02.04.2013 Views

The psychopathology of everyday art: a quantitative Study - World ...

The psychopathology of everyday art: a quantitative Study - World ...

The psychopathology of everyday art: a quantitative Study - World ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

again by a multidisciplinary team who tested different diagnostic groups against non-<br />

patients in 1979 18 and more recent studies have confirmed these findings 19 .<br />

Art <strong>The</strong>rapy and Psychoanalytic Interpretation<br />

It is not really possible to discuss this section generally, so it is necessarily limited in<br />

scope because <strong>of</strong> the enormous complexity <strong>of</strong> the understanding <strong>of</strong> psychoanalytic<br />

theory and also because <strong>of</strong> the limited application to this thesis. Nevertheless, some<br />

aspects <strong>of</strong> the contribution <strong>of</strong> psychoanalysis to <strong>art</strong> therapy research must be<br />

summarised, since the bulk <strong>of</strong> the literature reviewed in this thesis, and hence the<br />

direction and questions come from therapists, whose formal training includes some<br />

breakdown <strong>of</strong> psychoanalytic theory 20 , trying to share the sense <strong>of</strong> the imagery they face<br />

in their clinical practice.<br />

in psychotics' paintings, Arts in Psychotherapy , Fall V.2(2):149-158; Frank A. Johnson and Roger P.<br />

Greenberg (1978), Quality <strong>of</strong> Drawing as a factor in the interpretation <strong>of</strong> figure drawings, Journal <strong>of</strong><br />

Personality Assessment , V.42(5):489-495; R. Cressen (1975), Artistic quality <strong>of</strong> drawing and judges<br />

evaluations <strong>of</strong> the DAP, Journal <strong>of</strong> Personality Assessent , V.39:132-137.<br />

18 S. Russell-Lacy et al (1979, op.cit.).<br />

19<br />

M. Miljkovitch and G.M. Irvine (1982), Comparison <strong>of</strong> drawing performances <strong>of</strong> schizophrenics, other<br />

psychiatric patients, and normal schoolchildren on a draw-a-village task, Arts in Psychotherapy , V.9:203-<br />

16; G.C. Cupchik and R.J. Gebotys (1988), <strong>The</strong> search for meaning in <strong>art</strong>: interpretive styles and<br />

judgement <strong>of</strong> quality, Visual Arts Research , V.14:138-50; J. Sims, R.H. Dona and B. Bolton (1983), <strong>The</strong><br />

validity <strong>of</strong> the DAP as an anxiety measure, J. Pers. Assess ment , V.47:250-7; see review by F.F. Kaplan<br />

(1991), Drawing assessment and <strong>art</strong>istic skill, Art Psychotherapy , V.18:347-52.<br />

20<br />

<strong>The</strong> qualification for <strong>art</strong> therapists in Britain is an <strong>art</strong> degree and a postgraduate one year training course,<br />

which may not even include experience <strong>of</strong> personal therapy, in <strong>art</strong> therapy run by specialist centres, so<br />

much <strong>of</strong> their information is simplistic and self-taught; recent application <strong>of</strong> psychoanalytic theory to <strong>art</strong><br />

therapy is covered in a special issue devoted to transference and countertransference in the creative <strong>art</strong>s<br />

therapies, Arts in Psychotherapy (1992) V.19(15).<br />

22

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!