The birth of Art Therapy was prompted by the interest to interpret the art of the mentally disturbed under the same impetus to interpret child art. This was apparent at the end of 19th century, instead of impressing upon the child pre-conceived ideas art teachers began encouraging the child to express fearlessly his own creative and imaginative impulses.
Art activity then serves a different purpose to bring about change in personality through creative expression. The Freudian view sees the genesis of creativity in personal conflict where man acts against symptoms through unconscious defense mechanisms. They recognize the role of art in psychoanalysis as a process of spontaneous imagery, released from the unconscious.
Another view comes from the Jungians were they emphasized creative expression of art helps restore psychological balance. This discovery of art as a means of expressing inner feelings, beliefs and thoughts is highly therapeutic according to Ulman, an art therapist who further adds the process of symbolizing feelings and experiences in images can be far less threatening than verbally communicating it.
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