ABSTRACT

To begin this discussion of art therapy in the schools, let’s provide a context painted with a very broad brush. In the history of the field of art therapy as we know it today, there are two parallel streams that provide orienta-tion and describe the origins and philosophy of the theory and practice of the arts in psychotherapy. Likewise, in the history and development of art, education, and art education, there are powerful and often colliding philo-sophical and theoretical positions. The conjunctions and collisions between and among these disciplines comprise a source of tension, controversy, and confusion affecting the practice of art and art therapy in today’s schools. We do not have the time, space, or mandate to explore these themes in exhaustive detail here—though they might deserve such attention.