ABSTRACT

The impact of political violence, war, civil war and acts of terrorism on the individuals involved can be extensive. Art therapy can provide an effective means of expressing the resulting experiences of fear, loss, separation, instability and disruption. Art Therapy and Political Violence brings together contributions from all over the world and from diverse theoretical backgrounds. With contributions from Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Israel and South Africa, the book includes numerous clinical examples to vividly illustrate the main issues affecting art therapy. The practical issues involved are also discussed, including subjects such as the importance of working with both the internal and external worlds of the individual and sensitivity to cultural issues. Art therapists, psychotherapists and other mental health professionals, particularly those working in the context of political violence or in countries of refuge, will find the experiences recounted in Art Therapy and Political Violence thought-provoking and will welcome the wealth of practical information provided.

chapter |3 pages

Prologue

With art, without illusion ‘To write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric’

chapter |10 pages

Introduction

Background

chapter 3|16 pages

‘The moment in and out of time’: reflections on context and timing in art therapy interventions in Kosovo

Reflections on context and timing in art therapy interventions in Kosovo

chapter 4|15 pages

Feast of colour

Creating something out of very little – art making as psychosocial intervention with children of a forgotten war, Sudan

chapter 5|15 pages

From dark black to bright pink

The power of art expression and creation in coping with life under threat, Israel 2001–2002

chapter 6|20 pages

Inside the Portable Studio

Art therapy in the former Yugoslavia 1994–2002

chapter 7|16 pages

Creativity from chaos

An art therapist’s account of art work produced in the aftermath of a bombing in her community, Omagh, Northern Ireland

chapter 8|12 pages

A time for healing: art therapy for children, post September 11,

Art therapy for children, post September 11, New York Political context

chapter 9|18 pages

Expressive arts therapy – healing the traumatized: the Palestinian experience

The Palestinian experience Introduction and background

chapter 10|15 pages

Transforming objects in a transforming South Africa

Political context

chapter 11|13 pages

A soldier’s story

An art therapy intervention in Sri Lanka

chapter 12|15 pages

Silence in exile

A case study of an adolescent asylum seeker in London

chapter 13|18 pages

Art therapy and trauma, a different setting, a different approach

Interventions in the Netherlands and former Yugoslavia