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Flow and Studio Art Therapy
Elaine Bontempi
University of Oklahoma
All Rights Reserved 2010
No portion of this paper may be
used at anytime without the written permission of the author.
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ABSTRACT
The following paper attempts to make connections between two books: “Studio Art
Therapy: Cultivating the Artist Identity in the Art Therapist” (Moon, 2002), and “Finding
Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997).
Although the books deal with entirely different subject matters, there can be connections
made between the two. Csikszentmihalyi (1997) discusses a phenomenon he has termed
“flow,” which, in motivational language, really just means a state of intrinsic motivation,
which can be achieved through optimal levels of challenge. The “flow” state is the
psychological state that is a byproduct of intrinsic motivation, and can be described as a
state where individuals are so immersed in an activity that “they lose all sense of time.”
Moon’s (2002) book discusses studio art therapy, and provides a memoir of sorts, of
some of her experiences and interactions with clients. Moon’s main focus of the book is
arguing that the profession of art therapy has its roots in the studio environment. In other
words, the main focus should be the creation process (art) rather than a clinical approach,
where the therapist relies heavily upon analyzing and critiquing.
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Although the two books, “Studio Art Therapy: Cultivating the Artist Identity in
the Art Therapist” (Moon, 2002), and “Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement
with Everyday Life” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997) deal with entirely different subject matters,
there are some connections that can be made between the two. Csikszentmihalyi’s (1997)
book discusses a motivational term, "flow." Moon's (2002) text describes the studio
approach to art therapy. Malchiodi (1995) noted that studio art therapy is a loosely
defined term and is an approach that has received little attention in research and
literature. Malchiodi (1995) also pointed out that studio art therapy has several
characteristics that sets it apart from a clinical setting including space and time. Space
refers to the physical environment in which studio art therapy takes place and time refers
to the amount of time spent engaged in the art making process. In a clinical approach,
time is often limited, and clients are encouraged to quickly create sketches or hastily
pasted collages within an hour’s time.
Although at first glance, Moon’s (2002) book seems very different from
Csikszentmihalyi’s (1997) they are similar in the respect that each discusses the
importance of the environment and how one’s environment can influence intrinsic
motivation, flow, and creativity. Moon (2002) talks about how as a studio art therapist,
you are not always able to control your environment (studio) in which you have the client
create art. She points out that everyone has their own concept of an ideal work
environment, where one’s creativity and inspiration are sparked. However, as a studio art
therapist, seldom, if ever, do actual art therapists have the opportunity to work from such
an imagined ideal space. She points out, however, if you are able to have a studio, it is
important to have art installations that promote creativity. She writes:
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The words “Studio Art Therapy” often conjure up an image of a spacious room
with lots of light, an abundance of easels, canvases stacked against walls, and
shelves nearly dripping with art supplies. Adjacent rooms, in the art therapy
studio of the imagination, house the ceramics studio, the sculpture studio, and the
wood shop. It is imagined to be a place where paint can be spattered on table tops
and bits of clay dropped on the floor with no harm done, a place where the
evidence of works of an art in various stages of completion are all about. (Moon,
2002, p. 68)
Moon (2002) continues by pointing out that although there may be art therapy
studios that come close to fitting the above description, the fact is that art therapy studios
are more often to be places such as the “bedside of a nursing home, an office barely
bigger than a broom closet, the bedside of a medically ill person, the living room or a
client’s home, the kitchen of a woman’s shelter, a back porch, cramped low income
apartment, or garage (Moon, 2002, pp.68, 70). Similarly, McNiff (2004) wrote that his
“studio” could be “anywhere, even a hotel conference room” (p. 52).
However, Moon (2002) also mentions how if we are able to create a studio, we
should “consider our work environments as work of art” and attempt to arrange the
architecture, interior design, environmental sculpture and installation of art when we
attempt to create work environments promote a sense of creativity (p.83).
Similarly, Csikszentmihalyi (1996) suggested that our environments can spark
creativity if we take the time to arrange them properly. He noted that the belief that the
physical environment deeply affects our thoughts and feelings is embraced in many
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cultures, and provided examples of Chinese sages, Hindu Brahmins, and Christian monks
who selected inspirational settings to work and live (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996). At the
same time, he noted that surroundings do not magically embed new ideas in the mind,
rather, “when persons with prepared minds find themselves in beautiful settings, they are
more likely to find new connections among ideas, new perspectives on issues they are
dealing with” (p. 136).
Furthermore, Csikszentmihalyi, (1996) pointed out that creative individuals will
go to great lengths to ensure they can work in an easy, uninterrupted environment, and
depending upon each individual’s temperament, creative individuals have a “special
space tailor made to one’s own needs, where one feels comfortable and in control” (p.
