Appropriate Applications of Adlerian Art Therapy
Groups are the ideal situation when implementing Adlerian art therapy because it “develops an optimal sense of belonging” (Dreikurs, p. 70). Not only does it teach cooperation with others, interaction between group members allows the therapist a better understanding of each particular individual.
In Adlerian family art therapy; the therapist is able to analysis the roles and environment the family has created for themselves while they participate in an art making activity. According to Sutherland, the therapist is able to look “for both useful and dysfunctional behavior by listening to and observing both the verbal and nonverbal behavior in the session” (p. 170).
In addition, the family…show more content… All of the journals utilized in this paper use case studies as its method of research: case studies are an in-depth analysis of an individual or a few individuals. This approach produces qualitative research, which are descriptions and interpretations of the individual’s behaviors. However, this fails to create statistical analyses that are needed to establish the credibility of the research; without these numbers, the reliability and validity of the results cannot be examined. If the researcher were to look at the individual cases studies where Adlerian art therapy was used to help an individual in the recovery process, all the researcher would draw from those results would be that Adlerian art therapy worked for that particular individual. In order for Adlerian art therapy to become more widely excepted, there needs to be more empirical studies conducted on larger populations…show more content… After the split, Adler created Individual Psychology, which stressed mankind’s potential for growth and improvement, and the importance of social interest in regards to proper development. Later, when his theories were applied to art therapy, Adlerian art therapy was utilized for the first time at a psychiatric unit located in Chicago. Since Individual Psychology and art emphasize the importance of uniqueness and self-expression, combining both fields into a form of art therapy was an easy transition. Adlerian art therapy focuses on developing a sense of belonging in individuals, thus group setting are the ideal choice for distribution. However, when dealing with clients who are traumatized from a unhealthy encounter with another individual, building trust with a therapist should be the first plan of action. During an art therapy session using the Adlerian approach, the art experiential serves as more than an assessment tool for the therapist; participants are able to draw their own conclusions on personal behaviors by partaking in the activity. In addition, the purpose of Adlerian art therapy adapts to the populations it is applied to; in family counseling, for example, it is used in hopes of establishing harmony between family members. Although the techniques described in Adlerian art therapy programs sound promising,
