The Expressive Therapies Continuum: Developmental Model Analysis

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Introduction The Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) is a developmental model used by art therapists. It provides a framework that is used to evaluate expressive elements of a client's artwork. These elements are divided into levels on a continuum. There are three levels, each one is a spectrum, beginning with kinesthetic and going to sensory, perceptual to affective, and cognitive to symbolic. An additional element on the top of the continuum is creative expression which can occur at any of the levels or exist as integrated functioning of all levels, but it is a temporary state. Art therapists use client's artwork to gauge on which level or level(s) of the continuum the client's work falls. Based on the client's location on the continuum, …show more content…

The therapist is able to manipulate the client's creative expression through process and media to assist the brain in processing visual information (Lusebrink, 2015). Each type of media falls on a spectrum called the Media Dimensions Variable (MDV) which classifies art media and directives based on their inherent qualities. The MDV divides media onto a tri-level spectrum which begins with fluid media, such as watercolor, to resistive media, such as pencil. Next, the creative process can range from simple, such as pencil on paper, to complex such as printmaking. The third spectrum on the MDV is the level of direction given which ranges from unstructured to structured. The first part of this paper describes an intake session with Rachel, a seventeen year old girl who was assessed using the ETC. Post-assessment, the paper explores the course of therapy that was designed with the goal of reaching other levels of the ETC. The MDV was used to relate the media and the directives to Rachel's functioning level. The goal of our treatment was to help her process previous abuse and to …show more content…

She is a seventeen year old caucasian girl who arrived complaining of anxiety and depression from which she had been struggling since she was sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend at the age of seven. Upon discovering the abuse, Rachel's mother set up an appointment with a male cognitive behavioral therapist. She participated in an intake session with the therapist at the age of fourteen but did not feel safe or ready to talk about her experiences, so she did not return for additional sessions. Rachel stated that she felt apprehensive about beginning art therapy and was not sure if she could be helped. She rationalized that because she was unskilled at creating art, art therapy would not work for her. Throughout the conversation, she appeared anxious and

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