Managing Traumatic Stress Through Art

"The book's first section, Developing Basic Tools For Managing Stress, is devoted to establishing a safe framework for trauma resolution. The second section, Acknowledging and Regulating Your Emotions, helps the trauma survivor to make sense of overwhelming emotional experiences. The final section, Being and Functioning in the World, focuses on self and relational development, leading into the future"--Publisher's website.

This book focusses on art therapy as a treatment of PTSD in both theory and practice. It includes an in-depth look at what PTSD is, how it develops, and how art therapists should approach and treat it, with a focus on furthering social justice. The chapters cover a wide variety of contexts, including adults at a rape crisis centre, veterans, children in group homes and patients at substance use facilities. The second section of the book includes invaluable practical strategies and interventions based on the author's decades of experience in the field. It also discusses more complex concepts, including the impact of avoidance in maintaining symptoms of PTSD, and considers how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy can guide art therapy interventions.

This book focuses on somatic art therapy for treating acute or chronic pain, especially resulting from physical and/or psychological trauma. It discusses the role of the psyche in physical healing and encourages combining of traditional medicine and holistic perspectives in treatment. Translated from the French text, this volume provides case studies and examples from the author’s art psychotherapy practice of 40 years, including the four-quadrants method. Chapters review the current treatments for chronic pain and PTSD and focus on art therapeutic methods to treat those conditions, such as art therapy protocols for PTSD. The book exposes the underlying rational of somatic art therapy, covering art therapy effectiveness, Levine’s somatic dissociation, van der Kolk’s somatic memory, and Scaer’s procedural memory concepts. Also featured are chapter contributions from art therapists Sophie Boudrias, Mylène Piché, and Dr. Patcharin Sughondhabirom. By providing a unique, clear and concise synthesis of available art therapy methods this text will appeal both to the general and professional public, including professional art therapists, psychotherapists, helping relation professionals, and medical practitioners.

Art Therapy, Trauma, and Neuroscience combines theory, research, and practice with traumatized populations in a neuroscience framework. The classic edition includes a new preface from the author discussing advances in the field. Recognizing the importance of a neuroscience- and trauma-informed approach to art therapy practice, research, and education, some of the most renowned figures in art therapy and trauma use translational and integrative neuroscience to provide theoretical and applied techniques for use in clinical practice. Graduate students, therapists, and educators will come away from this book with a refined understanding of brain-based interventions in a dynamic yet accessible format.

Art and the therapeutic uses of art provide older adults with valuable ways in which to express and share their feelings, needs and fears, and with a resource for coping with life's major changes. This practical book is filled with step-by-step exercises for art therapists and other professionals to use in work with older adults, either individually or in groups. The author provides brief, imaginative warm-ups, which encourage participants to become more at ease expressing themselves creatively. She offers ideas for engaging and innovative creative projects across a range of media, including art, music, movement, poetry and creative writing, all of which can be adapted, personalised or combined to meet the particular needs of individual participants. Points to consider when working with this client group are explored, and case study examples, with participants' artwork, are included throughout. Appropriate for use with all relatively able older adults, including those with depression, anxiety or in the early stages of dementia, this will be an invaluable tool for art therapists as well as counsellors, psychotherapists, social workers and carers.

Discover the healing power of art therapy The purposeful act of making art can be more than a creative outlet. It can also help individuals gain self-awareness, process difficult thoughts, and even ease the effects of past traumas. Essential Art Therapy Exercises, a cognitive behavioral therapy workbook, offers a range of creative activities to help you better understand yourself, develop control over your emotions, and aid the healing process. This well-reviewed art therapy workbook includes: Exercises for healing and self-discovery—75 strategic art therapy activities offer new opportunities for self-expression and tools for coping with mood and personality disorders. Supportive prompts and interactions—Each exercise includes an explanation of its purpose and potential outcomes along with a series of insightful post-activity questions. Judgment-free guidance—Learn the basics of different artistic techniques and mediums, like drawing, painting, and sculpting—no previous art experience necessary. Helpful supply lists and tips—Includes a complete list of the art supplies you'll need for each art therapy project and advice on creating your own healing space. Find new peace and positivity with Essential Art Therapy Exercises.

