Forty Years of Wisdom, Discernment, and Imagination

For those of us who still send old school greeting cards, the birthday selection continues to be plentiful – particularly the milestone ones. The choices that celebrate 40 are quite a mix. Some ameliorate 40 as the dreaded tipping point for becoming old (“age is just a number”). Others revert to more youthful times (“18 with 22 years of experience”). And still others honor the moment (“40 is the new awesome”).

I have 40 on my mind as this year marks the 40th volume of Art Therapy. In her editorial for this journal’s inaugural issue, interim Editor Linda Gantt recommended:

to take a Janusian look at our endeavors, to see where we have come from and to predict where we will go…The 1980s will be a critical period in our profession’s development. We will be forced to show how art therapy is both distinct from and similar to allied fields, for on such distinctions rests our future, our training programs, our positions, and our prestige…Our Janusian look must not be reserved for the beginning of new projects but must be our customary stance as we take stock of our successes and failures, always with an eye to improving the published literature, the foundation of our field. (pp. 2–3)

In the second issue of the journal, Editor Gary Barlow (1984) echoed Gantt’s focus on the need for research to help the profession meet the practical, educational, and legislative needs of the time. What distinguished this journal from existing ones at the time was a foundation in both peer review and editorial independence (in contrast to the American Journal of Art Therapy [formerly Bulletin of Art Therapy]) with an exclusive focus on art therapy (in contrast to The Arts in Psychotherapy). The members of the American Art Therapy Association who proposed creating a journal and those who served on the initial editorial board would be pleased not only with the journal’s longevity but for maintaining its early vision.

Having taught human development courses for many years, I was curious to revisit the various meanings of 40 for what that might offer about this moment in the life of the journal. Accumulated human philosophy reveres 40 for obtaining knowledge. Islam indicates 40 as the “age of maturity,” decision, responsibility, and commitment (Quran 46:15 – 40) and Judaism denotes “wisdom” (Pirkei Avot, 5.21). In the Analects, Confucius records personal development as a lifetime of learning but, “At forty, I was free from doubts about myself,” which could be interpreted as comfort with transitioning acquired learning into purposeful action (Spence, 2008, par. 12–3). These ideas connect to Hinduism’s ashrama system’s second stage, Grihastha (household life) when the focus of one’s acquired knowledge is for both self-sustenance and sustaining others. Perhaps these ideas are why Aristotle reflected on this time of life as being “awe-inspiring” (Rhetoric 1361b11 as cited in Freese, 1926).

With these attentions to wisdom, it is no wonder that Erikson and Erikson (1998) marked 40 as the beginning of the developmental tasks of generativity vs. stagnation, which, if managed well, would result in acquiring the virtue of care. However, Capps’s (2004) reevaluation of the Eriksons’ framework from stages mostly situated in childhood into decades across the lifespan places the forties as the time of identity vs. identity confusion. In parallel, Neumann (1954) associated stages of human development with mysticism, that is, widening human consciousness. Adulthood marks love mysticism – acceptance of “the union of opposites” (pp. 405–406). Being able to offer knowledge may entail a capacity to discern conflicting perspectives into a new whole.

But, of course, 40 only means something in the context of a human life as a marker of mid-life (or close to it for an average lifespan). For an inanimate object or intangible idea, like the journal, we will not know if 40 is an indicator of mid-life or adolescence or even old age until we know how long the journal lasts. In that sense, 40 may simply be a convenient time marker for reflection. Psychologist Gilbert (2014) described the challenges of visualizing future development because “it [is] hard to imagine who we’re going to be, and then we mistakenly think that because it’s hard to imagine, it’s not likely to happen” (5:27). Therefore, whether 40 is a beginning, middle, or end, recounting the past or acknowledging the present should not impose limits on the future.

Four decades on since its debut, Art Therapy is certainly honoring its age. The journal has contributed wisdom; sourced from the authors, who Barlow (1984) presciently noted, “Your contributions will help to make the journal grow and develop into a major voice in art therapy” (p. 66). The journal leadership, editorial teams and reviewers, have been discerning in demonstrating a capacity to hold conflicts by hosting diverging opinions and critiques. And the journal has maintained imagination to continuously innovate according to the times through designing special issues and broadening perspectives. All of these areas together are evidenced by recent metrics that situate the journal as the most read art therapy journal in the world with a readership that far exceeds the members of the association. Happy 40th, Art Therapy! You are certainly demonstrating the wisdom, discernment, and imagination expected from your age and all of the years to come.

In This Issue

The contributions to this issue respect and exceed the journal’s initial objectives. Gantt (1983) called for how art therapy is “both distinct from and similar to allied fields” (p. 3) and Barlow (1984) advocated for “dialogue with professionals from related fields” (p. 66). Such interdisciplinary attention while showcasing art therapy is a central feature of three contributions. Noah Hass-Cohen, Rebecca Bokoch, and Grace Fowler describe a mixed-methods research study that investigated the Compassionate Arts Psychotherapy program to discover meaningful intersections with other fields while highlighting unique contributions of art therapy. Juliet Jue’s quantitative study demonstrated the important role art making, a central feature of art therapist identity, contributes to art therapy students’ happiness and well-being. Jennifer B. Schwartz, Patricia A. St. John, Carol Greiff Lagstein, Michelle C. Pate, and Heather J. Denning scrutinize the contributions that those with undergraduate degrees in art therapy can offer by detailing learning outcomes and expectations that are simultaneously comparable to other fields while distinctly situated in art therapy.

Just as in the inaugural and subsequent issues, case studies continue to be a source of professional storytelling for conveying knowledge. Holly Feen-Calligan, Lana Ruvolo Grasser, Jessica Smigels, Natalie McCabe, Breanna Kremer, Alaa Al-Zuwayyin, Ismail Yusuf, Noor Alesawy, Jenna Al-Nouri, and Arash Javanbakht analyze how culturally-informed tele-art therapy groups offered benefits for refugee families in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bani Malhotra and David E. Gussak reflect on direct clinical experiences working with those who committed sex offenses to note how art therapy can transform demons to daimons (spiritual guides) by confronting and shedding the label of monster. Patricia Marco and Rosa Redolat offer an intimate account of how home-based art therapy assisted an older woman living with dementia. Susan Devine described how her clients inspired public art exhibitions of their experiences of the pandemic to reduce isolation by offering connection and understanding. All of this varied content reflects Yael Zahavy-Mittelman’s cover art, an invitation to appreciate how art-making honors challenges and illuminates possibilities in an ever-growing quest for balanced maturity.