Approaches to Research in Art Therapy Using Imaging Technologies

Artistic expression is a part of being human and there are many theories about its role and purpose in our lives. In the profession of art therapy, art making is an integral part of treatment and takes place in the context of a facilitative/therapeutic relationship with a trained art therapist. Art therapists use a range of artistic media and intervention strategies to engage the client in creative expression with the aim of symptom reduction. Although the profession has produced substantial scholarship documenting its clinical value, identifying the mechanisms of change through art therapy has been a challenge due to the multiple psychic processes that are involved in psychotherapeutic care, made even more complex with the additional components of artistic expression. Contemporary neuroimaging technology offers an accessible method of measuring brain dynamics in real world environments. This technology could help to elucidate how art making within the therapeutic relationship engages the brain and provide scientific data to measure mechanisms of change and outcomes of clinical art therapy interventions.