Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Art Therapy

Book excerpt: This book focusses on art therapy as a treatment of PTSD in both theory and practice. It includes an in-depth look at what PTSD is, how it develops, and how art therapists should approach and treat it, with a focus on furthering social justice. The chapters cover a wide variety of contexts, including adults at a rape crisis centre, veterans, children in group homes and patients at substance use facilities. The second section of the book includes invaluable practical strategies and interventions based on the author's decades of experience in the field. It also discusses more complex concepts, including the impact of avoidance in maintaining symptoms of PTSD, and considers how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy can guide art therapy interventions.