Development of art therapy in South Africa: Dominant narratives and marginalized stories

Abstract

This paper asks whether Western empiricist, psychodynamic approaches may be unsuitable in South Africa, and narrative and social constructionist approaches more relevant. Using narrative theory the paper looks at the dominant story of the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA) in its maintenance of power, and explores alternative stories that have become marginalized. The HPCSA's control of art therapy is questioned as yet further colonization in a postcolonial era. It asks how a South African approach to art therapy might be developed, so that art therapists and the HPCSA can develop an interest in, and respect for approaches to the use of artifacts in African healing.