Product Review

This new and timely second edition, updated with an expanded discussion of arts-based processes and additional instructions and heartfelt client narratives, continues in the trajectory of the first, promising to shape and provide guidance to both current and next generation of art therapists in the studio-based approach to working with a challenging and often maligned population. It continues to offer much in the way of guidance, motivation, and practical advice around the use of art making as the central curative component when developing therapeutic relationships with hurt and troubled teens. The author's initial focus is on understanding the developmental issues facing adolescents and how these affect the psychotherapeutic treatment. This includes an outline of the phases of therapy: Resistance Phase, Imaging Phase, Immersion Phase, and Letting Go Phase. The second primary focus is devoted to the art as therapy approach to art psychotherapy, with several chapters examining components of this model. The final focus presents the author's therapeutic approach to working with adolescents through responsive art making. A positive byproduct of the book is that the reader will find many practical suggestions regarding materials, artistic tasks, and therapeutic techniques. In addition, the text is greatly enhanced by the powerful illustrations that highlight the chapters' case narratives. This new edition continues to share the author's essential philosophical, technical, pragmatic, and ethical aspects of practicing art therapy that have made him a standard-bearer for those who believe in the therapeutic power of art. The Dynamics of Art as Therapy with Adolescents should be a cornerstone text for any Adolescent Art Therapy course.