Applying art for diagnostics and cure

This might be a pity because, the world over, art has been proved to have a high degree of both healing and diagnostic value.

Here is a course which might just get you introduced to the nuances of art for therapy and diagnostics. Stella Maris College of Chennai is collaborating with The George Washington University, Washington DC, and the Prasad Family Foundation, US, to offer a four-week course on Survey Art Therapy for diagnosis and cure. Stella Maris College, which happens to be a Catholic institution for women, is affiliated to the University of Madras and is partly residential.
 
Basics of art therapy

“Art and its therapeutic benefits are well accepted in most European countries,” points out Shallini Biswajit, a Chennai-based artist who has been working with art therapists from abroad. But it is a tricky multidisciplinary arena. To understand art therapy, one has to acquire some knowledge of psychoanalysis as part of a broader subject of psychology, besides art and art education. Mastering art therapy calls upon an understanding of visual expression, creative process, human development, behaviour, personality, and mental health.

There are two approaches to art therapy: the art psychotherapy approach, and the art therapy approach, besides employing art as a diagnostic tool as part of the therapeutic process. Either one of the approaches or a combination of these approaches are employed, depending on the specifics of the patient being treated or diagnosed. The Survey Art Therapy course will address both approaches. The course can be considered as a broad introduction to art therapy, based on which students can decide on pursuing this field of healing through a Diploma or Masters' option from universities abroad. Others can merely use this art therapy course to enhance their professional expertise in the realms of healing or teaching.

Course structure

The Survey Art Therapy is a three credit course. The topics covered include history of art therapy, various theoretical approaches in art therapy and the various populations in whom art therapy can be used. The course includes practical work in the form of art projects (in a variety of media and techniques) to explore the creative process and its relationship to the psychological and emotional self. Besides, this, there would be illustrated lectures, presentations and readings from faculty from the US.

The course will be conducted over four weeks, in three-hour capsules, four times a week, at the Department of Fine Arts, Stella Maris. The course commences on January 5, 2011. For more information, contact: Stella Maris College, 17, Cathedral Road, Chennai - 600 086, India; Ph: [phone]/ 2811 1951; Email: [e-mail]; Website: stellamariscollege.edu.in.

And relax; you don't need to have a high grade of artistic skills to take up this course. More than technical skills, it is the ability to explore, understand and share that counts.