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What is the Jungian approach to art therapy?
A Jungian approach to art psychotherapy is cognizant of content, placement, color, and materials while the approach also encourages an active engagement with the deeper hidden elements of an emerging image, resulting in a direct alchemical experience through the materials as well as the healing power of symbols. Jung is known for his theorizing about the human unconscious, including the idea that there is a collective unconscious all people share. He also developed a type of psychotherapy—called analytical therapy—that helped people to better understand their unconscious mind. Jung understood that the unconscious mind is often working to creatively solve problems outside our awareness, delivering its insights through dreams or intuition. In many cases, however, we fail to harness this inner creativity because we are too busy or too caught up in our conscious thoughts, fears, and worries. He had a complex relationship with art. He held the conviction that artists’ work did not belong to them, that they did not originate simply from the artists’ own lives or neuroses, but that it originated in the unconscious, containing ages-old wisdom and experiences that go beyond the individual.
How did Jung influence art therapy?
Characteristic for a Jungian approach in art therapy is an intentional activation of the unconscious through the creative process and therapeutic use of images. It encourages the development of healthy coping strategies. Therapy can facilitate insight, empathy, and acceptance of other’s life challenges. It is capable of promoting problem-solving skills. Art therapy is capable of exploring, managing, and providing insight into traumatic experiences. The British artist Adrian Hill coined the term art therapy in 1942. Hill, recovering from tuberculosis in a sanatorium, discovered the therapeutic benefits of drawing and painting while convalescing. Results of several studies show that Jungian treatment moves patients from a level of severe symptoms to a level where one can speak of psychological health. These significant changes are reached by Jungian therapy with an average of 90 sessions, which makes Jungian psychotherapy an effective and cost-effective method. Carl Jung identified four main archetypes—the persona, the shadow, the anima or animus and the self. These are a result of collective, shared ancestral memories that may persist in art, literature and religion but aren’t obvious to the eye. These recurring themes help us understand the Jungian archetypes. Jung described the process of transformation as being a four step process that includes Confession, Elucidation, Education and Transformation. At its fundamental level, Jungian psychotherapy, also referred to as Jungian analysis, is a thorough, analytical approach to talk therapy that seeks to bring balance and union between the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind.
What is the main focus of Jungian therapy?
At its fundamental level, Jungian psychotherapy, also referred to as Jungian analysis, is a thorough, analytical approach to talk therapy that seeks to bring balance and union between the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind. There are three methods of Jungian analysis that can be used to access and interpret imagery that comes from the unconscious. The methods are explication, amplification and active imagination. Active imagination uses the imagination to explore and experience the inner-self through experiencing the unconscious. One of the earliest criticisms of Jung’s work is that it is anti-scientific in its intentions as well as its content. This accusation surfaced as early as Jung’s break with Freud in 1913. Jung’s view of the functions of symbolism in dreams led to his isolation from the mainstream psychiatric community. Jung believed religion was a profound, psychological response to the unknown — both the inner self and the outer worlds — and he understood Christianity to be a profound meditation on the meaning of the life of Jesus of Nazareth within the context of Hebrew spirituality and the Biblical worldview. Traditional talk-therapy is also a challenge for individuals who have experienced trauma and have a difficult time verbalizing their experience. As an alternative, art therapy offers the space to explore and process the feelings, memories, and effects of trauma in their creations.
How effective is Jungian therapy?
Several studies indicated that Jungian treatment not only improved severe symptoms, but also increased overall psychological wellbeing. Typically these changes occur within 90 sessions, demonstrating that Jungian psychotherapy is effective and cost-effective. Jung is known for his theorizing about the human unconscious, including the idea that there is a collective unconscious all people share. He also developed a type of psychotherapy—called analytical therapy—that helped people to better understand their unconscious mind. Jung described the process of transformation as being a four step process that includes Confession, Elucidation, Education and Transformation. For example, Jung disagreed with Freud’s focus on sexuality as a key motivating behavioural force, as well as believing Freud’s concept of the unconscious as too limited and overly negative.
What are examples of Jungian therapy?
Other methods of Jungian therapy may include creative activities such as painting, drama, dance, sand playing, listening to music, and dream journaling. A Jungian approach to art psychotherapy is cognizant of content, placement, color, and materials while the approach also encourages an active engagement with the deeper hidden elements of an emerging image, resulting in a direct alchemical experience through the materials as well as the healing power of symbols. Studies suggest that art therapy can be very valuable in treating issues such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and even some phobias. It is a great way to express your emotions without words, process complex feelings and find relief. Art therapy is an effective treatment for persons experiencing developmental, medical, educational, social or psychological impairment. A key goal in art therapy is to improve or restore the client’s functioning and his/her sense of personal well being. Art therapists are trained in both art and therapy. Case studies do seem to suggest the treatments are effective. A 2014 review of 16 case studies and small experiments exploring art therapy as a treatment for dementias found evidence suggesting that art therapy may ease neuropsychiatric symptoms, raise self-esteem, and improve social behavior (2). Jung’s theory assumes that because men’s consciousness is identified with spirit and women’s consciousness with soul, the unconscious is then saddled with carrying the physiological and psychological contra- sexual elements present in all human beings. Potential negative effects include: Higher levels of stress or anxiety. Surfacing emotions without effectively processing them. Difficulty coping if therapy is abruptly terminated.
What are the problems with art therapy?
Potential negative effects include: Higher levels of stress or anxiety. Surfacing emotions without effectively processing them. Difficulty coping if therapy is abruptly terminated. All studies showed significant improvements not only on the level of symptoms, behavior, and interpersonal problems, but also on the level of personality structure. These improvements are sustained after completion of therapy for a period of up to six years.
What are the 5 modalities of art therapy?
Visual art, music, dance/movement, drama, and expressive writing are the primary expressive arts modalities used in counseling. The creative arts offer both the clinician and the client an opportunity to move beyond the expressive limits of talk therapy. Art Therapy may be used in treatments for a variety of conditions, and any of these treatments may include a variety of artistic media, though painting and drawing remain most common. Perhaps one of the most common differences between the two is the overall goal, which is self expression. In other words, the main goal involving art therapy is to either communicate or express something, while the main goal involving therapeutic art-making is to either experiment or learn something. There is increasing evidence in rehabilitation medicine and the field of neuroscience that art enhances brain function by impacting brain wave patterns, emotions, and the nervous system. Art can also raise serotonin levels. These benefits don’t just come from making art, they also occur by experiencing art.