This comprehensive book brings together the voices of international art therapists with diverse backgrounds and experiences and asks them to consider the role of postmodernism in their understanding of art therapy. These practitioners share a common postmodern belief that art is a unique way of expressing and mediating the human condition and that art therapy should not be a diagnostic tool but a collaborative healing process between the therapist and the client. Drawing on psychotherapy, ...

For two years now I've been regularly blogging about ELT-related issues that have caught my attention. The topics have been loosely organized around the format of an encyclopaedic dictionary I'd published previously, called An A-Z of ELT. I've since clocked up over a hundred posts that in turn have attracted thousands of comments comprising I don't know how many tens of thousands of words.A couple of things that have emerged from this 'long conversation' are: (1) the same issues com...

The author, working from the Family Institute in Cardiff, has been treating adult survivors of child sexual and physical abuse for several years, and she has clearly and frankly described her work in this book. She begins be describing the context for working with her clients; then describes the way she has welded systemic thinking and a feminist perspective into a theoretical model she uses to understand the problem and to guide her own work with the survivors. The descriptions of the the...

A valuable guide to working with groups for a variety of purposes in the human services. Its distinctive strength is the focus on 'thinking group' and on theory informed reflective practice. Grounded throughout in the rich experiences of 'group insiders', the book is both engaging and informative. Definitely a recommended resource for practitioners, students and educators.Ros Thorpe, Professor of Social Work and Community Welfare, James Cook UniversityGroup facilit...

Art as Therapy introduces the theory and practice of art therapy in a concise, accessible and informative way. Tessa Dalley's introduction gives an overview of basic issues, research and development. Subsequent chapters, written by specialists, are chosen to demonstrate the ways in which art therapy can be applied to different client groups, in a variety of clinical settings. These include children, adolescents suffering from anorexia nervosa, the mentally handicapped, the elderly...

For an endeavour that is largely based on conversation it may seem obvious to suggest that psychotherapy is discursive. After all, therapists and clients primarily use talk, or forms of discourse, to accomplish therapeutic aims. However, talk or discourse has usually been seen as secondary to the actual business of therapy - a necessary conduit for exhanging information between therapist and client, but seldom more. Psychotherapy primarily developed by mapping particular experiential domai...

This is a companion volume to the editors’ Insights into Teachers’ Thinking and Practice (Falmer Press, 1999) and seeks to carry the discussion on further illustrating that there is a continuing intensity of thought, activity and debate on how to conceptualise research on teacher thinking, and thus generate knowledge for further understanding and action. The ethical questions on undertaking research on the inner lives of teachers remain unresolved.The international team present cha...

The use of reflection as a tool to support and develop practice is becoming increasingly recognised across education, healthcare and the social sciences. Reflection is assumed to create depth of knowledge and meaning, both for self and those practised upon. Running alongside the use of reflection is the prevalent use of action research which some see as a way of approaching the study of human beings from a philosophical perspective, in which sharing takes place within mutually supportive e...

Adulthood is an accessible text which deals with the vital area of adult psychological development. It combines detailed accounts of the main theories and evidence on the psychology of adulthood with thorough discussion and commentary, presented in a concise and friendly form. The book's approach encourages engagement with the main theories of this highly relevant topic, as well as including less well-known models of adulthood for discussion.The book begins with a definiti...

All counsellors are compelled to take account of the diverse society in which they practice and to inform themselves of best practice with all client groups. This book provides a contemporary psychodynamic perspective on difference and diversity to bring practitioners up to date with current thinking when faced with a client who is in some way 'different'. References to race, culture or disability in classical psychoanalytic literature are few. In a society that embraces diversity and seek...

Governments around the world spend millions on art and cultural institutions, evidence of a basic human need for what the author refers to as 'creating aesthetic significance.' Yet what function or purpose does art satisfy in today’s society? In this thorough and accessible text, Hickman rejects the current vogue for social and cultural accounts of the nature of art-making in favor of a largely psychological approach aimed at addressing contemporary developmental issues in art education. B...

It is now nearly thirty years since sociocultural theories of learning created great excitement and debate amongst those concerned with learning in diverse contexts. Since that time significant advances have been made in sociocultural theory and research. Various sociocultural approaches to the understanding of learning (for example, sociocultural psychology, sociocultural discourse, cultural historical activity theory) have been developed and consolidated and new challenges are currently ...