Art in Action
Expressive Arts Therapy and Social Change
Ellen G. Levine and Stephen K. Levine
Foreword by Michelle LeBaron
Paperback: £25.99 / $42.95
2011, 234mm x 156mm / 9.25in x 6in, 240pp
ISBN: 978-1-84905-820-9, BIC 2: MQTC
MMJT
The field of expressive arts is closely tied to the work of therapeutic change. As well as being beneficial for the individual or small group, expressive arts therapy has the potential for a much wider impact, to inspire social action and bring about social change.
The book's contributors explore the transformative power of the arts therapies in areas stricken by conflict, political unrest, poverty or natural disaster and discuss how and why expressive arts works. They look at the ways it can be used to engage community consciousness and improve social conditions whilst taking into account the issues that arise within different contexts and populations. Leading expressive arts therapy practitioners give inspiring accounts of their work, from using poetry as a tool in trauma intervention with Iraqi survivors of war and torture, to setting up storytelling workshops to aid the integration of Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in Israel.
Offering visionary perspectives on the role of the arts in inspiring change at the community or social level, this is essential reading for students and practitioners of creative and expressive arts therapies, as well as psychotherapists, counsellors, artists and others working to effect social change.
Blog posts
“Dancing at the crossroads and playing on the battlefields” – An Interview Stephen Levine and Ellen Levine, authors of Art in Action
17 May 2011
"To focus on conflict usually means that individuals and groups get stuck in polarizing positions and are unable to see alternatives. Art-making, within an expressive arts framework, 'decenters' from the usual perspective and opens up new possibilities. It also makes us aware of resources that we might have otherwise overlooked in our focus on our difficulties."
By the same authors
Foundations of Expressive Arts Therapy
Theoretical and Clinical Perspectives
Edited by Stephen K. Levine and Ellen G. Levine
Principles and Practice of Expressive Arts Therapy
Toward a Therapeutic Aesthetics
Paolo Knill, Ellen G. Levine and Stephen K. Levine
Author information
Subject areas
Keywords
- adults,
- art therapy,
- bereavement,
- counselling,
- creative therapies,
- creative writing as therapy,
- death,
- depression,
- domestic abuse,
- emotions,
- expressive therapies,
- families,
- grief,
- group psychotherapy,
- interdisciplinary arts therapies,
- mental health,
- occupational therapy,
- poetry,
- psychiatry,
- psychoanalysis,
- psychodrama,
- psychosis,
- psychotherapy,
- storymaking,
- therapeutic communities,
- trauma
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