Art History Therapy: The Role of Art History in the Psychotherapy Process

Abstract

Unconscious processes lead to maladaptive behaviors, while people use various defense mechanisms to cope with stressful and traumatic memories. Bringing the unconscious to consciousness is essential for treating such inner conflicts. Art history therapy, which brings together art history and psychology, aims to accelerate clients' self-disclosure to the therapist by bringing their unconscious to consciousness through artworks, thereby establishing the therapeutic alliance. As objects of art history, artworks can trigger associations with childhood experiences in clients. Discussing an artwork can enable clients to express their repressed feelings, thoughts, and memories more easily without fear of being judged by the therapist. The therapy also aims to increase psychological well-being through an aesthetic experience using plastic or visual artworks as the materials. Moreover, clients can benefit from the healing power of art in psychotherapy that self-disclosure provides catharsis to enable clients to discharge the negative emotions connected to traumatic events. After a preliminary client interview, an art historian and clinical psychologist create a repertoire of artworks that are generally appreciated in art history and reflect the characteristics of different periods and artists. The artworks used depend on each client's psychological state and symptoms. However, the main factor in selecting the artworks is to make it easier for clients to remember their experiences and increase their psychological well-being by providing an aesthetic experience. During therapy sessions, first of all, clients interpret the artwork while the therapist makes connections between these interpretations and the client's experiences. Then, clients are informed about the artworks within the framework of art history.