A brief Literature Review of a course related topic addressed within two separate books on your reading list.

My literature review is on ‘You are not a Therapist’ covered in Creative Studies. I would like to start by referring to Denise Lyons in her book Creative Studies for the Caring Professions.  In it she states that the Art therapist ‘use art materials as part of specific treatment designed to address a set of symptoms or to deliver prescribed positive outcomes for a person’ (Lyons 2012, p.17).  While social care workers use creative art as an intervention  to enable ‘participants to have a therapeutic experience where they feel happy, have fun, express themselves, learn new skills and gain confidence’ (Lyons 2012, p.17). 

With the Art Therapist, ‘the artwork produced is not intended as a product in itself’ (Schoenwald 2012,), this backs the examples given in class by Denise Lyons about the boy burying his art work in the sand. The art gave an insight that there are some underlying issues that needed to be addressed.

(Lyons 2012 Lecture 2, slide 16)

While with the Social Care Worker ‘The primary goal is creating a finished art work within a fun learning environment’ (Schoenwald, 2012).

Further differences can be seen in the following areas:

Boundaries:  Space/Room, the Art Therapist sets boundaries of space one to one, putting up a sign of ‘Please don’t disturb’ on the door to show there is a session on and nobody should come in.

Number of people:  The Art Therapist will work with a group not larger than 8 people at the most, why the social care worker using creative art can work with any number of people in a group.

Timing:  The Art Therapist normally sets a Time frame for a session, but the social worker would not.

Confidentiality:  the Art Therapist keeps the Confidentiality rule.

Training: Art Therapist have specialised training to carry out these practices.

So there is a great difference between the use of creative art therapy by a Social Care Worker and an Art Therapist. So clearly I now know that.

References:

Lyons, D. (2012) Creative Studies for the caring professions, Dublin: Gill & Macmillan Ltd.

Schoenwald, C. (2012). Is It Art Therapy? Distinguishing Art Therapy from Arts & Crafts

 http://www.thechicagobridge.org/is-it-art-therapy-distinguishing-art-therapy-from-arts-crafts/  [online] (Accessed 8 December 2012).