When a client walks into the therapy room they don't know what to expect-feeling anxious, unsure and perhaps fearful. Brief, art therapy warm-ups are the perfect way to break the ice and get clients feeling comfortable, less inhibited, and motivated to participate in individual or group therapy.

These unique 250 art exercises increase self-esteem, self-awareness and a feeling of success in artistic expression and communication, allowing clients to engage in therapeutic exercises without judgment. Using simple materials like paper, pencils and markers, these techniques can be immediately implemented in your practice.

Art techniques based in:
Mindfulness
CBT
Self-Compassion

Useful for clients dealing with:
Anxiety
Stress
Low self-esteem
Relationship issues
Life changes

Unique and creative warm-up exercises that facilitate communication, connection and creative expression

Expanding upon art therapist Susan Buchalter's celebrated 250 Brief, Creative& Practical Art Therapy Techniques, this follow-up book provides 200 more art exercises clinicians can use in art therapy and psychotherapy groups.

With just a few simple materials, Buchalter provides endless opportunities for clients to create meaningful images, share their experiences, and become more focused and open in therapy. To make it easier for therapists, teachers, psychologists, counselors, and individuals, the exercises are categorized into beneficial themes:

• Self- Care
• Self-Compassion
• Mindfulness
• Stress & Anxiety
• Happiness
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Esteem & Self-Acceptance

Self-esteem is the building block of therapy and wellness and is crucial in overcoming depression and anxiety and in leading a fulfilling, functional life.

Filled with hundreds of practical activities to help clients build their self-esteem as they become increasingly mindful and self-aware, this book contains a rich assortment of approaches from art therapy, dialectical behavioral and cognitive behavioral therapy. The innovative and established methods examined in the book are based on sound, evidence-based techniques, illustrated with real client experiences, to help therapists gain a greater understanding of how the approaches take effect.

This is an essential resource of activities for all art therapists, as well as counsellors, psychologists, other mental health professionals and social workers interested in using art therapy techniques in their work. It is appropriate for use with a wide variety of clients and patients, including those suffering from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Mandalas are important therapeutic tools promoting focusing, wholeness and healing. This book introduces nearly two hundred different techniques for designing mandalas and adapts mandala creation for the purpose of eliciting thoughts, feelings and concerns about pertinent therapeutic issues such as depression, anxiety, relationships and goals. Therapists can use the many practical mandala exercises outlined within to enable a wide range of clients to enhance self-awareness and explore issues in a non-threatening way. Mandala design is presented in a variety of creative ways with different media, allowing the therapist the flexibility to gear sessions towards clients' specific needs and capabilities.

This will be a valuable and unique addition to the therapist's library and will be of particular interest to art therapists, counsellors, psychologists and professionals looking for innovative therapeutic approaches that build on traditional practices.

It can be difficult to be spontaneous during every art therapy group. It is helpful to have a resource full of creative and inspiring ideas that can be utilized as needed. This broad-ranging collection of projects injects variety into art therapy sessions. A Practical Art Therapy is written in an easy-to-read format that is filled with practical creative experiences for therapists to use with individuals and groups.

Chapters cover various media and methods, including murals, collages, sculpture and drawing, making it easily accessible for even the busiest therapist. Susan Buchalter includes practical art projects using everyday objects, and follows them through with a list of materials needed, a procedure plan and aims of the project.

The creative exercises draw on situations and ideas that children and adults can relate to - for example, drawing wishes and goals, sculpting their own stress and creating a collage self-portrait. The author suggests ways of expanding art-making activities, such as drawing to music and creating personal logos. This book is suitable for those new to the arts therapies field, practising art therapists, counselors and social workers.