The bodymind model: A platform for studying the mechanisms of change induced by art therapy

Abstract

This paper introduces the Bodymind model of Art Therapy and delineates the processes through which it has salutary effects on individuals coping with a variety of health related challenges. The goal of this model is to articulate how activation, reorganization, growth and reintegration of the self can emerge from bodymind processes activated by art therapy. It provides a framework for the conduct of research that will test the key theoretical mechanisms through which art therapy benefits clients. We expect this model to be a spring board for discussion, debate and development of the profession of art therapy. Furthermore, we hope readers can use this model to conduct sound mechanistic studies. This paper can inform social scientists and medical professionals on the manner in which art making can contribute to health.

Benefits of Art Therapy in People Diagnosed With Personality Disorders: A Quantitative Survey

“…Art therapy may help patients to recognize difficult emotions, to integrate conflicting thoughts, feelings or behaviors, and to find a more constructive way of dealing with them (Eisdell, 2005;Simon, 2005;Haeyen, 2011bHaeyen, , 2018Haeyen, , 2019. Art therapy is an integrative health profession which has roots in the social sciences, medicine and art (Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016).…”

Arts-Based Research Approaches to Studying Mechanisms of Change in the Creative Arts Therapies

“…In reviewing what are considered to be mechanisms of change within the psychotherapy literature there is general agreement that aspects of the therapeutic relationship, elements of self-expression, increased levels of consciousness and memory, dialectical tensions, destabilization, ruptures and resolutions, reconfigured and re-storied self-narratives, and self-reflection act as interactive agents of change ( Ogden, 1992 ; Knill, 2005 ; Hayes et al, 2007 ; Israelstam, 2007 ; Zittoun, 2011 ; Caddy et al, 2012 ; Forster et al, 2014 ; Van Lith, 2015 ; Haas-Cohen and Clyde Findlay, 2015 ; Lane et al, 2015 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ). Additionally, there are numerous theories that identify multiple neurological, psychological, cultural, social, temporal, and intersubjective factors that moderate and mediate the transformation of thought, perception, emotion, and behavior in psychotherapy within and between these identified mechanisms ( Bollas, 2002 ; Hayes et al, 2007 ; Israelstam, 2007 ; Harris-Williams, 2010 ; Brown, 2011 ; Zittoun, 2011 ; Forster et al, 2014 ; Haas-Cohen and Clyde Findlay, 2015 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ).…”

“…The research in the creative arts therapies related to mechanisms of change is limited in scope and methodology although there are some formative related to mechanisms or phenomena of change. These preliminary theories, in many cases, intersect with those of psychotherapy, suggesting that change occurs within an emotionally attuned therapeutic relationship in which individuals can express themselves through the arts, access and revive memories through sensory and embodied knowledge, gain a sense of safety and relief from tension, reflect and learn about themselves through the therapist/client/arts triadic dialog, progress incrementally through developmental stages, transcend their mental suffering, and enhance their overall psychological and social well-being ( Hayes et al, 2007 ; Israelstam, 2007 ; Zittoun, 2011 ; Caddy et al, 2012 ; Forster et al, 2014 ; Haas-Cohen and Clyde Findlay, 2015 ; Lane et al, 2015 ; Van Lith, 2015 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ). Additionally, self-reflection, enhanced levels of consciousness, the necessity for tension, rupture and resolution within a “dialectically attuned” ( Israelstam, 2007 ) therapeutic relationship and the resultant re-imagining and re-creation of personal narratives are all constructs that intersect with the emergent mechanisms of change in the creative arts therapies.…”

“…Although creative arts therapies processes associated with transformation may be congruent with those of psychotherapy, differences may be noted in the primacy and value assigned to certain transformational processes associated with the arts-based relational epistemic. For instance in the creative arts therapies the sensory/embodied experiences and relational attunement, the transcendent qualities of imagination and creativity, the reenactment of relational histories within the therapeutic relationship, and the communicative, dialogic, and metaphoric qualities of the arts may assume primacy ( Patterson et al, 2011 ; Gerber et al, 2012 ; Haas-Cohen and Clyde Findlay, 2015 ; Van Lith, 2015 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ).…”

Cancer Survivorship and Work

“…The bodymind model of Art Therapy (AT), delineates the processes through which AT has salutary effects on individuals (Czamanski‐Cohen & Weihs, ). Art making is particularly helpful in accessing emotional material.…”