Art therapy 1: background and history
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2010-03-11
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Thammasat University, Rangsit Campus
Abstract
This paper is drawn from a search of available documents on art therapy with regard to its historical background in England and other parts of Europe, the United States and Thailand. The term “art therapy” was coined by Margaret Naumburg, a psychoanalyst. She was a student of Dr. Nolan Lewis, a distinguished psychiatrist at the New York Psychology Institute at New York University, who became the first American art therapist. Both Nolan and Naumburg used art therapy as a supplementary tool of psychotherapy, whereas Edith Kramer, another renowned early pioneer in the field, introduced another therapeutic model called “art as therapy.” She made this the center of treatment, totally independent from psychotherapy. Despite their early success, it took almost 40 years for art therapy to be accepted by the American Mental Health Department. In Thailand, there are only a handful of visual artists, psychiatrists and psychologists who have used art in their therapeutic work; among them, only a minority was really devoted to the practice of art therapy. The present author became involved in art therapy by accident when groups of artists and psychiatrists joined at a scientific conference: An Introductory Course on Art Therapy, which was held in Bangkok and Pattaya, Thailand, on March 17 and 18, and during the period from March 19 to 21, 2004, respectively. Thereafter, he has worked uninterruptedly in that field throughout Thailand through regular publications and other activities.
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Thammasat Medical Journal - ธรรมศาสตร์เวชสาร; Vol.9 No.4 October-December 2009; 417-422