thompson Brooks/Cole. Furman, R. (2003). Poetry therapy and existential practice. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 30, 195-200. Mangione, L., & Keady, S. (2007). “Spirit In The Night” to “Mary’s Place”: Loss, Death, and the Transformative Power of Relationships. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 1(4), 179-190. Moon, B. (1995). Introduction. Existential Art Therapy: The Canvas mirror (2nd ed). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas. Kanaly, C., & Slater, T. (2003). What dreams may come: an existential journey with Hieronymus Bosch. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 30(1), 35-42. Shinebourne, P. (2005). The Process of Becoming Art. Existential Analysis, 16(1), 50-60. Story, M. (2007). Existential Art Therapy. The Canadian Art Therapy Association Journal, 20(2), 22-34. Yalom, I. (1980). Existential Psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books.