This article introduces supportive therapies for students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD). Strategies to help children cope with emotions are described. Bibliotherapy approaches and various expressive arts approaches to helping these children are discussed, and the role of leisure awareness and adventure recreation as therapies is…

Explored attitudes and approaches toward research within master's level art therapy training programs. Questionnaires were completed by 25 research methodology instructors of graduate programs in art therapy. Findings suggest profile of diversity of approaches used to educate art therapy trainees in research process. Respondents expressed…

Surveyed art therapists (n=78) to obtain information on types of doctorates received by art therapists. Results revealed rapid increase in number of art therapists with doctoral degrees in recent years. Dissertation topics were diverse; predominant topics being studies of art therapy assessment tools, identification of abuse, and use of art…

Interviewed 20 adolescents recently discharged from Hill End Adolescent Unit. Over one-half of sample described some benefit, most notably from drama therapy, family therapy, and peer group support. Areas of difficulty included objections to video recording and one-way mirrors; dislike of being on grounds of psychiatric hospital; inadequate…

Outlines a brief history of the relationship between people experiencing disabilities and art education. Discusses the emergence of a sociopolitical orientation. Shows how that orientation can better inform research in art education. Proposes additional contributions that art educators can make to this civil rights movement. (KM)

Describes a homeless shelter's life skills-art therapy program, which targets adolescents, ages 16-19 years. The group art therapy promoted teamwork, time management, and communication skills. The program can be tailored to promote self-awareness, problem-solving, and goal-planning. The program seemed to elevate the mood of the participants. (RJM)

Describes experiences in using art with the homeless in an open studio approach. Discusses how offering open studio time with a range of materials showed that the homeless, each with a unique style and personal interests, were eager to create art objects and present them to the public. (RJM)

Explores adult developmental theories regarding implications for art therapy with impaired elderly. Examines the struggle inherent in the creative art process as a means to facilitate developmental struggle. Claims that artistic processes facilitate struggles, which can elicit conflict resolution and utilization of mature defenses with even…

Explores the role of art-making in art therapy education and proposes a studio-based model of education as one possible way to resolve the split between "art" and "therapy" in Master's level art therapy programs. Examines this model of education for reflective practice for its possible use as a strategy for integrating art,…

Counseling approaches for elementary school students using play and art therapy techniques can help overcome cultural barriers. Discusses benefits of play and art therapy for helping culturally different students overcome barriers to school success, and reviews two programs that use art and play therapy as primary tools. (JPS)

Introduces art therapists to transgender males with AIDS. Discusses three specific cases, and emphasizes the role that art played in subjects' relationship with their residential community and the ways art served their efforts to resolve issues. Considers common themes, special challenges, and benefits of working with this population. (SNR)

Attempts to delineate indicators in children's depictions of family that suggest the presence of parental alcoholism. Kinetic Family Drawings from two groups of children were collected. Statistical analysis revealed two of six items of the evaluation - depiction of isolation of self and isolation of other family members - were significantly higher…

Multicultural competence in art therapy continues to be redefined. The American Art Therapy Association (2003) Ethics Document was recently revised to list multicultural "awareness" rather than competence, thereby raising important questions about our profession's stance on multicultural competence. Awareness is the first in a series of steps…

In this article, the authors discuss how art educators often find themselves faced with students whose needs are beyond what the art educators feel trained to handle. How can they design lessons so that every student feels successful? Because art educators are also art therapists, school colleagues often ask them for help in working with students…

Ruth Faison Shaw was an art educator who developed a nontraditional educational perspective of teaching and a different vision about children's art. As such, she is considered by some to be the initiator of finger-painting in America (The History of Art Education Timeline 1930-1939, 2002.) Shaw developed the technique of finger-painting and a…