Anorexia, Body-Image Dysphoria, and Art Therapy
No one really disputes the lethality of anorexia. Anorexia is the most deadly of addictions and long before death,.... the compromised brain, body, and low levels of functionality are devastating. Eating disorders can be as crippling and fatal as just...
Art, Imagery, and Physical Health
In 1985, I was hired by CareUnit Hospital in Ft. Worth as a drug and alcohol counselor. I had no experience and my one page resume had more space than text. My supervisor, Mr. Ron Elkins, suggested that I add art processes to my work as a drug and...
Self-Portraiture and Art Therapy
To a person looking from outside in, self-portraiture in therapy could appear to reinforce egotism and narcissism. This is especially true in an age when appearance is deemed to be so important. But Aristotle said, "The aim of art is to represent not the outward...
Art Therapy and Diagnostic Adjustment
Psychological diagnosis is not as reliable as our profession would hope. More than a few times, clients have shown up for counseling with a long list of prior, and periodically contradictory, diagnoses. I have found that there are problems with a tendency to...
Mechanisms of Denial and Art Therapy
Chemical addiction may begin slowly over time or within the first puff. However the process begins, mayhem follows. For some the mayhem or destruction is cushioned by social systems designed, or not, to protect. For example, there are times that a jail sentence...
Broken Hearts, Resiliency, and Art Therapy
No matter what the diagnosis may be for a client who enters treatment for the first time, they arrive with a broken heart. The etiology of their broken heart varies, but the hurt has universal commonalities. As a counselor for thirty years, I hold close to my own...
Inner Child Healing and Wholeness
Using the visual arts in the therapy session, opens the door to more creative thought in all aspects of life, within and outside of the therapy session. The book, Healing the Child Within by Charles Whitfield, has helped people learn how to self-soothe and nurture...
Family Roles, Systems, and Art Therapy
Most addiction programs teach a model of birth order and dysfunctional family roles. Identifying these roles are important for several reasons, they are able to reduce shame and help people ponder, reassess, and intervene upon assumed ways of relating to others. Quite...
Stress and Art Therapy
In today's world, an inordinate number of people hold and carry tremendous stress, not only in the mind, but also the body. This stress can exacerbate other problems such as temper, chronic pain, or a sharp, critical tongue. For an addict, untreated excessive stress...
Blog Thoughts and Comments
Art may be used celebrate a joyous occasion or memorialize a loss. A long ago client once said, "What I have learned from you is that I can have and hold two conflicting emotions at the same time and that this is healthy". Art is able to help us see, acknowledge,...