“I believe that with its many subspecialties, art therapy has the key, or perhaps a key, to our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning change in all kinds of psychological treatments… because art therapy is closest to what we now understand to be the embodied roots of human consciousness and cognition.”
(Peter Fonagy, 2012)
This weekend I had the opportunity to attend BAAT’s Attachment and the Arts Conference: Neuroscience, Attachment and Creativity. The conference is the fourth of its kind, running annually since 2010. The premise of the event is to recognise the impact of attachments on human development, particularly from the field of Neuroscience, as well as highligting the role of art in this process.
Among the speakers was Jan Lobban who presented In Two Minds, a talk on the use of art therapy in treating ex-soldiers suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As part of the talk she cited the following Culture Show special, Art for Heroes aired in 2011(on Armistice Day). Well worth a watch.
References:
Fonagy, P., (2012), Forward to special edition of International Journal of Art Therapy: Inscape on art therapy and personality disorder, International Journal of Art Therapy: Inscape 17 (3) pp.91
Walker, R., (2012), Art for Heroes Culture Show Special, [YouTube], Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k93iAmPKyG0 (accessed: 07.10.13)
Walker, R., (2012), Art for Heroes, [YouTube], Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4K6zGV_5Is (accessed: 07.10.13)
Related Links:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00lr5nv
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00lr5jj
Art For Heroes (Culture Show Special)
