The Role of the Art Therapist in Community-Based Arts Practices:
A Critical Review of the Literature
Dylan Ottemiller, B.A.
Advisor: Yasmine Awais, MAAT, ATR-BC, ATCS, LCAT, LPC
Results
Recommendations
A critical analysis of relevant community psychology, community arts and community-based art therapy literature
revealed the following results. Findings from the literature review were also analyzed and compiled into a visual
model shown below. This model can be used to guide art therapists interested in expanding their scope of practice
to communities. It includes overarching theories, beliefs, skills and characteristics that influence the cyclical
process, which is further facilitated by goals and applied practices. The readiness, needs and resources of the
community are at the center of the model, as they should also play a large role in guiding the process.
FOR THE COMMUNITY-BASED ART THERAPIST
Abstract
The purpose of this critical review of the literature is to examine and evaluate the
relationships between community-based theories, community-based arts practices and art
therapy. Trauma and mental health challenges are widely prevalent among a diverse
variety of communities in the United States. Yet, due to stigmatized views of mental
health treatment and/or limited access and resources, many members of these
communities do not receive the services they may need. Many art therapists have argued
that the field needs to expand its scope of practice beyond the traditional mental health/
medical model in order to serve those in need, reduce stigma around mental health, and
promote social inclusion and empowerment. Through a review of the literature, it was
found that art therapists have much to contribute to community-based arts programs,
including a knowledge of group dynamics, the effects of trauma, effective interventions
for those experiencing difficult emotions and effective conflict resolution techniques.
Furthermore, art therapists are particularly adept at balancing structure and flexibility
while fulfilling multiple roles, as well as balancing power dynamics through helping
clients to discover individual strengths and artist identities. Despite the great possibilities
for art therapists to be more involved in community-based arts practices, art therapists
wishing to do this work may benefit from additional training in diversity and
multiculturalism, systemic issues in specific communities and their effects on social,
emotional and mental health, and multidisciplinary learning in related fields such as
community psychology, social work, disability studies and social justice.
Recommendations for a framework of practice will be made to inform art therapists on
how to effectively utilize their art therapy knowledge and skills as a vehicle for healing,
reducing stigma and promoting social inclusion, resilience and empowerment within a
community.
Literature Review
DEFINING COMMUNITY
A community consists of a group of people who share a common characteristic or value, but
are also diverse in many other ways1. Community can refer to:
•  A physical collective of people
•  A state of mind or feeling of connection2.
Thus, in a community-based project, community can simultaneously mean the participants, the
process, and the outcome.
MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS IN COMMUNITIES
While an estimated 20 percent of American adults have a diagnosable mental illness, only
38 percent of those individuals receive mental health services3. This lack of treatment,
coupled with the effects of stigma, can lead to negative outcomes, such as depression, low
self esteem, isolation, and poorer prognosis for those coping with mental illness4. The
strongest evidence for reducing stigma involves social contact between those with and
without mental illness5.
COMMUNITY-BASED ARTS
Community arts is an approach to art-making that involves the collaboration of an artist and
non-artist community members with the goal of encouraging people to affirm and build their
collective identity6. Thus, community arts offer an engaging vehicle for facilitating social
contact and social inclusion, empowering community members to share and create new
narratives, building confidence and reducing stigma7,8,9.
COMMUNITY ARTS VS. COMMUNITY
ART THERAPY
SIMILARITIES
•  Focus on group process and community
involvement
•  Often culmination in a final product
•  Emphasis on empowerment and artist identity
DIFFERENCES
•  The level at which issues are being addressed
•  Art therapy projects/programs emphasis on social
service vs. community arts projects/programs
emphasis on development of artistic talents
ADDITIONALKNOWLEDGE & SKILLS
THAT ART THERAPISTS CAN
CONTRIBUTE
•  Knowledge of emotions and the effects of trauma
•  Further develop and practice cultural competence
•  Broaden own view of what art therapy is and can be
•  Develop awareness of other disciplines, such as community arts,
community psychology, social justice, and disability studies
•  Collaborate with other professionals and artists
•  Educate others about the field of art therapy to clarify that the intent is to
provide a safe space for exploration and recognition of strengths,
empowering participants, cultivating resilience, and sharing experiences,
as opposed to diagnosing problems
•  Knowledge of conflict resolution
FOR ART THERAPY TRAINING PROGRAMS
•  Knowledge of group dynamics
•  Paradigm shift: Embrace the integration of different ways of practicing
•  Ability to balance structure and freedom
•  Prioritize diversity in both the faculty and student body
•  Ability to fulfill several roles
•  Belief in an artist identity in everyone
•  Relational sensitivity
Model for the Art Therapist Engaging in
Community-Based Work
•  Educate art therapy students in post-modern theories, social justices &
arts activism, and multiculturalism
•  Instill a sense of social responsibility through: community service
component, opportunity for collaboration & opportunity for
multidisciplinary learning
•  Provide space for self reflection and development of self awareness
•  Allow for continued development of an artist identity through providing
time and space for art making
References
1Finkelpearl,
T. (2013). What we made: conversations on art and social cooperation. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
2Goldbard, A.
