Art Heals How Creativity Cures the Soul

by MCNIFF, SHAUN

• ISBN13: 9781590301661
• ISBN10: 1590301668
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-11-16
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

The field of art therapy is discovering that artistic expression can be a powerful means of personal transformation and emotional and spiritual healing. In this book, Shaun McNiff, a leader in expressive arts therapy for more than three decades, reflects on a wide spectrum of activities aimed at reviving art's traditional healing function. In chapters ranging from "Liberating Creativity" and "The Practice of Creativity in the Workplace" to "From Shamanism to Art Therapy," he illuminates some of the most progressive views in the rapidly expanding field of art therapy: The "practice of imagination" as a powerful force for transformation A challenge to literal-minded psychological interpretations of artworks ("black colors indicate depression") and the principle that even disturbing images have inherent healing properties The role of the therapist in promoting an environment conducive to free expression and therapeutic energies The healing effects of group work, with people creating alongside one another and interacting in the studio "Total expression," combining arts such as movement, storytelling, and drumming with painting and drawing

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

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xv
Part One INTRODUCTION	1	(8)
1 Liberating Creativity	3	(6)
Part Two ART IS SOUL'S MEDICINE	9	(60)
2 The Creative Space	15	(13)
3 Letting Go in a Safe Place	28	(3)
4 Embracing Upheaval	31	(3)
5 The Early Work, 1970-1974: Anthony, Bernice, and Christopher	34	(18)
6 The Art Therapist as Artist	52	(3)
7 Aesthetic Meditation	55	(14)
Part Three OPENING TO IMAGES AND MEDIA	69	(78)
8 The Interpretation of Imagery	75	(7)
9 Treating Images as Persons and Dialoguing with Them	82	(14)
10 The Challenge of Disturbing Images	96	(4)
11 Images as Angels	100	(12)
12 Angels of the Wound	112	(9)
13 Artistic Auras and Their Medicines	121	(16)
14 The Effects of Different Kinds of Art Experiences	137	(10)
Part Four TOTAL EXPRESSION	147	(34)
15 Pandora's Gifts: Using All of the Arts in Healing	151	(12)
16 A Pantheon of Creative Arts Therapies	163	(5)
17 Working with Everything We Have	168	(3)
18 A Review of Jung on Active Imagination by Joan Chodorow	171	(10)
Part Five CONNECTIONS TO SHAMANISM	181	(28)
19 From Shamanism to Art Therapy	183	(11)
20 The Shaman as Archetypal Figure	194	(6)
21 The Shaman Within	200	(9)
Part Six REFLECTIONS ON THE SOURCE	209	(30)
22 The Basis of Energy	211	(10)
23 The Healing Powers of Imagination	221	(9)
24 Surrender to the Rhythm	230	(9)
Part Seven USING NEW MEDIA TO EXPAND CREATIVE EXPRESSION	239	(24)
25 Video Enactment in the Expressive Therapies	243	(12)
26 A Virtual Studio	255	(8)
Part Fight ART HEALING IS FOR EVERYONE	263	(32)
27 Art Therapy Is a Big Idea	267	(4)
28 An Inclusive Vision of Art Therapy: A Spectrum of Partnerships	271	(12)
29 The Way of Empathy: The Practice of Creativity in the Workplace	283	(7)
30 The Test of Time	290	(5)
Sources and Credits	295	(4)
Selected Publications by Shaun McNiff	299	(8)
Index	307