Medical Art Therapy with Children - Paperback

by C. Malchiodi (Author), Cathy A. Malchiodi (Editor)

Medical Art Therapy with Children is a ground-breaking book, the first work to tackle this rapidly growing field. It will be an essential resource for professionals, psychologists, counsellors, play therapists and art therapists working with physically ill children on a day-to-day basis. Medical art therapy is defined as the use of drawings, art expression and imagery with individuals who are physically ill or disabled, or are undergoing aggressive medical treatment such as surgery or chemotherapy. Children in such situations may find it easier to express their emotions, and their fears, through art than through strictly verbal channels. Art making may be a less threatening form of communication: it also encourages the building of a trusting relationship with a clinician.
In order to use art therapy effectively with children, clinicians must have practical resources to help them understand the use of art expressions in treatment. Equally important is information on how to choose art tasks for particular goals and on how to help children express themselves through art expression. This collection of contributions, by eminent art therapists, will provide just such a resource. Drawing on case material from a variety of situations, the book describes current research on medical art therapy with children, and practical approaches to using art activities with them. The writers examine art therapy with young patients suffering from burns, cancer, asthma, arthritis, eating disorders and HIV/AIDS.

Author Biography

Cathy Malchiodi MA, ATR, LPAT, LPCC is director of the Institute for the Arts and Healing in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Editor of Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association. She is on the National Board of the Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children. She is a licensed art therapist and clinical counsellor, and has written five books and over forty articles on the use of art therapy with trauma victims, victims of physical and sexual abuse, and art and medicine.