In the last few years the number of art therapists has grown significantly and the ranges of different contexts where their skills are valued has broadened enormously. This has brought art therapists into contact with many members of the other caring professions, who need and want to know more about art therapy and its benefits for their clients.
There is increasing interest in the use of the arts generally, with disadvantaged people of all kinds. This may include joining in arts activities and also the more personal process of art therapy. The benefits to the people involved may be far-reaching, increasing a sense of self-worth and the ability to communicate. New ways of working are being developed all the time, and art therapists are pushing out the boundaries as they do this. This book describe what actually happens in art therapy in a variety of contexts, as practised by particular art therapists.
The contributors to this volume all work and live in the same geographical region and have evolved their aims as a group. Between them they cover a wide variety of client groups: acute and long-term psychiatric patients, psychogeriatric patients, mentally handicapped people with psychiatric problems, children with psychological problems, offenders in the community and homeless people.