140). Moon (2002), of course, recognized that the studio art therapist is not always able
to create this inspiring studio space, but if possible, they should try to use installation
artwork to “create a sense of space that is to be experienced, rather than viewed” and
promotes the “ability to become rather than merely represent” (p. 84).
Another similarity I saw between the two texts was perhaps the whole concept of
creating the "flow" experience. Flow is a consequence of being intrinsically motivated:
doing something that you enjoy and doing it for the sake of the activity itself rather than
for any external reinforcement. Ideally, patients in an art therapy setting should get to the
point that they are experiencing flow when they are creating their work. Moon (2002)
suggested that patients should not focus on creating something for an end result, or even
something that necessarily is planned or makes any sense. Rather, what I have taken from
the book and other readings, is that the studio art therapist is more interested in the art
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experience...of getting the art therapy back to the roots of art rather than clinical roots in
psychology and a highly structured environment. Moon (2002) wrote, “an art based
model of art therapy places a high value on the artistic identity in both the art therapist
and the client. This identity forms the nexus around which the relationship develops” (p.
162). In addition, the studio art therapist may guide and facilitate but not necessarily
critique or analyze drawings. McNiff (2004) suggested that the difference between what
is done in the studio and what is done in the clinic has to do with control and letting go.
In the studio, I favor a more nurturing model of cultivation over the conventional
leadership mode of direction. The studio approach is attuned to the ancient
spiritual disciplines that emphasize listening, being present, and letting go of tight
controls so that things outside our current awareness can come forward. I see my
role (as a studio art therapist) as one of serving, maintaining, and tending, rather
than strategizing and intervening. (McNiff, 2004, p. 28)
Research (Ryan & Deci, 2002), supports the idea that this type of approach is
more likely to promote that flow experience in the patient/client. Perhaps not right away,
since Moon (2002) mentioned some patients are resistant at first, but eventually, this type
of approach should create a relaxed atmosphere where the creation of art is healing and
promotes that sense of flow. An environmental situation where there are optimal levels of
challenge and the level of expertise required for the task is matched by the skill of the
individual.
Ryan and Deci (2002), in their theory of self determination, discussed three innate
psychological needs that must be met in order to maintain psychological well being.
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These needs are autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Of the three, the researchers
placed the most importance on autonomy, at least for individuals living in an
individualistic culture such as our own. Autonomy refers to the need for volition or
choice, and without this sense of choice, we feel pressured, and our intrinsic motivation
wanes. The environment and approach to studio art therapy described by Moon (2002)
and McNiff (2004), is one in which there is little pressure, but clients who may be
reluctant to participate at first are not forced. Moon (2002) suggested that studio art
therapists respond to resistance by: (a) acknowledging the resistance; (b) attempting to
understand what is being communicated by the resistance behavior; and (c) engaging
with the resistance at an empathic level (p. 165). She gave the example of an 11 year old
client, Gerald, who was very resistant to participate in art therapy at first, and initially just
“stood firm and resolute on the sidewalk outside the building, frozen in position, his
silent protest” (p. 165). Rather than forcing the boy to come in and participate, she chose
to stand far enough away from him in order to give him his space, but close enough to see
him. Next she told him that she would “stand still with him as long as he needs to be still,
and that (she) would be ready to move inside and make art if and w hen he is ready” (p.
165). Moon’s behavior demonstrated acknowledgement of the resistant behavior the boy
demonstrated, but also an empathic engagement without pressure or force. It is this
environment that promoted a sense of autonomy in the boy. According to Ryan and Deci
(2002), and environment that meets the three psychological needs promotes intrinsic
motivation, or at the very least, promotes a more self determined form of extrinsic
motivation. The key environmental conditions that involve our need for competence are
optimal challenge and optimal structure, and the key environmental condition that
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satisfies our need for competence is positive feedback (Reeve, 2005). If the boy did not
feel that the task demanded of him was more difficult than his capabilities allowed, he
would also face a situation in which he had optimal levels of challenge, at which point,
flow would be possible (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997). Flow is a state of concentration that
involves a holistic absorption in an activity, and occurs whenever a person uses his or her
skills to overcome some challenge. When challenge outweighs skill, performers worry
that the demands of the task will overwhelm their skill. Being over challenged threatens
competence and promotes anxiety. When challenges match skill, concentration,
involvement, and enjoyment result. If skills outweigh challenge, then task engagement is
characterized by reduced concentration, minimal task involvement, and emotional
boredom (Reeve, 2005). Finally, if he built up a rapport with the therapist (Moon) then
his other need of relatedness would be met, and it is likely that he would at that point be
intrinsically motivated to participate in the art therapy sessions and experience “flow.”
