Recounts experiences with art therapy as utilized by the staff of an AIDS and HIV-infection research clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, to deal with their own anxiety and depression about dealing with the disease. The staff art program began due to the efforts of the director's sensitivity to the possibility of burnout among the staff. (JPS)

Recommends that art therapists inform themselves about the many art-and-healing activities available throughout the country and interact in useful ways for the profession. Urges therapists to claim their role as artists by entering the art world more actively through writing in art journals, speaking at art forums, and increasing the number of…

The roles of teachers and therapists, when dealing with troubled students, are clarified. If an art teacher is not trained as an art therapist, he or she cannot assume responsibility for addressing the emotional needs of these types of students. (RM)

Internal polarization and current external pressures are forcing changes in art therapy. True art therapy must be based in art, and its practitioners must be conducting therapy. A clear definition is necessary or the field of art therapy may become so overinclusive that it holds meaningless distinctions. (LSR)

Themes that emerged during the author's doctoral research suggest the following: anatomically based drawings may be useful in the diagnosis of certain physical pathologies, and a combination of abstract and visual modes of thinking may aid a client's cognitive understanding and verbal description of physiological processes, which may in turn aid…

The space in which art is made has long been considered a potent force that impacts the form and content of an artist's expression. The studio constitutes the initial and perhaps most impressionable experience of the art therapy process. The therapist must adapt the space to suit clients' needs taking a proactive stance to requisition resources…

Reviews the rationale for both nondirective and focused approaches to play therapy, and discusses why nondirective therapy alone may be ineffective in treating sexually abused and abuse-reactive children. A prescriptive approach is proposed that combines the rapport-building component of nondirective play therapy with focused techniques. (JPS)

Describes how art therapists can clarify their roles and assertively sell themselves to the public. Looks at the future of art therapy, defines assertiveness, explores the need for art therapists as mentors, details the need for change, and introduces some practical solutions to achieve change. (RJM)

Interview of Cliff Joseph, one of the first African Americans to participate in the American Art Therapy Association and to become a registered art therapist and teacher. Details Joseph's impact on art therapy and cultural and social issues, as well as his relationships with other prominent art therapists. (MKA)

Can music in and of itself tell anything about the mind of the person who composes or performs it? This question is of general philosophical interest, but it takes on more than philosophical significance in contexts where there is reason to think that music may be the only significant point of contact between one human being and another. There are…

Recounts the personal experience of an art therapist whose child, diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder, underwent a female-to-male gender change. Through art therapy, this mother illustrates the confusion, denial, anger, and acceptance she grappled with during her child's gender dysphoria. (LSR)

Presents literature review of specific cross-cultural therapeutic principles to be considered during art therapy. Defines how barriers such as language, diagnostic errors, and others may influence treatment and possibly contribute to client's early termination of treatment. Considers use of art materials and gives attention to products and/or…

Various mental-health professionals use drawings and other art in therapy, but relatively little has been written on the ethics surrounding this technique. Should artwork be viewed as equivalent to verbal communication? A variety of ethical issues including confidentiality, documentation, ownership, research, publication, and display of work are…

Therapist's role and dilemmas faced in treating a gender dysphoric client are discussed. Examines ethical and moral issues relating to transsexualism and discusses the appropriateness of art therapy as a treatment for transsexual clients. (SNR)

The Open Studio as a way of working evolved in an effort to maximize the effectiveness of the artmaking project as a means to increase and deepen consciousness. This method differentiates art from psychotherapy and calls into question the validity of marrying the two experiences. (JPS)