Body and the Self / About Expressing, Exploring and Developing Through Art Therapy

Can you paint yourself healthy? In the Body and the Self exhibition, researchers and practising therapists present art therapy, a form of treatment that is attracting growing interest in Sweden.

Art therapy is a method for treating emotional crises – a tool for creating meaning, for rehabilitation, and for repairing identity. In art therapy, the client uses artistic materials to communicate with themselves and with the therapist.

This form of treatment can be used for different purposes and within many different areas. One purpose may be to awaken a lust for life, or to improve communication and increase self-awareness. The purpose of art therapy can also be psychotherapeutic – to achieve insight and development. The exhibition shows art therapy materials.

Art therapy is still an emerging form of treatment. The method was launched in Sweden in the 1960s, when artists, occupational therapists, teachers and others who had trained abroad began to use image-making in psychiatric care and special education. Today, Umeå University offers Sweden’s only university-level art therapy course. The University is also home to several research and development projects on the significance of art therapy for the experience of identity and health.

In collaboration with the Art Therapy programme at Umeå University and the Art Therapy Association in Norrland.