Using Art Therapy With Diverse Populations ─ Crossing Cultures and Abilities

Broadly, this comprehensive book provides an introduction into understanding the influence a particular environment has on the approach one uses for novice as well as for experienced clinicians interested in using art in therapy. Thirty-three chapters are divided into seven parts: art therapy and culture; the culturally-sensitive art therapist; the practice of culturally-based art therapy in education settings; understanding the cultural implications of art therapy in hospital and rehab setting; cultural perspectives; using art therapy in outpatient treatment setting; cultural influences in community-based art therapy; and cultural implications for art therapy in unique populations. The editors and contributors define the history of art therapy, how it works and highlights different diagnostic techniques. They examine the uses of materials, the therapeutic relationship, color and the connection between culture, science, and art, awareness of race and culture issues. They describe working with autistic children, and adolescents, and discuss the medical setting, such as eating disorders, out-patient programs, and dealing with grief and loss. Finally, they tackle the subject of the anti-therapeutic environment prisons--and art therapy, the disadvantaged, and orphans. They target art therapists in the US, and those beginning programs worldwide, interested students, as well as those for whom English is a second language. There are a multitude of black-and-white and color figures, and 13 appendixes. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Paula Howie, ATR-BC, LPC received her Master's in Art Therapy from George Washington University in 1975. She received her ATR in 1977, became a Board Certified Art Therapist in 1994, a Licensed Professional Counselor (DC, 1997) and in VA (2008). She directed the Art Therapy Service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center from 1979 to 2002. From 1982 to the present, she has been a part time faculty and currently holds the title of Associate Professorial Lecturer in the Art Therapy Graduate Program at George Washington University. Paula has held numerous positions in AATA to include President from 2005-2007. She currently maintains a private practice in Washington, DC, where she focuses on the treatment of trauma; she has authored several art therapy articles, has numerous presentations, and was invited to lecture in South Korea in 2004 and 2006. Since her retirement from Walter Reed, in addition to private practice and teaching, Paula has been actively pursuing her passion for watercolor painting. Sangeeta Prasad, ATR, is an art therapist with experience working in India and the United States of America. She has worked with children and adults with serious mental health problems, and has presented on art therapy in the USA as well as India. Her experience as an art therapist in two very different cultures provides her with the opportunity and expertise to introduce art therapy in India. Through her work, she hopes to bridge the information gap in art therapy between countries that have already established art therapy programs and those in which art therapy is beginning to take root. Jen Kristel has a Masters in Expressive Therapies from Lesley University. For the last 20 years, she has worked in clinical and non-clinical settings using the expressive arts and Playback Theatre, a form of theatre improvisation that uses personal stories of the audience to support community building and healing. Since 2003 she has been working in South Asia (Including India, Bangladesh and Indonesia) teaching Playback Theatre and expressive therapies to local NGOs, Counseling Centres and Universities, working on a wide range of issues. Her hope is to support people in finding their voice and building community.