(2006). New creative community: The art of cultural development. Oakland, CA: New Village Press.
3Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration. (2011). Results from the 2011 national survey on drug use
and health: Mental health findings [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.samhsa.gov/data/NSDUH/
2k11MH_FindingsandDetTables/2K11MHFR/NSDUHmhfr2011.htm
4Perlick,
D. A., Rosenheck, R. A., Clarkin, J. F., Sirey, J. A., Salahi, J., Struening, E. L., & Link, B. G. (2001). Stigma as a
barrier to recovery: Adverse effects of perceived stigma on social adaptation for people diagnosed with bipolar affective
disorder. Psychiatric Services, 52, 1627-1632.
5Thornicroft,
G., Brohan, E., Kassam, A., & Lewis-Holmes, E. (2008). Reducing stigma and discrimination: Candidate
interventions. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 2, 1-7.
6Goldbard, A.,
& Adams, D. (1987). Tough times. Heresies: A Feminist Publication on Art and Politics, 6, 41-44.
7Thomas,
R. E., & Rappaport, J. (1996). Art as community narrative: A resource for social change. In M. B. Lykes (Ed.),
Myths about the powerless: Contesting social inequalities (pp. 317-336). Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
8Hacking,
S., Secker, J., Spandler, H., Kent, L., & Shenton, J. (2008). Evaluating the impact of participatory art projects for
people with mental health needs. Health and Social Care in the Community, 16, 638-648.
9Margrove,
K. L, Heydinrych, K., & Secker, J. (2013). Waiting list-controlled evaluation of a participatory arts course for
people experiencing mental health problems. Perspectives in Public Health, 133, 28-35.
10Talwar,
S. (in press). Creating alternative public spaces: Community-based art practice, critical consciousness and social
justice. In D. Gussak & M. Rosal (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of art therapy. Oxford, UK: Wiley Blackwell.
11Hocoy,
D. (2007). Art therapy as a tool for social change: A conceptual model. In F. Kaplan (Ed.), Art therapy and social
action (pp. 21-39). Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
12Timm-Bottos,
J. (2011b). The five and dime: Developing a community's access to art-based research. In H. Burt (Ed.),
Art therapy and Postmodernism: Creative healing through a prism. London, England: Jessica Kingsley Press.
13Ierardi,
COMMUNITY-BASED ART THERAPY
Art therapists have emphasized the need for the field to their expand scope of practice
beyond the traditional clinical model, drawing from social justice and advocacy practices in
order to effectively serve culturally diverse populations and marginalized individuals10. This
can be done through community-based art therapy, which involves community residents
creating art as form of personal transformation, community development and political
expression11. Several art therapists have facilitated community-based projects, programs
and open studios, and have seen evidence of reduced stigma and increased social inclusion,
self-esteem, problem-solving skills and resilience, and empowerment12,13,14.
F., Bottos, M., & O’Brien, M. K. (2007). A community-based creative arts therapy program for at-risk youth. In
V. A. Camilleri (Ed.), Healing the inner city child: Creative arts therapies with at-risk youth (pp. 254-267). Philadelphia,
PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
14Block,
D., Harris, T., & Laing, S. (2005). Open studio process as a model of social action: A program for at-risk youth.
Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 22, 32-38.
Contact Information
Dylan Ottemiller, ddo25@drexel.edu