הרצאה וירטואלית בכנס בינלאומי 2013 חיפה "THE ARCH OF ARTS"

 BETWEEN  COGNITION  AND  FEELINGS DURING ART THERAPY INTERVENTIONS

Abstract[1]

Art Psychotherapy is, by professional definition, a cognitive and emotional diagnostic and treatment process. The popular assumption is that the main thoughts and feelings arising from a patient's unconscious mind are expressed mainly through art, which serves as a non-verbal means of communicating various feelings, behaviors, angers and urges, both conscious and unconscious, abilities and difficulties.

In recent years art psychotherapy approaches have been based on brain science for understanding therapeutic processes occurring in the brain during treatment and examination of the emotional connections between brain and biological processes and various treatment modalities.

Brain information processing that occurs in art therapy sessions has dual significance both in terms of expression and of the creative processing (i.e. artistic creative therapy primarily in visual art). Due to its importance it has been studied in recent years by art therapists (Kaplan, 1998; Malchiodi, 1998; McNiff, 1998).

Furthermore, a growing number of art therapists claim that art therapists must know and study the brain structures, information processing and expression which take part in art psychotherapy therapy treatments (Malchiodi, 2003; Kaplan, 2000; Menzen, 2001). Malchiodi (2003) claims that Art - Therapy treatment process is an interaction between body and mind.

Current information on the functioning of the various brain regions that has accumulated in recent years allows a better understanding of therapeutic processes in art therapy. This information is attained through various imaging tests such as PET and MRI, and these examinations contribute to understanding brain information processing and the importance of various organs in the brain.

The Art Therapy interventions are beneficial in several areas:

1. Construction and rehabilitation of physical failures (Menzen, 2001; Kaplan, 2000).2.  Promotion of mental, emotional and physical healing (Malchiodi, 1999a, 1999b; Kaplan, 2000). 3.  Improvement of emotional and cognitive growth ((Kaplan, 2000; Menzen, 2001; Rosal, 1992).   

The main purpose of this  research is to shed light on the emotional processes that occur during psychotherapy treatments through art. Since the processes taking place within the mind are not "visible" we can see them only through different visual representations the patient expresses or creates and through the therapist's interpretation of them.