Jordan S. Potash

Drawing Involves Caring: Fostering Relationship Building Through Art Therapy for Social Change

Abstract The art therapists ability to foster the creative process in service of relationship can be a foundation for infusing a social change paradigm into existing practice. For clients affected by discrimination and stigma, art therapy can promote empathy and understanding of the societal forces involved. In this qualitative study, 46 people participated in a guided viewing experience of artworks by individuals who were living with mental illnesses. After providing data on their familiarity with mental illnesses, their attitudes, and their level of empathy, viewers created an art image in response to an exhibiting artist and participated in a discussion. Results indicated that the facilitated experience helped to foster empathy, allowed viewers to relate to the exhibiting artists, and promoted attitudinal change. By facilitating meaningful art-viewing and art-making experiences art therapists can attend both to individuals in need and to community structures that hamper full participation in society.

Art-making in a family medicine clerkship: how does it affect medical student empathy?

BackgroundTo provide patient-centred holistic care, doctors must possess good interpersonal and empathic skills. Medical schools traditionally adopt a skills-based approach to such training but creative engagement with the arts has also been effective. A novel arts-based approach may help medical students develop empathic understanding of patients and thus contribute to medical students’ transformative process into compassionate doctors. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an arts-making workshop on medical student empathy.MethodsThis was a mixed-method quantitative-qualitative study. In the 2011–12 academic year, all 161 third year medical students at the University of Hong Kong were randomly allocated into either an arts-making workshop or a problem-solving workshop during the Family Medicine clerkship according to a centrally-set timetable. Students in the arts-making workshop wrote a poem, created artwork and completed a reflective essay while students in the conventional workshop problem-solved clinical cases and wrote a case commentary. All students who agreed to participate in the study completed a measure of empathy for medical students, the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) (student version), at the start and end of the clerkship. Quantitative data analysis: Paired t-test and repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare the change within and between groups respectively. Qualitative data analysis: Two researchers independently chose representational narratives based on criteria adapted from art therapy. The final 20 works were agreed upon by consensus and thematically analysed using a grounded theory approach.ResultsThe level of empathy declined in both groups over time, but with no statistically significant differences between groups. For JSE items relating to emotional influence on medical decision making, participants in the arts-making workshop changed more than those in the problem-solving workshop. From the qualitative data, students perceived benefits in arts-making, and gained understanding in relation to self, patients, pain and suffering, and the role of the doctor.ConclusionsThough quantitative findings showed little difference in empathy between groups, arts-making workshop participants gained empathic understanding in four different thematic areas. This workshop also seemed to promote greater self-awareness which may help medical students recognize the potential for emotions to sway judgment. Future art workshops should focus on emotional awareness and regulation.

Art‐mediated peer‐to‐peer learning of empathy

Making experiential art in a clinical clerkship offers opportunities for students to gain self‐awareness and enhance their empathic understanding of patients. The student‐created art can be further used as teaching material for other students.

Medical student mandala making for holistic well-being.

The objective of this qualitative research study was to discover how creating mandalas (art made in reference to a circle) might provide medical students with an opportunity for reflection on their current psychological state. As part of their year 3 family medicine rotation, medical students participated in an art-making workshop, during which, they created mandalas based on their current emotional state. Afterwards, they engaged in reflective writing and discussion. The responses of 180 students were analysed and coded according to the mandala classification framework ‘Archetypal Stages of The Great Round of Mandala’. The results indicated that students were actively struggling in integrating conflicting perspectives as they were attempting to reconcile their professional identity as doctors. Additional results pertaining to psychosocial characteristics included navigating difficult emotions, requiring nurturance, handling endings, contemplating existential concerns and managing stress. The study has implications for making use of mandala making within a Jungian framework as means for medical students to reflect on their emotional state and achieve psychological balance.

A model for art therapy based supervision for end-of-life-care workers in Hong Kong

End-of-life care workers and volunteers are particularly prone to burnout given the intense emotional and existential nature of their work. Supervision is one important way to provide adequate support that focuses on both professional and personal competencies. The inclusion of art therapy principles and practices within supervision further creates a dynamic platform for sustained self-reflection. A 6-week art therapy–based supervision group provided opportunities for developing emotional awareness, recognizing professional strengths, securing collegial relationships, and reflecting on death-related memories. The structure, rationale, and feedback are discussed.

Changes in breast cancer patients after psychosocial intervention as indicated in drawings

Objective: The present study attempts to understand the experience of breast cancer patients who had participated in an Eastern‐based body–mind–spirit (BMS) psychosocial intervention program by observing changes in the images made by the patients.

Fast Food Art, Talk Show Therapy: The Impact of Mass Media on Adolescent Art Therapy

Electronic media provides rapid delivery and unlimited access to pictures, sounds, and information. The ubiquitous presence of techno-digital culture in the lives of todays adolescents may influence or contaminate the art therapy process. This article presents two case studies that illustrate how cyberspace entered into art therapy sessions and also how the process of art therapy empowered adolescent clients to transform pop culture images into personally meaningful ones.

Broadening History, Expanding Possibilities: Contributions of Wayne Ramirez to Art Therapy

Abstract A broad history of art therapy in the United States offers important perspectives on which to view contemporary art therapy practice and professional identity. This article provides descriptive research on the contributions of art therapist Wayne Ramirez, an active leader in the early days of the American Art Therapy Association whose attention turned in later years to his own expanded view of art therapy. Ramirezs achievements invite todays art therapists to broaden their views, embrace difference and inclusivity, and reconsider roles and practices that define the field.

Art Viewing Directives in Hospital Settings Effect on Mood

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect viewing directives can have when encountering art in hospitals. A secondary objective of the study was to understand the responses of viewers to an art exhibit on the theme of medical student empathy toward patient pain and suffering. Background: Displaying art in hospitals has been credited with increasing well-being of patients, visitors, and staff. Generally, hospital curators have focused on the type of art to display (natural, symbolic, and abstract). This focus has neglected the possibility that in addition to the type of art, the way that viewers engage art may also be responsible for the healing effect. Methods: Participants (n = 97) were randomly allocated into one of the viewing directives: (1) reflecting on one artwork, (2) creating a drawing or poem in response to one artwork, or (3) no direction. Prior to looking at the art and immediately after, participants were administered the Brief Mood Introspection Scale (BMIS) and offered an opportunity to participate in an interview. Results: Pre–post results of the BMIS demonstrated that viewers who received directions achieved some therapeutic effect. Qualitative themes from the post-exhibit interviews identified that the empathy themed exhibit was well received, although there were differences among responses from patients, visitors, and staff. Conclusions: The results imply that hospitals may consider offering prompts to help viewers engage with art to enhance mood and exhibiting art that demonstrates empathy for patient suffering.

Advancing Multicultural and Diversity Competence in Art Therapy: American Art Therapy Association Multicultural Committee 1990–2015

Abstract For 25 years the Multicultural Committee of the American Art Therapy Association has provided education, networking, and mentoring activities for all art therapists, as well as support for art therapists of color. The formation of the committee demonstrates increasing cultural competence within the profession, and its continuation promises future activity. A focus on multicultural supervision, support for students of color, and opportunities for camaraderie may further ensure sustainability and applicability of art therapy in a pluralistic society.