The field of creative art therapy has grown increasingly focused on the medical model, where the goal is to first diagnose and then cure an illness. Unfortunately, this focus has moved our field away from it's original direction; having grown out of the human potential movement of the 1960's, where we had focused simply on personal growth and developing one's creative potential as a total human being, as the main goal.
At the College of New Rochelle, where I have been a full time faculty member since 1980, I, and my colleague, Dr. Patricia St. John, have been extremely careful to design a curriculum that encourages the artistic development of our graduate art therapy students, as they develop their clinical skills.
As an artist and creative art therapist, I strongly believe in the power of creativity as a healing process, as well as a way to create space for introspection and personal growth. Summer is a wonderful time for me to work outdoors and become part of nature as I create new stone sculpture. Below are photos of my first piece that was finished, so far, this summer. As yet it is unnamed... I'm open to suggestions!
Below you will see the final shaping of the rough form of my next piece... a work in progress...
I will post a photo of the finished piece when it is completed