When You Paint

This book is a tribute to my mother, who died in 2006, and her brother, who is a successful Norwegian artist. It shows the impact of their upbringing together on his art and on their lives. Colorful paintings, poems and family secrets. The efficiency of treatment interventions for post traumatic disorder in children have not been researched upon extensively. Linda Chapman and fellow psychologists have, however, researched the effectiveness of art therapy on pediatric trauma patients. Early in the research, analysis showed that there were no significant reductions in PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) symptoms between the patients and the control group. However, acute stress disorder symptoms were reduced for the children who received the art therapy intervention. A 2009 study of prison inmates done by David Gussak discovered that art therapy aided in the improvement of mood within prison inmates. It is believed that prison inmates experience an external locus of control and as such feel they do not control their lives and subsequently experience a higher instance of depression and overall poor mood. Art therapy however was proven by David Gussak to assist inmates to shift their locus of control from an external to internal and thus allow inmates to feel they had some control over themselves. This feeling of control led to improvement of mood and the associated depression within the inmate population. It should be noted that art therapy was found by Gussak to be more helpful in improving the mood of female inmates than male inmates, this however is not necessarily a completely conclusive result and requires further study. The term 'Art Brut' was first coined by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture. Dubuffet used the term 'Art brut' to focus on artistic practice by insane-asylum patients. The English translation Outsider Art was first used by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972. Both terms have been criticized because of their social and personal impact on both patients and artists. Art therapy professionals have been accused of not putting enough emphasis on the artistic value and meaning of the artist's works, considering them only from a medical perspective. This led to the misconception of the whole outsider art practice, while addressing therapeutical issues within the field of aesthetical discussion. Outsider Art, on the contrary, has been negatively judged because of the labeling of the artists' work, i.e. the equation artist = genius = insane. Moreover, the business-related issues on the term outsider art carry some misunderstandings. While the Outsider Artist is part of a specific Art System, which can add a positive value to both the artist's work as well as his personal development, it can also imprison him within the boundaries of the system itself. As a mental health profession, art therapy is employed in many clinical and other settings with diverse populations. Art therapy can be found in non-clinical settings, as well as in art studios and in creativity development workshops. Closely related in practice to marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors, U.S. art therapists are licensed under various titles, depending upon their individual qualifications and the type of licenses available in a given state. Art therapists may hold licenses as art therapists, creative arts therapists, marriage and family therapists, counselors of various types, psychologists, nurse practitioners, social workers, occupational therapists, or rehabilitation therapists. Art therapists may have received advanced degrees in art therapy or in a related field such as psychology in which case they would have to obtain post-master's or post-doctorate certification as an art therapist.