Creating art, writing poetry, playing music, singing, and other forms of expressive
art can all be a very healing experience. As an artist, I can personally attest to the fact that
drawing, painting, sculpting, and playing music all have a very healing and meditative
quality. Heib (2005) suggested art journaling as a way of healing and going through
particularly difficult and traumatic times in one’s life. She wrote:
Art-journaling is a meditative practice for ordinary times and extraordinary
moments. It has proven a helpful tool for people who are seeking the presence of
the Holy, especially in times of discernment, grief, despair, chronic pain, deep
gratitude, and other situations when mere words seem inadequate.
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Many factors in our society, and in our world today, make it difficult to enter into
a prayerful place of simple presence. We have lost opportunities to interact with
the natural world. Development has destroyed vast expanses of the very beauty
that speaks to us of the Creator. Time is at a premium. Silence is difficult to find.
Both interior and exterior space eludes us. The careful practice of art-journaling
can reconnect us to the mystical sense of our longing. (p. 152)
Like Moon (2002), Heib (2005) suggests a more relaxed atmosphere for
participating in art therapy. She specifically writes that as an art therapist, she would not:
(a) tell someone what his or her drawing means; (b) interpret or analyze; (c) be the
expert; or (d) take advantage of the vulnerability of the situation (p. 153). Instead, Heib
(2005) said that she would try to:
(a) be visually sensitive; (b) see and listen contemplatively; (c) let the colors,
shapes, space, line quality, intensity, etc., speak to me; (c) be attuned to the
feeling level; (d) resist resting in content only; (e) ask questions with
gentleness; (f) be silent, rather than force a verbal response; (g) dedicate my
intuition to the spirit of Wisdom; (h) look at nature, fine art, and creation to
continue developing the richness of seeing; and finally (i) seek wholeness—in
the journaling, in the directee, and in myself. (p. 154)
What I find interesting is that many of the authors that I reviewed, all seemed to
echo one another in regards to the importance of allowing the art to emerge without force
or too much direction, not rush or pressure clients, and to be nurturing and facilitative
rather than analytical or critiquing. Similar to Moon’s (2002) urgings for studio art
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therapists to see the “poetry” in each client, Heib (2005) encouraged studio art therapists
to “see and notice, pay attention to holistic clues, and write down your insights” (p. 157).
And, consistent with Csikszentminalyi’s (1996; 1997) writings, clients should not feel
overwhelmed by tasks that demand more skills than they have. Rather, optimal levels of
challenge should be presented, which promotes opportunities for “flow” to be
experienced. This is also consistent with Ryan and Deci’s (2002) research concerning
intrinsic motivation and creating environments that promote intrinsic motivation or at
least more self determined forms of extrinsic motivation.
Conclusion
Although Moon (2002) and Csikszentmihalyi (1997) wrote on two different
subjects, the content of their books do overlap to some degree. In other words,
Csikszentmihalyi’s (1997) motivational theory of flow can easily be applied to the studio
art therapy setting where studio art therapists try to create an environment that fosters
intrinsic motivation and flow among clients. Where clients are not rushed, forced, or
coerced into creating art, but rather, the art making process becomes enjoyable and
clients “lose all sense of time” as they immerse themselves in their creative artwork.
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References
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper
Perennial: New York.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and
Invention. Harper Perennial: New York.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with
Everyday Life. Harper Perennial: New York.
Heib, M. (2004). Inner Journeying Through Art-Journaling: Learning to See and Record
Your Life as a Work of Art. Jessica Kingsley Publishers: London.
Malchiodi, C.A. (2007). The Art Therapy Sourcebook. McGraw-Hill: New York.
Malchiodi, C.A. (1995). Studio approaches to art therapy. (Report No. CG 026-658).
American Art Therapy Association. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service
No. ED 393-025)
McNiff, S. (1992). Art as Medicine: Creating a Therapy of the Imagination. Shambhala:
New York.
McNiff, S. (2004). Art Heals: How Creativity Cures the Soul. Shambhala: New York.
Moon, C.H. (2002). Studio Art Therapy: Cultivating the Artist Identity in the Art
Therapist. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Reeve, J.M. (2005). Understanding Motivation and Emotion. John Wiley & Sons: New
Jersey.
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Ryan, R.M. & Deci, E.L. (2000). Self determination theory and the facilitation of
intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist,
55 (1), pp. 68-78.