On occasionally being able to paint

Abstract

Many of us find that our own work suffers when we practise as art therapists. Yet training courses stress the importance of maintaining our personal artwork alongside therapy practice, and this is widely accepted as a valuable part of a balanced approach to art therapy. Andrea Gilroy has examined this, sometimes difficult, relationship. She outlines her own experiences and reports on her research findings. This article is a reprint of an article originally published in Inscape Spring 1989. It should be noted that at the time the research was being carried out, art therapy training courses ran for only one year full-time or two years part-time.

Key Words:

• Art
• art practice
• art therapists
• looking
• making
• thinking