Art Therapist Christine Wood Summary

In the Christine Wood (1990) article “THE BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS OF ART THERAPY RELATIONSHIPS”, Wood reflects on her practice as an Art Therapist on how she introduces both Art and Therapy jointly to potential clients. Wood attempts to demystify the process of starting art in therapeutic sessions. Finally Wood describes how she explores and identifies readiness in a client to initiate drawing therapy to close.

My intention is to review Art Therapist Christine Wood’s article and select particular sections of the article that resonate with me the most.

I chose this particular article and specific sections because I start my own initial steps to training in the therapeutic field. I am interested in where the process begins as an Art Therapist. I have experienced personal therapy. The introduction to therapy was sought out by me as I recognised I was in crisis and knew the benefits of therapy. I wanted to explore what an Art Therapist does when a client has little or no knowledge of a therapeutic process.

In the first section Wood introduces working in a hospital setting. By the setting itself, it has already been established that the client knows the purpose of their meeting. I

She depicts the extended amount of time it took to establish a working relationship without the basic boundaries. Wood discloses her own resistance to an alternative setting which delayed the use of art. This was an immediate attention grabber for me as her detailed account and admission of her own resistance made me reflect on my own work as a project worker out in the community. I agree that there are many obstacles to not having a contained setting to establish a working relationship, however, while undertaking many years of outreach work I have learned to adapt quick and use what resources are available around