ABSTRACT
Several popular techniques for loosening inhibitions use some kind of stimulus, like music, stories, or fantasy. It may be active and focused, as in a planned sequence of activities, or it may be background and subliminal, as in the soft lighting and music provided by art therapist. Many art therapists have also used art reproductions in varying forms—from postcards that can be handled and sorted, to slides that are projected and magnified. Making a series of images is another evocative technique, one used by art therapists in a variety of ways. These approaches using art materials resemble free association in mental imagery, which in some ways is what happens in psychoanalysis, but which has also been requested at times by clinicians. The goal was central in an early attempt to classify Techniques for Individual and Group Art Therapy whether for: exploration, rapport building, expression of inner feelings, self-perception, interpersonal relations, or the individual’s place in the world.
