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Many practitioners today incorporate art into the practice of psychotherapy. Art therapy seems to have developed simultaneously in the 1930s and 1940s in both Great Britain and the United States, and in Canada during the 1950s. The purpose of this lesson is to introduce you to some of the founders and pioneers of art therapy, most of whom espoused psychodynamic approaches. However, the ideas of these early pioneers varied with their primary identities as artists or therapists, as the nature of art therapy often depended on the place held by art in the life of each practitioner. As well, their earlier training as artists, educators, psychologists, or psychiatrists influenced their beliefs about how art therapy worked.

This lesson first considers how art therapy as a distinct profession was developed by Margaret Naumburg, her sister Florence Cane, and Edith Kramer. Both Naumburg's and Kramer's works are firmly rooted in psychoanalytic theory. Naumburg placed emphasis on the free associative process, but she was also drawn to Jung's notions of universal symbolism. Kramer focused on another psychoanalytic constituent, sublimation, as it may be achieved through art-making. During the 1950s, Naumburg and Kramer published many writings about art therapy, attracting others to its ranks over the next several decades. At the same time, art therapy was developing as a studio-based, art-centred phenomenon, but this aspect of art therapy history is one that has been largely overlooked (Wix, 2010).

In Canada, pioneers such as Martin Fischer, Marie Revai, Selwyn Dewdney, and Irene Dewdney distinguished clearly between art in therapy and art activities that happen to have some therapeutic components. The essence of art therapy for them was that it needed to partake of both parts of its name, clearly involving art and therapy. The art therapists presented here and in other lessons had slightly different ideas of how to go about using art to help individuals live more fully. However, choosing art therapy as a preferred way to work resides in a belief in the power of the image while the words express the other side of the equation - the contact with another. Words may be used to elaborate and associate with the art expression, but the essential message is conveyed in image form.

Art therapy in Europe has grown from various roots, including psychoanalysis, art education, art history, psychology, and medicine, with Great Britain currently having the most developed standards for art therapy outside of North America. Culture, geography, and politics all play a role in how art therapy is defined and even practiced. For example, the terms art and therapy are both used in different ways across cultures, and the theoretical base of art therapy has taken on different forms. The identity of the art therapist in Europe, South Africa, Australia, and so on also varies in terms of philosophies, practice, training, and institutional contexts.

1. Identify and describe the potential differences in practice between Cane, who was trained as an art teacher; Naumburg, who had both psychological and educational training; and Kramer, who was an artist before she became an art therapist.
2. Examine the influence and dominance of psychoanalytic theory and its application to art therapy, particularly during the early stages of development of art therapy as a profession.
3. Discuss how art therapists could incorporate some of these initial theoretical approaches into the current theory and practice of art therapy.
4. Describe areas of resonance and dissonance for you with respect to the theories and techniques presented.
5. Describe the variations in the development of art therapy grounded in different understandings, terminology, training, and professional development.
6. Identify movements central to the development of art therapy internationally and show how these relate to art therapy generally and to your own developing theory of practice.
7. Identify how individuals' historical and cultural situatedness influence their participation in the profession of art therapy and the ideas adopted for practice.

Stoll, B. (2005). Growing pains: The international development of art therapy. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 32(3), 171-191. doi:10.1016/j.aip.2005.03.003

Wix, L. (2010). Studios as locations of possibility: Remembering a history. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 27(4), 178-183. Retrieved from http://www.americanarttherapyassociation.org

1. Begin by reading the required readings, paying particular attention to the learning objectives outlined for this lesson. As well, review the discussion forum questions as a means of orienting yourself to the readings.

2. Margaret Naumburg (1987) is considered the mother of art therapy in North America. In 1914, she founded the Children's School (later Walden), where arts and psychoanalysis played a huge role in curriculum development. In 1928, she wrote a book about education and the importance of releasing unconscious imagery via art (Rubin, 2006). She later said that "the seeds of art therapy" were already in her first book; in 1960, she published Dynamically Oriented Art Therapy, incorporating basic psychoanalytic principles and integrating Freud's insights about unconscious communication with the use of art in therapy. Naumburg used Freudian concepts of the human mind to talk about the healing potential of symbolic expression; she was also heavily influenced by Jung. Similar to how Jung perceived dreams, she believed that artwork was integral, important, and a personal expression of the individual consciousness. Clients' art productions were viewed as symbolic, uncensored communication of unconscious material, given concrete form.

   (http://jewishcurrents.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/IMG.jpg)

   One key aspect of Naumburg's approach to art therapy was her reliance on the psychoanalytic technique of free association. The usual free association procedure involves having the client report what comes to mind spontaneously, no matter how irrelevant or foolish it may appear initially.

   Naumburg had a sister named Florence Cane who wrote a book on art therapy in the 1950s. Cane believed in the healing potential of art and was also interested in the art itself (process vs. product). At the same time, as an art educator, she wanted to assist students in creating art of good quality. Click on the following link, which takes you to a website outlining some biographical information about both Florence Cane and Margaret Naumburg: http://faculty.webster.edu/woolflm/naumburgcane.html

• How do you think the personal histories and experiences of these two women may have impacted the lens through which they came to view art therapy?
• To which aspects of each of their experiences or perspectives do you relate most strongly?

