ABSTRACT
In this chapter I will outline a research project that I carried out into an area which is of particular interest to me: the use of art therapy in the treatment of alcohol related problems. During my research, I was surprised by some of the things which I found; including the fact that as many as half the alcohol projects I looked at used art activities. However, I also had my suspicions confirmed – that there was almost no art therapy in use. Even more disturbingly, it emerged that there was a certain amount of confusion about the actual term ‘art therapy’. One aspect of this confusion has very serious implications in so far as in some cases clients were misled about the treatment that was provided for them. Other arts therapists may have come across similar experiences in other fields – I certainly have during my work in the mental health field: on introducing myself to a colleague recently, the reply I received was, ‘Oh, I do art therapy. ... I did think about doing the training – why is it so long?’ My initial amusement regarding this comment has probably more to do with displacement of anxiety since sober consideration of the implications, which I outline in this chapter, produces a less comfortable response.
