Art Heals: How Creativity Cures the Soul

Shaun McNiff

nov 2004 · Shambhala Publications

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A leader in art therapy shares powerful developments in the field and provides a road-map for unlocking the spiritual and emotional healing benefits of creative expression

The field of art therapy is discovering that artistic expression can be a powerful means of personal transformation and emotional and spiritual healing. In this book, Shaun McNiff—a leader in expressive arts therapy for more than three decades—reflects on a wide spectrum of activities aimed at reviving art’s traditional healing function. In chapters ranging from “Liberating Creativity” and “The Practice of Creativity in the Workplace” to “From Shamanism to Art Therapy,” he illuminates some of the most progressive views in the rapidly expanding field of art therapy, including:

• The “practice of imagination” as a powerful force for transformation
• A challenge to literal-minded psychological interpretations of artworks (“black colors indicate depression”) and the principle that even disturbing images have inherent healing properties
• The role of the therapist in promoting an environment conducive to free expression and therapeutic energies
• The healing effects of group work, with people creating alongside one another and interacting in the studio
• “Total expression,” combining arts such as movement, storytelling, and drumming with painting and drawing

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Shaun McNiff is internationally recognized as a founder and leading figure in the arts and healing field. University Professor at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he is past president of the American Art Therapy Association and the author of several other books including Art As Medicine, Trust the Process, and Creating with Others.