Am I Doing Expressive Arts Therapy or Creativity in Counseling?

Abstract

PERSPECTIVES is a special feature included in this issue of the Journal of Creativity in Mental Health that provides mental health professionals with an opportunity to discuss their positions on a variety of creativity-related topics. In this article, 2 counselor educators, Christina M. Rosen and Sally S. Atkins, share their perspectives on the use of expressive arts in counseling and therapy. These perspectives emerged from a supervisory session between the 2 authors. As their discussion expanded, issues of definition, ethical practice, theoretical grounding, credentialing, and supervision emerged. The authors explore these issues by means of personal story, literature, and dialogue, and they encourage counselors to trust their intuition and creative ways of working with clients while staying mindful of their professional spectrum of competence and ethical guidelines.

KEYWORDS:

• expressive arts therapy
• creativity in counseling
• supervision
• ethics
• arts-based therapies
• Gestalt

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christina M. Rosen

Christina M. Rosen is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of Clinical Experiences in the Human Development & Psychology Counseling Department at the Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina.

Sally S. Atkins

Sally S. Atkins is a Professor in the Human Development & Psychology Counseling Department, Director of the Clinical Mental Health Program, and Founding Director of the Expressive Arts Therapy Program at the Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina.