Art Therapy and Nursing

Art Therapy is an integrative mental health and human services profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship. Art therapy is applicable to all age groups and helps individuals more easily express suppressed negative emotions. However, art therapy can be used not only as a useful therapeutic method to help patients open up and share their feelings, views, and experiences, but also as an adjunct treatment to diagnose illnesses to help medical professionals obtain complementary information that differs from traditional testing. The literature has shown that there are significant positive benefits for family members and healthcare providers of patients who participate in art therapy. This scholarly book will provide information on the definition of art therapy, its history, types of art therapy, its uses in health and medicine, art health and nursing, and its use in disease management.