ABSTRACT
Having delivered the polemic that no one should be denied the opportunity to have art therapy because it seems to some that an individual is incapable of creative behavior, let us look more closely at the most significant variables in regard to different populations. The first and most obvious is age, since art therapists can work successfully with toddlers through geriatrics, but the approach naturally needs to vary for different developmental levels. Both chronological and mental age are important, the former because of the likely physical maturation and interests, the latter because of the probable emotional maturity and developmental capacities. When there is a significant discrepancy between the two, as in retardation, one must pay attention to both. Knowing normal development well is clearly one major key to understanding and dealing in a meaningful way with people at different stages of life.
