Using Art Therapy with Diverse Populations: Crossing Cultures and Abilities

Art is a recognised and effective form of therapy that is used all over the world. Yet are the approaches used as universal as the successes? Written with an international focus, this book considers how culture impacts the practice of art therapy in a variety of settings. With contributions from experienced art therapists who have worked in diverse environments, this book attempts to understand and highlights the specific cultural, subcultural and ethnic factors that inform art therapy treatment. It addresses variable factors including setting, population, environment and ability, and how they influence art therapy approaches. It also considers how cultural differences can impact physical art making through choices of color, symbol and metaphor. Each chapter provides a framework showing how art therapy techniques have been used in order to successfully work with distinct populations. This book will provide practitioners with ideas for how to adapt art therapy training and approaches to suit the setting and meet the needs of a huge range of populations. Full of informative case studies, this book will be invaluable reading for art therapists and students of art therapy.