Art Therapy in Action: Neuroscience

Summary

Art therapist Juliet King discusses how neuroscience can help explain and support practices that art therapists have long understood through clinical experience. She argues against treating neuroscience as “hard” science and art therapy as “soft” or less scientific. Instead, she suggests distinguishing between what is currently well understood and what is not yet understood. Studying art-making requires a multimodal approach because some aspects can be measured while others are harder to quantify.

King became interested in neuroscience after training as an art therapist and later working as a neurofeedback clinician, beginning around 2000. Learning about the brain helped her connect art therapy practice with scientific research. She says neuroscience gives her a foundation for explaining art therapy, particularly in academic and medical settings.

Looking ahead, King hopes art therapy will become more integrated into contemporary medical practice. She also envisions art therapists and neuroscientists working as partners: neuroscience can inform art therapy, while art therapists’ knowledge and practice can contribute to neurology and to understanding health, illness, and the brain.

Three Core Tenets of Art Therapy

King identifies three principles that she believes define the profession:

• Creativity can be healing and life-enhancing.
• Materials and methods influence how people express themselves.
• The therapeutic relationship is essential to healing.

She sees neuroscience theory and applied evidence as ways to further investigate and support these principles.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Juliet King — Art therapist interviewed about neuroscience and art therapy.
• Dave Gussak — Interviewer.
• Oliver Sacks — Referenced by King in connection with medicine’s historical roots in magic, mysticism, and myth; he does not speak in the subtitles.