Art in Action ─ Expressive Arts Therapy and Social Change

The field of expressive arts is closely tied to the work of therapeutic change. As well as being beneficial for the individual or small group, expressive arts therapy has the potential for a much wider impact, to inspire social action and bring about social change.The book's contributors explore the transformative power of the arts therapies in areas stricken by conflict, political unrest, poverty or natural disaster and discuss how and why expressive arts works. They look at the ways it can be used to engage community consciousness and improve social conditions whilst taking into account the issues that arise within different contexts and populations. Leading expressive arts therapy practitioners give inspiring accounts of their work, from using poetry as a tool in trauma intervention with Iraqi survivors of war and torture, to setting up storytelling workshops to aid the integration of Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in Israel.Offering visionary perspectives on the role of the arts in inspiring change at the community or social level, this is essential reading for students and practitioners of creative and expressive arts therapies, as well as psychotherapists, counsellors, artists and others working to effect social change.

Ellen G. Levine is co-founder and faculty of ISIS Canada and a Senior Staff Social Worker at the Hincks-Dellcrest Centre for Children's Mental Health in Toronto, Canada. She is Core Faculty and Dean of Individualized Studies in Expressive Arts Therapy at the European Graduate School in Switzerland. Stephen K. Levine is Professor Emeritus of Social Science at York University in Toronto, Canada, Vice-Provost and Dean of the Doctoral Program in Expressive Arts: Therapy, Education, Consulting and Social Change at the European Graduate School in Switzerland, and Co-Director of ISIS Canada. Ellen and Stephen have authored and edited many books in the field of expressive arts therapy.