Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
(from Counseling as an Art: The Creative Arts in Counseling, 3rd edition
Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association)

Cultivation of the arts is enriching for counselors because it sensitizes them to beauty and creates within them a greater awareness of possibilities. Traditional arts range from those that are primarily auditory or written (e.g., music, drama, and literature) to those that are predominantly visual (e.g., painting, mime, dance, and movement). Many overlaps exist between these two categories, and in most cases two or more art forms are combined in counseling, such as literature and drama or dance and music. These combinations work because music, art, dance/movement, drama therapy, psychodrama, and poetry therapy have a strong common bond.

At its core, creativity is the ability to produce work that is both novel (i.e., original or unexpected) and appropriate (i.e., useful or meets task constraints). In counseling, creativity usually results in the production of something tangible that gives a client insight, such as a piece of writing or a painting, or a process that the clinician formulates, such as a new way of conducting counseling that leads to client change. Creativity is a worldwide phenomenon that knows no bounds in regard to ethnicity, culture, gender, age, or other real or imagined barriers that separate people from each other. In addition, creativity can be preventative as well as remedial.

Overall, creativity is a nonsequential experience that involves six steps:

1. preparation, which is the phase of gathering enough data and background information to make a new response.

2. incubation , where the mind is allowed to wander away from a task or problem.

3. ideation , in which ideas are generated but not judged, i.e., divergent thinking.

4.illumination, where there is a breakthrough in one’s thinking, a kind of enlightenment.

5.evaluation, where convergent and critical thinking occur along with fine-tuning and refining thoughts or behaviors.

6. verification/production , during which an original idea becomes a new or refined product or action. In this last step, one’s life changes forever, for it is impossible to see or be in the world again as one was before the novel idea came into existence.

Historical Examples of the Therapeutic Uses of the Creative Arts

The ancient Egyptians, as early as 500 B.C., encouraged the mentally ill to pursue artistic interests and attend concerts and dance. The idea was that through such activities feelings could be released and persons made whole again. Likewise, the ancient Greeks employed drama and music as a means to help the disturbed achieve catharsis, relieve themselves of pent-up emotions, and return to balanced lives. The connection and importance of music in the lives of the Greeks is symbolized in the Greek god Apollo, who was both the god of music and the god of medicine. The Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle often talked about the effects of music and its importance to the health of the whole person. They advocated the careful control of music to promote many moods from relaxation to excitement.

The early Hebrews used music and lyrical verse in helping to develop integrated and healthy relationships, too. For example, for those who were emotionally volatile, such as King Saul, music served a calming function. Similarly, the ancient Roman philosophers encourage the public to use the arts to achieve health happiness. Lucretius, Cicero, and Seneca all spoke in different ways of the healing power of “discourse.” Poetry, Lucretius said, could disperse the ‘terrors of the soul. A further belief among the Romans was that the study of humane letters could alleviate pain. Finally, music, cymbals, flutes, and other sounds were used by the Romans to dispel melancholy thoughts as well as to promote wellness.

The use of music, dance, painting, and literature as healing forces occurred in African, Native American, and Asian cultures, too. For example, African music developed into a form with strong, driving rhythms and choral singing, as well as drumming, which helped bind communities together. In addition, South American art in the form of paintings, jewelry, and masks have flourished and helped give cultures and people on this continent a distinctiveness and freedom.

Modern Examples of the Therapeutic Uses of the Creative Arts

By the time of the industrial revolution in England (18th century), the use of the arts in the service of healing had expanded. Reformers such as Philippe Pinel in France, Benjamin Rush in the United States, and William Tuke in England stressed the humane treatment of mental patients. A form of counseling known as “moral therapy” was begun. In this approach to treatment, mental patients were sent to country retreats where they received individual attention including occupational training and special times of involvement in the arts including selected reading, music, and painting. It was in this type of an environment that Vincent Van Gogh, the famous Impressionist painter, spent part of his life as an adult. Overall, this approach proved to be beneficial but was quite time consuming and expensive. Thus, it was relatively short lived.

In the 20th century, the use of the arts in counseling has increased significantly. One of the reasons is the work of Sigmund Freud. It was Freud who first probed into the influence of the unconscious through the exploration of dreams and humor. His systematic way of treatment made it possible for others to emulate many of his methods, such as the inducement of catharsis. More importantly, Freud set the standard for incorporating artistic concepts into his therapeutic work. Freud found the fiction of Dostoyevsky, Sophocles, and Shakespeare, the sculpture of Michelangelo and Leonardo to be the inspiration for his theories. It was not his formal medical training, as much as his readings of King Lear, Hamlet, Oedipus Rex, and The Brothers Karamazov, that formed the cornerstone of his theories.

In addition, the creative genesis of Jacob Moreno, the founder of psychodrama, fostered the use of enactment to work through pain and achieve balance. Moreno originated numerous psychodrama techniques to help clients become more self-aware and make insightful breakthroughs. Furthermore, the writings of Abraham Maslow, Rollo May, Arnold Lazarus, Virginia Satir, Bunny Duhl, Peggy Papp, and Cloé Madanas have emphasized the importance of counseling as an artistic endeavor or a profession that can make a difference through the use of the arts. Research emphasizing the results of specific “artistic” strategies and interventions has resulted in increased acceptance of artistic components in helping relationships.

Since the 1950s, the arts and developing arts therapies have attracted interest and gained acceptance as unique and valuable disciplines. In the 1960s, universities began designing degrees in the “arts therapies,” for example, dance and the visual arts. From the graduates of these programs has come new enthusiasm and energy to develop standards and guidelines for practice. By the late 1990s, most arts therapy associations either registered or certified their members as qualified practitioners. Multiple attempts have been made by these associations to have arts therapists licensed in some states. The use of the arts in counseling has also gained increased attention and acceptance. Paralleling the growth of professional associations was a surge in the publication of periodicals dealing with the arts in counseling, such as The Arts in Psychotherapy.

Summary