ABSTRACT
A theory is a hypothesis about connections and causality. In that sense, testing theories in practice is a kind of “research.” Theories are usually expressed in words, although that does not mean that they must be or that they are always best conceptualized in that modality. The art therapist helps in the task of translating the client’s often-distorted psychic reality into a better approximation of what is “really” out there—what he must eventually accept with comfort if he is to live successfully within it. In either case, art provides a place where both not only can happen but also must inevitably happen if art is to occur. The art process has its own internal rhythm and essence, which involve a human being not only in mastery of media, but also in a kind of temporary fusion with the work itself.
