هنر درمانی: طیفی از مشارکت

Pergamon The Arts in Psychotherapy, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 374, 1997 Copyright 0 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0197-4556/97 $17.00 + .OO PI1 SO197-4556(97)00001-4 ART THERAPY: A SPECTRUM OF PARTNERSHIPS SHAUN McNIFF, PhD* Creative Synergy One of the most useful ideas in art therapy litera- ture was presented by Helen Landgarten and Darcy Lubbers (1991). They challenged readers to find “creative ways” to incorporate art into their par- ticular ways of practicing psychotherapy as art therapy “is synergistic with practically any goal or approach.” This wide spectrum of synergies is the key to the current success of art therapy practice and it is critically important to future growth and creative vitality. A synergy is more than a one plus one combina- tion. It multiplies as a result of interactions between synergistic pairs. In keeping with the primary tenet of Gestalt Psychology, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. When art therapy works collaboratively with another discipline, there are going to be effects that cannot be planned in advance. This type of rela- tionship is the basis of the creative process. In my experience with art therapy there has been an ongoing tension between those who favor expan- sionist visions of what the work can be and those committed to a more closely regulated profession. The former view tends to emphasize how art therapy can be adapted to any situation where art is used with people whereas the latter focuses more on exclusively clinical practice. Conflict of this nature is inevitable in every profession. Rather than allow the strife to evolve into hardened opposition, I prefer to look at polarization as a necessary psychological condition. When we approach opposition from the perspective of creative tension, we see different positions as express- *Sham McNiff is Dean of Endicott College, Beverly, Massachusetts. ing the fullness of a situation. The perspectives need one another to exist and when viewed as sources of creative agitation, they form a synergistic pair. It is the pragmatic and very concrete process of connecting that lies at the base of the appeal and creative vitality of art therapy. The term “art therapy” is itself a joining of interests and disciplines. Once we accept that the process of mixing is at the basis of the professional enterprise, we will, hopefully, become less apt to crystallize the field into a single entity. Rather than striving to eliminate contrary per- spectives, we might consider a more creative manage- ment of the interplay. The different positions energize and shape one another. Healing is a process that transforms conflicting forces into a new and more productive relationship. Art does the same thing. It may be useful to apply the healing function of the creative process to a redefini- tion of art therapy. This re-visioning will, hopefully, enable the profession to make use of all of its re- sources and conflicts. If we act in a way that corre- sponds to the creative process, we will stay open and continuously introduce new combinations of art and therapy. The Basis of Art In order for art therapy to sustain its synergistic potential, there must be a vital source from which new connections emerge. Every way of practicing art therapy will benefit if there is strong art basis at the core of the profession’s identity. Goals, applications, 31