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

Chapter 7. Conclusion
This thesis represents an attempt to devise an empirical measure for art products that
was theoretically coherent.
Literature Review
Chapter One argued that the approach to psychiatric art has neglected rigorous empirical
study of psychopathology in favour of phenomenology.
The literature review reported that impressionistic papers provided some
theoretical consensus that a change in the patient was reflected in the artwork of the
patient, but there was little sequential comparison offered or relation to the method to
direct the change, and no evidence of a coherent system to access the artwork. Claimed
benefits were independent of assessment of the patient or the work, aims or descriptions
of the therapy and explanatory theory.
There were 4 routes of access to the image from Case studies:
1. Most therapists who claimed the artwork produced expressed feelings did not
define this term, nor present their rationale for relation of feelings to the image.
They described their use of paintings to monitor progress and develop
communication, but there was no common base for interpretation.
2. Signposts Content characteristics identified were dependent upon the importance
of associations assigned by the therapist. Formal characteristics were overladen
with emotional terminology, often negative, and there were conflicting findings
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