A Graphic Guide to Art Therapy

Abstract

A Graphic Guide to Art Therapy by Amy E. Huxtable in collaboration with Gaelynn P. Wolf Bordonaro and Libby Schmanke delivers exactly what its title promises: a visual and easily digestible primer on the fundamentals of art therapy. Huxtable discusses starting this project in graduate school as her capstone project at Emporia State University. She further states that this book was born out of a desire to use her background in graphic design and to deliver information she wished she had greater access to as a younger person. The fact that this book was approached with love and care is clear in the illustrative style. The use of comics as a tool for education is well executed here, as the book is easy to read from a visual perspective. The book is organized into sections, which include history, frameworks, and models; theories and approaches; and techniques and directives, as well as information and resources on finding art therapists in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Several case study vignettes are also sprinkled throughout the book. Some of the strongest pages both visually and informationally address common misconceptions about art therapy (what art therapy is and is not), as well as the differences and commonalities between art therapy, therapeutic art, and art classes. Huxtable uses the power and minimalism of a Venn diagram to deftly explain what art therapy is and how it is different from other arts-based practices. Other standout aspects of the book include the section on theories and approaches, which impressively covers psychodynamic theories all the way through integrative approaches in less than 100 pages. This book’s value lies in Huxtable’s choice to use comics as her medium. The use of comics in art therapy is not new, and neither is the use of comics as an educational tool. She makes note of that influence in her preface, presenting the intersection of where art therapy meets art education. She states that her original intended audience was art therapy students, but that she also came to realize that finding information about art therapy can be difficult. In acknowledging this, she points to how elusive our field can sometimes be and highlights the need for more accessible literature. The drawing and writing style feels deliberately simplified but not simplistic, which further enhances its approachability without being patronizing to its readers. In this way, the book feels linked to the graphic medicine movement in its desire for broader access to diverse methods of healing. The definition of graphic medicine introduced in The Graphic Medicine Manifesto is “the intersection between the medium of comics and the discourse of healthcare” (Czerwiec et al., 2015, p. 1). Graphic medicine as a movement and concept lends itself well to art therapy because it is also a “movement for change that challenges the dominant methods of scholarship in healthcare, offering a more inclusive perspective of medicine, illness, disability, caregiving, and being cared for” (p. 2). Graphic medicine was born out of narrative medicine, a part of the medical humanities field where practitioners seek to better educate health professionals by challenging the dominant methods of scholarship. This sentiment is echoed in Huxtable’s work in that she uses comics specifically as a tool to provide an inroad to art therapy, a field that is not well understood within the wider field of psychology or by the public at large. One oversight in the choices made by the author regarding content is that the book largely covers history and practice from U.S. and UK perspectives, which feels like a missed opportunity. Although the author uses characters diverse in identity and makes mention of the contributions of people of color specifically, the history presented focuses largely on White Western contributors to the field. Granted, this work is not meant to be an in-depth exploration of art therapy and its global history. Huxtable states specifically that this work is meant to be nonthreatening, and in this sense, she is quite successful. Another element that might not have been the author’s original purpose but, perhaps not surprisingly for a work intended to be a textbook, A Graphic Guide to Art Therapy would likely make an excellent study aide for both the National Counselor Examination (NCE) and Registered Art Therapist with Board Certification (ATR-BC) exam. The visual elements coupled with compact explanations of counseling and art therapy concepts all gathered from disparate sources is incredibly convenient. This book pairs well with literature and scholarship covered in professional development art therapy courses. In conclusion, this book uses humor, as well as practical language and images, to great effect. The book clearly and concisely summarizes, both visually and textually, the history, as well as the techniques and practices that make up the Western approach to art therapy and its intersection with counseling. There is a clear overlap with Huxtable’s desire to create an approachable work with graphic medicine’s values surrounding ease of