Mindfulness and the Arts Therapies: Theory and Practice

This pioneering resource brings together new ways of thinking and practise from an international group of senior arts therapists to explore the ways in which the inward direction of mindfulness and the outward expression of arts therapies can intersect to bring about transformative clinical results. Arts therapists will be inspired to rejuvenate and expand their practice. The first part of the book gives an overview of mindfulness development in relation to spirituality, psychotherapy and the arts therapies. The remaining five sections cover the role of the expressive arts in cultivating mindful awareness and presence; approaches that add mindfulness to the arts therapies (e.g. MBSR); approaches that are inherently mindfulness-based; the role of mindfulness in the training and education of arts therapists; and the neuroscience underlying mindfulness and the arts therapies. Contributors describe their ground-breaking work with diverse client groups including cancer patients, trauma survivors, chronic pain sufferers, substance misusers, patients with severe mental illnesses, clients in private practice, and adolescents and children.