Davis - Mindful Art Therapy

Dr Davis demonstrates how a number of theoretical approaches combined with mindfulness exercises, guided imagery and art making can be adapted to the interests and concerns of a client in order to develop a beneficial approach to treatment. This book is of practical importance for students and clinicians alike.

Mary B. Safrai, ATR-BC, Licensed
Creative Arts Therapist, Reiki Practitioner

As a practicing therapist this book is of great interest to me. Barbara takes me through each chapter, giving me the confidence to practice mindful art therapy and offer this mode to the appropriate clients. This is an exciting possibility for a therapist who has been working in the field for 25 years and I want to thank her for it!

Marilyn Cobain, Private Practitioner Fellow
of the Australian Psychological Society

I congratulate Barbara Jean Davis on her excellent book, which makes suitable reading for all health professionals and the public. It provides health professionals who work closely with patients suffering mental illness with a safe therapeutic tool for healing as part of their overall management plan. Barbara takes art therapy to a new level, by empowering patients to create art from a state of mindfulness and to tap deeply into their deep felt emotions that may be difficult to express, their own inner wisdom and cultivate creativity! This book inspires me to refer more patients for art therapy and to take it on for myself as a means of tapping into my own creativity through mindfulness!

Associate Professor Dr Vicki Kotsirilos, Medical
Practitioner, Department of Rehabilitation, Nutrition and
Sport, La Trobe University and General Practitioner

Barbara Jean Davis is a master quilter of intentional mindfulness, art therapy and collaborative partnerships. In the book she creates her masterpiece quilta unique nine-block design for facilitating openness and engaging clients in processing experiences and developing insights. It is an inspiring resource destined to become a gold standard for practice.

Linda Thiessen, Founding President, British
Columbia Artists in Healthcare Society

Mindful Art Therapy

of related interest

Mindfulness and the Arts Therapies

Theory and Practice

Edited by Laury Rappaport, Ph.D.

ISBN 978 1 84905 909 1

eISBN 978 0 85700 688 2

The Ethical Space of Mindfulness in Clinical Practice

An Explanatory Essay

Donald McCown

ISBN 978 1 84905 850 6

eISBN 978 0 85700 510 6

The Compassionate Practitioner

How to create a successful and rewarding practice

Jane Wood

ISBN 978 1 84819 222 5

eISBN 978 0 85701 170 1

Shamanism and Spirituality in Therapeutic Practice

An Introduction

Christa Mackinnon

ISBN 978 1 84819 081 8

eISBN 978 0 85701 068 1

Focusing-Oriented Art Therapy

Accessing the Bodys Wisdom and Creative Intelligence

Laury Rappaport

ISBN 978 1 84310 760 6

eISBN 978 1 84642 852 4

Mindful Art Therapy

A Foundation for Practice

Barbara Jean Davis

Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia

First published in 2015

by Jessica Kingsley Publishers

73 Collier Street

London N1 9BE, UK

and

400 Market Street, Suite 400

Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA

www.jkp.com

Copyright Barbara Jean Davis 2015

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Applications for the copyright owners written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.

Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution.

There is an MP3 file of a guided meditation available with this book which can be found at the following link: www.jkp.com/mindful-art-therapy.html

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 84905 426 3

eISBN 978 0 85700 791 9

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my late parents whose legacy to see goodness in people and life around you has led me to marvel continually at the first flower of spring.

Contents

List of Figures

Acknowledgements

Figure I.1 Photograph of the sun

In 2011, we were visiting a beachside town on the South shore of Melbourne, Australia. As we came upon the ocean, we noticed a huge and intriguing cloud, the likes of which we had never seen. It was dark and menacing but even more compelling was the one next to it, which in sharp contrast was poised against the sun, luminescing. I quickly reached for my phone to take a picture. Simultaneously, the person next to me said: you cant take a photo toward the sun; it wont come out. But had I not broken with conventional wisdom, I would have missed the opportunity to capture the image shown here, that may or may not have been part of the volcanic ash cloud that traveled all the way from Argentina to Australia. Committing to taking the photo was less about being right, and more about being open to possibilities. Its a matter of focus. And my intention was to capture the essence of this spectacular cloud for future reflection. Thats just what art and mindfulness do when combined; they break off a bit from conventional psychology and open you to other possibilities for health and well-being.

There are many people who have lent their support in the undertaking of this book. First and foremost, I would like to thank my clients, not only those who are (anonymously) featured in this book, but all of my clients who have helped to illuminate my understanding of how to shape mindful art therapy. I have no doubt learned as much from any of you as you have learned from me in this undertaking. In seeing our work as collaborative, my sense is restored that the same energy that contributes to dis-ease can be transformed into resilience if there is the right opportunity.

In the task of conceptualizing mindful art therapy as a foundation for practice, there have been many casual and formal conversations along the way that have contributed to my ideas. In particular, I would like to thank a number of colleagues who have lent their support and constructive criticism. My sincere thanks go out (in alphabetical order) to Cheryl Leber, Ilana Rydaiski, Liz Davidson, Marilyn Cobain, and Roberta Honigman. Your support, wisdom and insights are greatly appreciated and valued, in addition to your friendship.

As a first-time book author, the writing process has not been without its challenges. My thanks go out to Maia Danziger and the writing group. Ive gained a great deal of insight listening to how others shape the worded world and Maias feedback has been valuable in learning about the writing process and helping to keep me on track. My thanks also go out to Jane Ginberg, who has supported the editing of this book and other written works over the past several years. A mindful and creative approach to the process of editing is no doubt a little out of the box, and I appreciate her enthusiasm to walk the talk.