Susanne K. Langer and the Foundations of Art Therapy

Abstract

Susanne K. Langer's philosophy synthesizes art and biology, mind and body. She believed that in a special sense the arts are a language of emotion that cognitively expresses the artist's knowledge of human feeling. Works of art are symbols of the psychophysiological activities by which feeling arises, develops, and subsides. An art symbol is a dynamic whole forming a virtual domain organized by the elements that compose it. These objectively specifiable elements behave not so much like things but like biological acts with mutual patterns of influence. If art therapists look at their clients' artwork and their interactions with them in terms of acts, they will speak a language that suits the artwork itself and that enables art therapy to share common ground with science.

Applying the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) to Adults in an Asian Population

“…Lisa D. Hinz, PhD, ATR, is an art therapist and clinical psychologist at St. Helena Center for Health, St. Helena, CA, and an adjunct professor in the graduate art therapy program at Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods College, Terre Haute, IN. Correspondence concerning this article may be addressed to the first author at kinmanblue@gmail.com or unstructured art-based assessment to help their therapists understand how they perceive life, their personal experiences in the world, and how the elements of their expressions make sense to them (Julliard & Van Den Heuvel, 1999).…”

Art-based Evaluation in Research Education

“…Susanne K. Langer (Julliard & Van Den Heuvel, 1999) demonstrated that each artwork is a virtual whole, the content of which is its import or meaning. The significant form of artwork communicates this import through interactive elements whose relationships correspond to or symbolize the artist's feeling.…”

A pilot randomized clinical trial of biomedical link with mental health in art therapy intervention programs for alcohol use disorder: Changes in NK cells, addiction biomarkers, electroencephalography, and MMPI-2 profiles

“…These reports have reduced apprehension regarding alcoholism treatment [5] and have provided a means of communication [40,41], with several benefits to patients [42]. In AT, working with creative ideas can facilitate the first step of treatment, as it can remove psychological resistance in patients with AUD and facilitate acceptance of the disease [43,44]. AT can accelerate personal growth in patients with AUD showing low self-efficacy by encouraging them to reflect on internal conflicts, express themselves, and divert undesirable impulses through creative activities [45].…”