Susan Hogan

This book brings together the work of international art therapists with diverse experiences and perspectives. They share, however, a common postmodern belief that art is a unique way of expressing the human condition and that art therapy should not be a diagnostic tool but a collaborative healing process between the therapist and the client.

Art therapy enables the client and therapist to explore issues that may ordinarily be difficult to articulate in words; one such issue is the complexity of gender, which can be a subject of therapy in a range of ways. These wide-ranging papers cover both theoretical and practical topics, giving clinical examples and instances of clients' artwork.

As well as providing an authoritative history of art therapy, it covers such diverse topics as the philosophy of art therapy, the way attitudes to insanity have changed, the role of art therapy in the context of post-war rehabilitation and the treatment of tuberculosis patients, Surrealism, and Britain's first therapeutic community.

This book 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.