Limited Colour Palette is an example of an exercise that Cane used with the children she worked with (retrieved from http://everyoneanartist.weebly.com/creativity-exercises.html)

Cane believed that each child has his own color chemistry or affinities to color due to how brilliantly simple the child sees color (in two dimensions), similar to the moods and emotions connected to colors in color theory. In this exercise, students are presented with an array of chalk pastels in boxes of single colors and are asked to choose the color that they like. Students will naturally choose the color that calls out to them the most or that they feel the most drawn to or responsive to. Cane believes that this single color choice describes the key color of the child's internal body and spirit. Next, the child is asked to hold their chosen pastel over the boxes of the other colors and to choose the next pastel based on what the first pastel "wants" to be with the most. By activating the inert pastel in his/her hand, the child is led to make a decision on another color based on a perceived inner relationship between the colors. Cane believed that the second color that is chosen is the child's "stimulus" color. The child will then create a drawing with his/her two chosen colors and the image will become more meaningful to them because of the power behind the choice of colors. Black and white may be added to these colors to create a range of values, but the child will be forced to be more careful with his/her decision-making in coloring the image instead of haphazardly coloring subjects due to an unlimited amount of choices in a color palette, thus developing creative thought. The child is also more likely to create a wider range of tones with this limited palette; exploring the potential mixtures that can be created with the media and learning a color "vocabulary" as well as the principle of harmony. Typically, the child explores a simple value scale approach using the two colors (and black and white) first, and after he/she has experimented with creating a range of tones, then the student will choose an image to create with the colors in the form of a drawing. This exercise may also be completed using watercolor paints. (Please see website above for more exercises)

3. While Naumburg became the more well-known of the two sisters, Florence Cane certainly had an impact on the field of art therapy. Cane’s (1983) views of art therapy were firmly rooted in the development of the child and quite holistic in nature; art-making from her perspective was potentially a world-making experience that involved one’s whole being (senses, spirit, and imagination). Her descriptions and discussions continually referenced the development of motor skills, growth-related activities and the instinctual desire for advancement. Cane clearly believed that the person and the product (art) should be integrated. Movement, feeling, and thought were functions that combined to help one achieve this integration. As Cane (1983) so eloquently stated, “Certain conditions are favorable to the development of the creative process. I refer to those conditions which exist in the outer world and to those conditions which exist in the child himself. If we learn to understand both, we are better able to encourage and stimulate creative work” (p. 30).

   Self Portrait, Edith Kramer (http://bit.ly/2vfHmYK)

   In many ways, Cane’s art-centred approach had more in common with studio art practice. As Wix (2010) suggested in one of the required readings for this lesson, “the studio in art therapy [is] a neglected yet key aspect of the field’s history” (p. 178). Just as Cane eschewed the psychoanalytic framework that was so popular at the time, so did many of the art therapists who were practicing predominantly from an arts-based vs. psychological orientation. How does a greater emphasis on the aesthetic dimension of art, as well as a focus on the power of the imagination and creativity, impact how we choose to work with clients?

4. Another individual who began to publish about art therapy during the 1950s was Edith Kramer. Please read the instructor commentary entitled Sublimation in Art Therapy. Kramer has practiced art therapy in a variety of institutional settings, mostly with children and adolescents suffering from a wide range of emotional disturbances. She was an adjunct professor at New York University in the graduate art therapy program and a lecturer at George Washington University until her retirement from university teaching in 2005. Having always placed a great deal of emphasis on the importance of art therapists to continue making their own art, she is still busy creating her own artwork (Kramer, 2006):

   My task remains to paint and sculpt the world around me with humility, vigor, and truthfulness; to depict both the horrors and the beauty of our world in a way that does poetic justice to the reality that surrounds me. If you live long enough, good things will come. As Goethe said: What is desired in youth one has in old age in abundance. (p. 28)

   While Naumburg was more concerned with what clients unconsciously or consciously expressed through their art, Kramer's focus is on the process of art-making. In some ways, these two approaches still inform a debate in art therapy circles about process versus product. Consider where you stand in terms of this debate and how this may impact how you approach art therapy.

5. The richness of the art therapy profession stems from those spirited, creative individuals who pioneered its development. In Canada, Irene Dewdney and Selwyn Dewdney as well as Martin Fischer were also instrumental in the development of art therapy training programs and organizing professional associations. The commentary entitled Canadian Trail Blazers considers the contributions of the Dewdneys to art therapy.

6. Martin Fischer established the Toronto Art Therapy Institute in 1968, the first program in Canada to offer training in art therapy. Fischer first used art therapy in the 1940s when he was working with adults who had psychiatric challenges and subsequently ran art therapy groups for the same client population. Later, he used art therapy in his work with children and adolescents who lived in residential treatment facilities. Fischer was the founder and the first president of the Canadian Art Therapy Association and the first editor of the Journal of the Canadian Art Therapy Association.

