This book provides a practical and research-based exploration of virtual art psychotherapy, and how its innovations are breaking new ground in the mental health field.
With seventeen chapters authored by leaders documenting their research on creative arts therapies online, along with findings from the Virtual Art Therapy Clinic, this volume presents examples, strategies, and experiences delivering arts-based therapeutic services and online education. Clinical practice examples support and provide evidence for the transition from in-person to virtual sessions.
By combining the collected expertise of all the contributing authors, this book encourages art therapists to support further growth in the field of virtual art therapy.
List of Contributors
Foreword
Iva Fattorini
Chapter 1: Our Changing Role: Expanding the Reach of Art Therapy
Michelle Winkel
Section 1: How Did We Get Here?
Chapter 2: The Early Days of Online Art Therapy
Kate Collie
Chapter 3: Online Art Therapy: Experiences of Art Therapists During the COVID-19
Pandemic
Jessica A. Walters
Section 2: Clinical Perspectives
Chapter 4: Borders and Boundaries in Virtual Art Therapy
Michelle Winkel, interview with Girija Kaimal
Chapter 5: Virtual Art Therapy with Children, Teens, and Families: A Framework for Clinical Practice
Kathryn Snyder
Chapter 6: Reaching City Youth with an Online Summer Arts Workshop in Los Angeles
Jessica Bianchi, Amber Cromwell
Chapter 7: The Screen as a Stage: Artistic Methods for Group Arts-Based Therapy via Zoom
Ronen Berger
Chapter 8: Keeping Up With the Times: Art Therapy Moves from Studio to Chat Room
to Zoom
Sara Prins Hankinson, Kate Collie
Chapter 9: Reaching Older Adults through Virtual Art Therapy
Margaret Carlock-Russo
Section 3: Innovations in Training and Supervision
Chapter 10: Squaring the Schaverien Triangle
Lucille Proulx
Chapter 11: Evolution of a Virtual Art Therapy Open Studio
Carolyn Treadon, Sheila Lorenzo de la Peña
Chapter 12: Cameras Off, Coffee On: Online Teaching and Learning in COVID Times
Michele D. Rattigan
Chapter 13: Integrating Art Therapy with Nature-Based Practices
Pamela Whitaker, Nicola Shaw, Michelle Winkel
Chapter 14: Online Art Therapy Classroom in Thailand
Jo Patcharin Sughondhabirom
Chapter 15: Reducing Anxiety Levels during a Pandemic with Virtual Art Therapy: A
Quasi-Experimental Pilot Study
Hedaya AlDaleel, Haley Toll, Michelle Winkel, Christel Bodenbender
Section 4: Virtual Vistas
Chapter 16: Art Therapy with Virtual Reality
Christel Bodenbender, interviews with Irit Hacmun and Girija Kaimal
Chapter 17: Art Therapists and Digital Community
Gretchen M. Miller
Biography
Michelle Winkel, MA, ATR, RCAT, is the clinical and academic director of the Canadian International Institute of Art Therapy (CIIAT) and The Proulx Foundation.
"Virtual Art Therapy is the perfect book for an imperfect time in a world that has been turned upside down and inside out. Suddenly unable to offer themselves and media in shared spaces, art therapists have had to re-imagine helping others to create and to heal in radically new ‘virtual’ interpersonal environments. This book is a vivid and inspiring reminder of the energy and empathy that has always animated our profession, revealing the powerful ‘reality’ of the healing relationships possible through art, even in a virtual world."
—Judith A. Rubin, PhD, ATR-BC, HLM, psychologist, psychoanalyst, author; filmmaker and president of Expressive Media
"To say that this text is timely is a gross understatement. More than a mere how-to reaction to current situations, Ms. Winkel assembled the top people in the realm of virtual and digital art therapy to expound upon their theoretical and practical applications and research within vast and far-reaching arenas for this easily accessible and enjoyable to read resource that will traverse all times."
—David E. Gussak, PhD, ATR-BC, Florida State University, professor of Art Therapy and project coordinator of the FSU/FDC Art Therapy in Prisons Program
"This innovative text is timely and attests to the responsive and dynamic nature of art therapy, most critically through the integration of research and practice. Conventional continuums of practice have been challenged, reconfigured and optimized to meaningfully address diverse communities, cultures and contexts. Embracing emerging technologies, expanding therapeutic spaces, and reimagining the potentiality of this creative and responsive modality, Michelle Winkel has spotlighted a commanding collection of chapters that are guaranteed to stimulate and perhaps expedite the ongoing evolution of the discipline in sustaining ways."
—Ronald P.M.H. Lay, MA, AThR, ATR-BC, registered and credentialed art therapist, consultant, supervisor and program leader of the masters in art therapy program at LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
"Art therapists in general tend to be creative problem solvers. At no time more than the present have we seen our creative problem solving come to the forefront as with our adaptation to move art therapy into the online and virtual environment. Virtual Art Therapy gives us wonderful insight into the real experiences of practicing clinicians in Art Therapy working virtually. The book also provides a strong theoretical foundation upon which we can move forward into these spaces in an ethical and informed manner. I highly recommend this book for Art Therapists and students coming into the field as knowledge on virtual work as an art therapist will continue to grow in demand."
—Dr. Penelope Orr, LPC, ATR-BC, ATCS, chair and professor, Edinboro University, Edinboro, Pennsylvania, United States
"We live in challenging times. In particular, art therapists need to find creative ways to continue interacting with clients and giving them the opportunity to be helped through art materials. Virtual Art Therapy: Research and Practice, is groundbreaking in that it provides innovative ways for art therapists to respond to these challenges."
—Dr. Dafna Regev, Graduate School of Creative Art Therapies, University of Haifa, Israel
"As a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic the art therapy profession experienced a rapid explosion of online art therapy practices. This benchmark book brings together important considerations of the changing role of the art therapist, historical context, theoretical frameworks, shifting power dynamics, traditional and non-traditional media, one-on-one and group models, different approaches for different client populations, working internationally and multilingually, and the importance of cultural humility when practicing art therapy online."
—Alex McDonald, editor-in-chief, International Journal of Art Therapy, Communications & CPD Manager, British Association of Art Therapists
