Copyright © 2010 South Texas Art Therapy Association
Art Therapy Books
Arts Activities for Children and Young People in Need
Helping Children to Develop Mindfullness, Spiritual Awareness and Self-Esteem
Diana Coholic
Art-based activities can develop resilience and self-esteem, enabling children in need to cope better with ongoing stress and loss. Arts Activities for Children and Young People in Need offers interventions and exercises drawn from practice and research, for practitioners to use as a basis for their own arts-based groups or one-to-one sessions.
Holistic arts activities facilitate a spiritually sensitive approach. Mindfulness-based exercises underpin the approach, and include guided meditations in which a group imagines that they are clouds, or draw feelings and emotions while listening to music, to encourage awareness of the senses. The activities help the group to relax and become more self-aware, encourage an exploration of feelings, values and understanding and are beneficial for children not ready to embrace traditional therapies or counselling.
This book is accessible and suitable for helping, health and education practitioners and students from a variety of disciplines, such as social work, psychology and counselling.
2010, 192pp, ISBN: 978-1-84905-001-2, Paperback,
£19.99/$32.95
In the USA, contact:
Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Inc.
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
Tel: (toll free ordering) 866-416-1078
Tel: (main office) 215-922-1161
Fax: 215-922-1474
email: orders@jkp.com
Focusing-Oriented Art Therapy:
Accessing the Body’s Wisdom and Creative Intelligence
by Laury Rappaport, 2009. Jessica Kingsley.
Given the nature of art making process and product, art therapy provides a natural platform
for supporting and building self-observation and awareness. In Focusing-Oriented Art Therapy, Ms.
Rappaport creates a bridge between these natural elements of art therapy and the work of Eugene
Gendelin. Dr. Gendelin developed focusing-oriented psychotherapy, a structured approach to
guiding clients in becoming more mindful of their bodily, or “felt” response in therapy. Ms. Rappaport
thoroughly covers the six steps of focusing and then integrates visualization and art making and
internal dialogue into each of the steps. The process and clinical applications are given in detail with
case information on specific groups that Ms. Rappaport has worked with. Those wanting to know
more about Focusing-Oriented Art Therapy have an opportunity to hear Ms. Rappaport present at
the 2009 AATA Annual conference
Review by Bess Green, ATR-BC, STATA Chapter Delegate
Healed by Light: Professional Art Therapy by Julia Elizabeth Carroll is a multi-tasking tome
comprising a case history, poems & drawings, a survivor journal, art therapy methodologies, a
resource guide and more. The entire book can be viewed and read on Julia’s Web site:
Art Therapy and Anger
Professionals working in a range of clinical settings are regularly called upon to work with angry clients, and they may find their skills and resources for working with this powerful emotion limited. Art Therapy and Anger demonstrates how the non-verbal medium of art therapy provides an ideal outlet for the expression of thoughts and feelings that are too complex and painful to put into words, presenting a new and practical approach to dealing with this area of need.
Marian Liebmann argues that clients of all ages will benefit from the art-making process, which helps them to slow down and consider their emotions more calmly. The tangible product of their efforts allows clients to assess and react to what they have depicted, providing a lucid and safe framework for better understanding the causes and effects of their anger. This book draws together contributions from art therapists who work in a wide variety of contexts, including work with offenders, mental health clients, clients with brain injury and those with cancer, with the view of helping clients to manage their anger more constructively.
This positive, practical volume will be of great interest to art therapists and students, as well as practitioners working with angry clients in various fields such as mental health, probation, counselling and medicine.
Book details:
Art Therapy and Anger.
Edited by Marian Liebmann.
2008, 272 pages, paperback.
ISBN: 9781843104254.
£19.99/US$39.95.
Find out more and buy this book:
http://www.jkp.com/new/9781843104254
The Expressive Arts Activity Book
This resource comprises a collection of accessible, flexible, tried-and-tested activities for use with people in a range of care settings, to help them explore their knowledge of themselves and to make sense of their experiences.
Among the issues addressed by the activities are exploring physical changes, emotional trauma, interpersonal problems and spiritual dilemmas. Featuring individual and group activities of varying difficulty, including card making, painting to music, meditation, and body mapping, it also includes real-life anecdotes that bring the techniques to life.
The Expressive Arts Activity Book is full of fun, easy, creative ideas for workers in hospitals, clinics, schools, hospices, spiritual and religious settings, and in private practice.
Praise for the book:
“A state-of-the-art book, filled with creative practical techniques, thoughtful advice and lessons from excellent case examples that all healthcare practitioners—physicians and allied healthcare professionals alike—can apply for the therapeutic and health-promoting benefits for their patients and clients.”
– from the Foreword by Gene D. Cohen MD PhD, Director of the Center on Aging, Health and Humanities, Professor of Health Care Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences and The George Washington Society
Book details:
The Expressive Arts Activity Book: A Resource for Professionals.
Suzanne Darley and Wende Heath: Foreword by Gene D. Cohen, M.D., PhD. Photographs by Mark Darley.
2007, Paperback 216 pages.
ISBN 978 1 84310 861 0.
£17.99/US$29.95.
Find out more and buy this book:
http://www.jkp.com/new/9781843108610
Related titles from JKP:
Inner Journeying Through Art-Journaling: Learning to See and Record your Life as a Work of Art.
Marianne Hieb
http://www.jkp.com/new/9781843107941
A Practical Art Therapy.
Susan I. Buchalter
http://www.jkp.com/new9781843107699
Writing Works: A Resource Handbook for Therapeutic Writing Workshops and Activities.
