Art therapy is more than meets the eye—if you were to observe a session, you might mistake it for an art class (perhaps with a single student).  Of course the dialogue going on would clue you in that this is no ordinary art class, but you might find yourself wondering what art therapy is given for.

What kind of treatment needs benefit from the provision of art therapy services?

If you know your levels of the Expressive Therapies Continuum, then you know that the Perceptual/Affective level lies between the Kinesthetic/Sensory level and the Cognitive/Symbolic level.

But what does that mean?

What happens when a client decides to enlist the support of an art therapist to help them overcome anxiety, depression, and a host of other mental health issues?  Well, the two of them work together to get to the finish line, which is graduation from art therapy!

It’s not that much different from talk therapy, though the route they take is not the same.

I get asked this question from time to time…mostly by people who are brand new to the Expressive Therapies Continuum and are looking for info about the basic structure of the model.  To clarify, the Expressive Therapies Continuum (or the ETC) is a dynamic framework that incorporates a client’s response to intervention into the therapist’s decisions about subsequent steps.

It utilizes an outcome-informed approach in that sense, making it very different from models of therapeutic practice in which the therapist gives the client a prompt or a directive that is typically based on the client’s diagnosis or presenting problem.

This article is a little guide to pursuing your career dreams if you live in the Austin area and want to help others through the informed practice of art therapy.  Informed practice?  What’s that?

The Expressive Therapies Continuum, a framework for making responsive, outcome-informed decisions in client-centered care, was co-conceptualized by art therapy pioneers Vija Lusebrink and Sandra (Kagin) Graves-Alcorn.

It preceded by decades the neuroscience-oriented models that are now prevalent in psychotherapy, though the Expressive Therapies Continuum remains standing solidly without the need for modification despite the years that have passed since its introduction in 1978.

It used to be that almost no one had heard of art therapy as a regulated mental health profession.  Back when I first announced my intention to become an art therapist at the age of 17, I was discouraged by several adults (none were relatives, thank goodness).

I persevered and became an art therapist, but I had to figure out my own path.

Assessment is a very important element of art therapy and any form of therapy, for that matter.  Assessment drives the entire therapeutic journey ahead, as data from the assessment is used to help the therapist (sometimes in conjunction with the client) develop a blueprint for what the journey will look like or consist of.

Some people think that EMDR and art therapy may be quite comparable for mental health treatment.  But if you’re looking for healing from trauma, there are differences that need to be explored so choices can be made about which kind of treatment is the best for you.

The Expressive Therapies Continuum is a framework for making responsive, outcome-informed decisions in client-centered care.

But what does that really mean?  What is responsive?  What is outcome-informed?  What is client-centered?