Ms Cathy A Malchiodi

Computer technology holds exciting possibilities for art therapists. Drawing, painting and photo software offer a new medium for work with clients, and the Internet is changing the way that therapeutic sessions, supervision, training, conferencing and information transfer are conducted. But with the vast array of hardware and software packages available, and the speed of cyber developments, getting to grips with the potential of computer technology can be daunting. In this concise and practical guide, Cathy Malchiodi shows that this need not be so. She reviews the hardware and software most pertinent to art therapists and demonstrates how the Internet can be used to conduct research and establish links with other art therapists. She also discusses the ethical and legal issues of communicating online, particularly the confidentiality and copyright of data. An essential guide for all art therapists, Art Therapy and Computer Technology opens up the full scope of new computer technology and the Internet.

Susan Makin has written a unique resource for art therapists working with patients or clients who find the concept of spontaneous artmaking daunting, and feel more comfortable with a structured framework. Therapeutic Art Directives and Resources: Activities and Initiatives for Individuals and Groups consists of a series of directives or suggestions for group and individual activities, with guidance on the suitability of each directive for clients with specific needs and ideas for further development. Her directives protect clients' creative freedom while providing a safe environment for exploring difficult issues. Commentaries by Cathy Malchiodi alongside the directives highlight particular uses of the directives and possible adaptations. Included at the front of the book are useful sample forms and hand-outs to give clients at the beginning of therapy as well as forms for the therapist's own record-keeping. These forms, like all the directives, have been used many times in clinical practice.

Contemporary Art Therapy with Adolescents offers practical and imaginative solutions to the multifaceted challenges that clinicians face when treating young people. The author fuses the contemporary theories of clinical treatment with the creative processes of art therapy to arrive at a synthesis which yields successful outcomes when working with adolescents. Clinicians of allied disciplines, particularly art therapists, will find practical suggestions for using imagery to enrich their relationships with teenaged clients. The process of using art-making therapeutically, and the challenges of applying creativity in the current mental health world, are explored. Shirley Riley reviews current theories on adolescent development and therapy, and emphasizes the primary importance of relying on the youths' own narrative in the context of their social and economic backgrounds. She has found this approach preferential to following pre-designed assessment directives as a primary function of art therapy. Family, group and individual treatment are examined, as is the adolescent's response to short- and long-term treatment in residential and therapeutic school settings. The book is firmly rooted in Riley's clinical experience of working with this age group, and her proven ability to combine contemporary theories of adolescent treatment with inventive and effective art expressions.