For decades, art therapy has proved to be a practical treatment for veterans and other military populations suffering from trauma. Art Therapy with Military Populations provides an in-depth overview of both the theoretical and historical bases of art therapy with these groups while also chronicling the latest trends in treatment and the continued expansion of treatment settings. Edited by an art therapist with over 25 years’ experience working with the military and including chapters by a variety of seasoned and innovative clinicians, this comprehensive new volume provides professionals with cutting edge knowledge and interventions for working with military service members and their families. Available for download are employment resources for art therapists who would like to work in military settings, a bonus chapter, historical documents on establishing art therapy, a treatment objectives manual, and resources for art therapists.

With the increasing probability of floods, wars, and human displacement, there will be a great need for health care professionals to help. The arts provide a new, human, and cost-effective way to bring relief and to ease some of the human suffering associated with trauma.The editor, Lois Carey, presents a compelling rationale for the use of the arts therapies to work with trauma. First, it is now clear that traumatized children have difficulty using words to describe their experience. Drawing, play, music and other creative forms allow for an indirect expression that reduces anxiety, and they also help to establish a therapeutic relationship and an area of safety. The same is true for traumatized adults, who are often nonverbal... this book can be a beginning of much-needed documentation of the use of the expressive arts methods for trauma survivors and will provide a significant and useful introduction to the field for health professionals.' - PsycCRITIQUES 'I think the descriptions of the methods are interesting and they show a lot of experience in the field of trauma-treatment. It is a well written, very readable book of the practice.' -Tijdschrift voor Vaktherapie (Journal of Therapy) 'This book throws more light on different expressive and creative arts methods in the treatment of trauma. In detailed case studies and research, the authors offer an overview of creative arts methods aiming at brain functions which are not always being reached by verbal therapy alone.' -Tijdschrift voor Vaktherapie (Journal of Therapy) 'The authors use a rich mix of interesting case material and useful explanation of the techniques for the uninitiated.' - Therapy Today 'A very good job of promoting the use of expressive arts therapy to complement talking therapies and achieve results that talking therapy cannot.' - Play Therapy UK 'If you are a parent, dealing daily with the effects of traumatised children, and especially finding it difficult to firstly access specialist therapy and secondly to understand the principles in relation to your child, then this book will give you a clear understanding of the aims and outcomes of therapies which may be on offer.' - www.adoption-net.co.uk Expressive and Creative Arts Methods for Trauma Survivors demonstrates how play, art, and music therapies, as well as sandplay, psychodrama and storytelling, can be used to aid the recovery of trauma victims. Drawing on detailed case studies and a growing body of evidence of the benefits of non-verbal therapies, the contributors-all leading practitioners in their fields-provide an overview of creative therapies that tap into sensate aspects of the brain not always reached by verbal therapy alone. Methods of exploring traumatic experiences with a view to limiting patients' distress are also explored. The techniques discussed are appropriate for work with children, families and groups and are based on established approaches, including Jungian, Child-centred, Gestalt and Freudian theories. Expressive and Creative Arts Methods for Trauma Survivors will be an enlightening read for expressive and specialized arts therapists and for students and academics in these fields.

Art Therapy and Clinical Neuroscience offers an authoritative introductory account of recent developments in clinical neuroscience and its impact on art therapy theory and practice. Contributors explore the complex relationship between art and creativity and neurological functions such as those that occur during stress response, immune functioning, child developmental phases, gender difference, the processing of imagery, attachment, and trauma. It deciphers neuroscientific language and theory and contributes innovative concrete applications and interventions useful in art therapy. This book is essential reading for art therapists, expressive arts therapists, counselors, mental health practitioners, and students.