Edited by Gillie Bolton, Victoria Field and Kate Thompson
http://www.jkp.com/new/9781843104681
Order offline:
Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 116 Pentonville Road, London, N1 9JB, UK
Tel: (+44) 020 7833 2307 Fax: (+44) 020 7837 2917 email: post@jkp.com
Order offline in the US:
Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Inc. 400 Market Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA Tel: (Toll free ordering) 866-416-1078 Tel:
(main office) 215-922-1161 Fax: 215-922-1474 email: orders@jkp.com
***********************************************************************
Jessica Kingsley Publishers - 20 years of independent publishing 1987-2007
Independent Publisher of the Year
Academic & Professional Publisher of the Year
Jessica Kingsley Publishers is a limited company registered in England. Registered number: 2073602
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A celebration of the talents and insights of children on the autism spectrum, The Hidden World of Autism presents a collection of writings and drawings contributed by 21 autistic children.
The children’s work covers topics that are of primary importance in understanding some of the common experiences that children with autism, and their families, go through. These include life before diagnosis, friendships, relationships, feelings, bullying and the future. A key characteristic of having autism is the inability to express emotions; but too often that prevents children with autism from being listened to. This book gives them both a voice and a forum for creative expression and provides direct insight into what having autism means for the children themselves and how they feel about their experiences.
This unique collection provides invaluable insights into the autistic experience for professionals, families and friends of children with autism, as well as the children themselves.
Praise for the book:
‘This is such a refreshing book. Interleaved with valuable theoretical and practical information about autism, I was left feeling I had really heard the voices of these young people with a new clarity.’
– Dr Jenny Thomson, Assistant Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA
‘This delightful read is a gift that all of us that find ourselves in the world of autism, whether professionally or personally, must receive with openness and gratitude.’
– Blythe A. Corbett, Ph.D., University of California Davis, M.I.N.D. Institute
Book details:
The Hidden World of Autism
Writing and Art by Children with High-functioning Autism
Rebecca Chilvers
Foreword by Uttom Chowdhury
2007 Paperback 128 pages
ISBN 978 1 84310 451 3
£15.99/US$24.95
Find out more and buy this book:
http://www.jkp.com/new/9781843104513
Empowering Children through Art and Expression: Culturally Sensitive Ways of Healing Trauma and Grief
Empowering Children through Art and Expression examines the successful use of arts and expressive therapies with children, and in particular those whose lives have been disrupted by forced relocation with their families to a different culture or community.
The book explores how children express and resolve unspoken feelings about traumatic experiences in play and other creative activities, based on their observations of peer support groups, outreach programs and through individuals’ own accounts. The authors argue that such activities in a safe context can be both a means of expressing trauma and a coping strategy for children to overcome it. This book combines personal and professional perspectives, using case examples as well as the authors’ own childhood experiences, to demonstrate practical strategies for use with children, from drama and storytelling to sculpting with clay. It also equips the reader with knowledge of the theory behind these intervention techniques.
This book will be a valuable resource for professionals working with traumatized children who have experienced loss, grief, relocation and other kinds of trauma.
Book details:
Empowering Children through Art and Expression
Culturally Sensitive Ways of Healing Trauma and Grief
Bruce St Thomas and Paul Johnson
June 2007
176 pages
ISBN 978 1 84310 789 7
Paperback
£18.99/US$29.95
How to buy the book:
Further details can be found on the JKP website:
http://www.jkp.com/new/9781843107897
“If You Turned into a Monster”: Transformation through Play: A Body-Centred Approach to Play Therapy
“Draw me a picture of what you would look like if you turned into a monster.” Dennis McCarthy’s work with distressed or traumatized children begins with an exercise that is simple but very effective: he invites the child to communicate with him in their own way, through the non-verbal language of play.
Using case studies from his clinical experience and with numerous children’s monster drawings, McCarthy lets the meaningful self-expression of the child take centre stage. He demonstrates that being allowed to play, move and draw impulsively and creatively in the supportive presence of the therapist is in fact the beginning of the therapeutic process. These activities are shown to be more therapeutic for the child in practical terms than the interpretation of the clues it provides about the child’s state of mind.
This very accessible book will be inspiring reading for play therapists and other professionals working therapeutically with young children and their families.
Praise for the book:
I recommend this book not only to therapists who work with children but especially to parents and teachers... [T]his book pushes past the complexities of psychological theory and jargon... [I]t is rare to find a therapist who has the sensitivity and skill to create...a safe and sacred psychological space...in which children feel free to allow their monsters into the room... Dennis McCarthy clearly has this gift...”
– from the foreword by Richmond K. Greene, Jungian analyst and former director of the C.G. Jung Institute in New York City
With a great deal of love, compassion, and wisdom Dennis McCarthy chronicles the lives and stories of children and their monsters in his book on transformation through play. The best stories always give specific details (this child, this particular situation, this problem) while also telling the universal stories which are meant for everyone, everywhere. This is that kind of important book of life stories.
– Gioia Timpanelli, author of Sometimes the Soul: Two Novellas of Sicily (Winner of the National Book Award) and “dean of American story telling”
I found Dennis McCarthy’s description of his energetic work with children fascinating reading. He has an unusual sensitivity and a solid comprehension of the emotional conflicts children have. His therapy is simple but highly effective based as it is on understanding the child’s need to discharge his negative aggressivity safely.
I recommend this book to parents, teachers and child therapists. They will enjoy reading it as well as learning from it.
– Dr. Alexander Lowen, creator of Bioenergetic Analysis and author of The Language of the Body
Book details:
“If You Turned into a Monster”
Transformation through Play: A Body-Centred Approach to Play Therapy
Dennis McCarthy
Foreword by Richmond K. Greene
June 2007
160 pages
ISBN: 978 1 84310 529 9
Paperback
£17.99/US$29.95
How to buy the book:
Further details can be found on the JKP website:
http://www.jkp.com/new/9781843105299
You can also order a copy of the book online from this page.