Arts Therapies and the Mental Health of Children and Young People

Arts Therapies and The Mental Health of Children and Young People presents innovative research, theory and practice in the arts therapies. The different social, cultural and political contexts and developmental age groups illustrate and underscore the richness and diversity of contemporary arts therapies' creative response to the needs of children and young people in contrasting locations.The book represents an acknowledgement of the high rates of mental disorders in children and young people and addresses this subject. In presenting an array of responses from arts therapists working with children and young people in different contexts and countries, the book highlights the particular features of distinct art forms, yet also points to the potential dialogue between disciplines. Chapters show how the expressive potential and appeal of the arts, when facilitated within the therapeutic relationship, are crucial in fostering hope in the future and the capacity for trust in self and others. This book will be of great interest to arts therapists as well as academics and postgraduate students in the fields of arts therapies, social work, psychotherapy, health psychology, and education.

Uwe Herrmann is a professor on the MA Art Therapy training course at Weissensee University of Art Berlin, Germany. He has published extensively in the field of art therapy. Margaret Hills de Zárate is an art therapist, researcher and Honorary Senior Lecturer at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK. Her publications focus on cultural issues and migration in art and art therapy. Salvo Pitruzzella is a drama therapist and teaches arts education and dramatherapy in Italy. His many publications on these subjects include his work Drama, Creativity and Intersubjectivity (Routledge, 2016).