A brief history of Art Psychotherapy

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Art Psychotherapy is a relatively young profession, although the use of art as a way of expressing emotions, making sense of experiences and supporting emotional wellbeing has a much longer history. Throughout time, people have used creative expression to communicate thoughts and feelings that can sometimes be difficult to put into words.

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Art Psychotherapy began to develop as a recognised form of therapy during the 1950s and 1960s, when artists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals began to recognise the therapeutic value of art-making. They observed that creating images could offer people another way to express themselves, explore their inner experiences and communicate feelings that they might otherwise struggle to describe.

 

The British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT) was established in 1964, helping to bring together practitioners and establish a professional identity for the developing discipline. The first postgraduate training course followed in 1972, marking an important step in the recognition of Art Psychotherapy as a specialist therapeutic profession.

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Since then, Art Psychotherapy has continued to develop, both in its understanding and in the settings where it is practised. What began largely within psychiatric and mental health settings has grown to include work with children, young people and adults across a wide range of services, including schools, hospitals, community settings and private practice.

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Today, Art Psychotherapy is an established and regulated profession in the UK. It brings together psychological understanding, therapeutic relationships and creative expression to help people explore their experiences, develop a greater understanding of themselves and find different ways of managing emotional difficulties.

 

Although the profession has developed considerably over the years, its central principle remains the same: that making art can offer a valuable way of communicating, exploring and understanding experiences that may be difficult to express through words alone.