   Dr. Fischer, 1972 (http://bit.ly/2vQPylq)

7. The art therapy specialization through the Graduate Centre for Applied Psychology emerges through a partnership with the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute (VATI). The Institute was established in 1982 by Lois Woolf, at the same time as the British Columbia School of Art Therapy, which was founded and established by Kay Collis. Lois Woolf studied art therapy with Dr. Fischer in Toronto and started the school at his request. If you are unfamiliar with the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute, click on the following link, which takes you to their website: www.vati.bc.ca.

8. Art therapy as a profession has taken different forms with respect to theoretical perspective, recognition, and regulation, depending on social, legal, and cultural contexts. Marion Milner, Adrian Stokes, and Melanie Klein are prominent figures in British art therapy literature. Please complete Exercise 1: Inward and Outward Experience and post your response under the appropriate thread in the Discussion Forum.

9. The Stoll (2005) reading traces the development of art therapy internationally, focusing on a number of issues, including theoretical foundations and definitions of art and therapy. For example, in Switzerland, with its four official languages, art may be described in different ways, from all media and arts to visual arts, such as painting (Waller, 1998). The French meaning for therapy is less oriented towards psychology and means medicine or cure (Waller, 1998). In the UK, distinctions are made between art therapists, analytical art psychotherapists, and art psychotherapists. In Germany, categories and differentiations include art therapists, psychotherapists using art, and art psychotherapists; the differentiations may be partly connected to theoretical base and hierarchical status. What role does difference in language use potentially play with respect to the training, educational experience, and qualifications of individuals training in the field of art therapy? How have these language differences potentially impacted the development of art therapy in North America today?

10. To end this lesson, please respond to the questions listed in the discussion forum.

Please review the Grading Criteria for Participation in Online Discussions before posting your comments to the appropriate forum in your Moodle section.

These questions may be modified by individual instructors in the discussion forums. Please wait until your course instructor has posted the questions for the week before adding your responses.

1. In the article Picture of our Beginnings: The Artwork of Art Therapy Pioneers (Feen-Calligan & Sands-Goldstein, 1996), 15 art therapy pioneers responded to a questionnaire about their art therapy work. Please respond to one of the questions they were asked, posted below:
   • "What experiences of your childhood stand out as having an impact on your life as an artist?" (Feen-Calligan & Sands-Goldstein, 1996, p. 44).
   • "Identify a work of art or an artist that was/is important to you" (Feen-Calligan & Sands-Goldstein, 1996, p. 44).

2. Please post your responses to Exercise 1: Inward and Outward Experience. If you have any images that you are comfortable sharing with your classmates, please feel free to upload them.

3. The theoretical framework used by Fischer was classically psychoanalytic, as art images were understood as symbolic of unconscious primary processes. The psychoanalytic tradition in the profession of art therapy is important to consider, combined with the fact that art therapy was initially applied to individuals in psychiatric settings. How has art therapy's early beginnings potentially affected it as a treatment modality? How might it have evolved differently if its roots lay elsewhere? For example, what if a more studio-based approach had taken precedence? What challenges need to be addressed as the profession proliferates and expands, especially in relation to different, less clinical client populations?

Cane, F. (1983). The artist in each of us (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: Baker-Webster.

Feen-Calligan, H., & Sands-Goldstein, M. (1996). A picture of our beginnings: The artwork of art therapy pioneers. American Journal of Art Therapy, 35(2), 43-59. Retrieved from http://www.norwich.edu

Kramer, E. (2006). Edith Kramer: Art as therapy. In M. B. Junge & H. Wadeson (Eds.), Architects of art therapy: Memoirs and life stories (pp. 11-28). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.

Naumburg, M. (1987). Dynamically oriented art therapy: Its principles and practice (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: Magnolia Street.

Rubin, J. A. (2006). Margaret Naumburg (1890-1983): The mother of us all. In M. B. Junge & H. Wadeson (Eds.), Architects of art therapy: Memoirs and life stories (pp. 5-8). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.

Waller, D. (1998). Towards a European art therapy: Creating a profession. Philadelphia: Open University Press.

Wix, L. (2010). Studios as locations of possibility: Remembering a history. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 27(4), 178-183. Retrieved from http://www.americanarttherapyassociation.org

Eisdell, N. (2005). A conversational model of art therapy. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, 78, 1-19. doi:10.1348/147608305X40840

Franklin, M., & Siemon, T. (2008). Toward an understanding of the fundamental healing and therapeutic qualities of art. Journal of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, 6(3), 1-5. Retrieved from healthrespository.org

Hogan, S. (2009). The art therapy continuum: A useful tool for envisaging the diversity of practice in British art therapy. International Journal of Art Therapy: Inscape, 14(1), 29-37. doi:10.1080/17454830903006331

Naumburg, M. (2001). Spontaneous art in education and psychotherapy. American Journal of Art Therapy, 40(1), 46-64. Retrieved from http://www.norwich.edu

Winner, E. (2007). Visual thinking in arts education: Homage to Rudolph Arnheim. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 1(1), 25-31. doi:10.1037/1931-3896.1.1.25