Art as Medicine

by MCNIFF, SHAUN

• ISBN13: 9780877736585
• ISBN10: 0877736588
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 1992-10-20
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

"Whenever illness is associated with loss of soul," writes Shaun McNiff, "the arts emerge spontaneously as remedies, soul medicine." The medicine of the artist, like that of the shaman, arises from his or her relationship to "familiars"-the themes, methods, and materials that interact with the artist through the creative process.Art As Medicinedemonstrates how the imagination heals and renews itself through this natural process. The author describes his pioneering methods of art therapy-including interpretation through performance and storytelling, creative collaboration, and dialoguing with images-and the ways in which they can revitalize both psychotherapy and art itself.

Author Biography

Shaun McNiff is internationally recognized as a founder and leading figure in the arts and healing field. University Professor at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he is past president of the American Art Therapy Association and the author of several other books including Art As Medicine , Trust the Process , and Creating with Others .

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	1	(8)
Part One CONTEXT
Simple Beginnings	9	(7)
Shamanic Continuities	16	(11)
Attunement to the Archetypal	27	(17)
A Link to the ``Art World''	44	(10)
Psyche's Movement	54	(12)
Imaginal Realism	66	(8)
Artist and Angel	74	(15)
The Daimonic Tradition	89	(8)
Part Two DIALOGUING AND OTHER METHODS
Loquent Meditations	97	(2)
Creation Stories	99	(3)
Responding	102	(3)
Talking with Images	105	(4)
The Value of Dialogue	109	(10)
Performance	119	(9)
Dreaming	128	(17)
Part Three DEMONSTRATION
Image Dialogues	145	(82)
Bibliography	227	(4)
Index	231