The Art Therapist's Guide to Social Media

Connection, Community, and Creativity

Gretchen M. Miller

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781317239246
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychologie
• Subtopic: Psychothérapie

The Art Therapist's Guide to Social Media offers the art therapy community a guide that addresses content related to social media use, its growing influence, and the impact social networking has on the profession and work of art therapists. This book presents a framework of relevant theories, best practices, and examples to explore existing and emerging areas of social networking's power for art therapists as practitioners and artists. Divided into three sections that highlight the themes of connection, community, and creativity, chapters explore timely topics such as the professional use of social media, ethical considerations, potential benefits and challenges, and strategies to embrace the possibilities that social media can create for the field worldwide. Art therapists in training, art therapy educators and supervisors, and practicing art therapists will find content in this text helpful for their learning and professional practice.

Part I
Connection

The whole point of social media is continuity and continual engagement.

– Clara Shih, The Facebook Era (2010)

1
Introduction to Social Networking and Social Media

This book begins with presenting some basic knowledge and information about social media. This fundamental groundwork will help create an expanded understanding of other topics and areas to be explored in future chapters. The choices of how to engage with social media are infinite, constantly repositioning, and rapidly evolving. Existing social networks and their tools often give way to new forms and opportunities as technology, its infrastructure, and its purpose continue to advance, including while this book is being written and in production. These fast-paced developments can be challenging to stay up to date with and make sense of just for general, personal use, let alone distinguishing these considerations for professional best practices.

Content in this chapter introduces a general historical overview of social networking’s early beginnings, as well as art therapy’s history of using the Internet for networking and connection. It also includes the impact of mobile connection, as well as definitions, genres, examples, and features of popular social media sites available at the time of this writing. How art therapists engage with these sites and the general relevance to art therapy are also presented. Finally, theoretical considerations to take into account about social media’s ability to connect and influence are explored.

A Brief History of Social Media

Before social media of course was the launch of the World Wide Web, defined by Humphreys (2016) as “a system for finding and linking webpages” (p. 30). The use of the Internet is rooted in the exchange of communication and seeking connection. The terms social media or social networking were not yet used to describe engagement with electronic communication, but sites facilitating this type of activity started to surface on the web in the form of electronic bulletin boards, online discussion forums, chat rooms, and newsgroups. In the mid-1990s, websites such as America Online (AOL), Geocities, and Classmates.com led the way. User interest in these sites helped open the virtual doors to other pre-social media sites such as ICQ and LiveJournal, which gained a strong online presence in the late 1990s (Dugan, 2012). In 1997, SixDegrees.com was launched to integrate familiar aspects of the Internet into a new format that coalesced around three main components: creating a user profile, adding connections, and site interaction. These features are key elements that now define social networking sites today (Meikle & Young, 2012). Ultimately, SixDegrees.com was not sustainable, as during its short life online (1997–2000) the site struggled to find enough users at that time to make the concept successful for widespread use. However, what did follow in the early 2000s included profile-driven sites such as Friendster in 2002, MySpace in 2003, and Facebook in 2004, which were able to successfully plug into user engagement of cultivating one’s online identity for connecting with others through the Internet. These pioneering social networks were a way to share and interact with others about experiences, life moments, and interests through posting updates, photos, and links to other online content. Other social networks, such as LinkedIn, launched in 2003, Blogger in 2003, Flickr in 2004, YouTube in 2005, Twitter in 2006, and others were establishing their niche and presence within the digital ecosystem (Humphreys, 2016). Social networking was starting to transform not only how we could obtain information, but also how we could correspond with one another, share our experiences, and co-participate in ideas and collaborations (Eysenbach, 2008). As Qualman (2009) stated, social media was not just a passing phenomena or fad isolated in cyberspace, but was forever changing how we connect and communicate.

Early Beginnings of Online Connection and Networking for Art Therapists

The art therapy community in the mid-1990s began to include online forums, electronic mailing lists (also known as listservs), and e-groups that started to emerge as ways art therapists could connect, network, share information, and participate in discussions (Malchiodi, 1996, 2000). Figure 1.1 provides a timeline featuring some examples of early resources created and managed by art therapists in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. These pioneering web-based tools made it possible for art therapists to obtain or provide updates about happenings in the field, reach out with questions, or independently post topics for discussion and engage in virtual dialogue with other art therapists about a particular interest. Students interested in or studying art therapy would also find benefit in engaging with resources to help receive information or answer their questions about art therapy from practicing art therapists in the field. Many of these groundbreaking groups or lists required users to subscribe through e-mail or the

Figure 1.1 Early Art Therapy Resources on the Web (1995–2000)

Illustration by Nate Fehlauer at Wiscy Jones Creative [Reprinted with permission]

website it was hosted on. For example, art therapist Petrea Hansen-Adamidis created Art Therapy in Canada, the first online resource page launched in that country, which included an e-mail list hosted through ListBot. Another example is the Art Therapy Dialogue Group hosted through Yahoo! Groups. This e-group was formed in 2000 and moderated by art therapist Carol Lark until a serious illness caused her step down from this role. Upon a request from Carol before her death in 2009, I briefly served as an interim moderator until art therapist Kathy King became its moderator in 2010. This group serves art therapy educators, students, and art therapists as a discussion forum for issues, topics, and concerns related to the field. The group is a mobilizing ground for communicating about and taking action on matters especially impacting the profession in the United States. Members also share art therapy news, job postings, and current events. Almost 20 years since its founding, this group continues to have activity among its subscribed members and remains the longest-running online group for art therapists.

In 2000, Art Therapy & Computer Technology: A Virtual Studio of Possibilities (Malchiodi, 2000) was published as the field’s first book dedicated to introducing art therapists to the many ways computers could be used within professional practice. The value of electronic communication, online networking, and examples of how art therapists were using the Internet at that time made up some of the book’s chapters and contributions. Social networking’s familiar presence in the art therapy community today was tremendously inspired by this small group of art therapists who were early adopters to technology. These initial beginnings on the web helped launch an important contribution to art therapy’s modern day history. It helped lead the way before social media officially arrived and its use became a widely adopted practice among the art therapy community.

Defining Social Networking and Social Media

Kietzmann, Hermkens, McCarthy, and Silvestre (2011) highlight that social media utilizes “mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive platforms via which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-generated content (UGC)” (p 241). The digital world of social media offers an assortment of stimulating forums and context for users to engage in for communication, promotion, collaboration, community, and creation. As Kaplan and Haenlein (2009) add, “Social networking sites (SNSs) are applications that enable users to connect by creating personal information profiles, inviting friends and colleagues to have access to those profiles, and sending e-mails and instant messages between each other” (p. 63). Social media expands beyond only disbursing information or engaging

Examples of Early Art Therapy Online Forums, Electronic Mailing Lists, and E-groups

1995 CATCHAT
Founded by Barbara Ann Levy, this electronic message board served as an online professional forum for creative arts therapists.

1996 Art Therapy Forum
Archived Site: www.sofer.com/art-therapy/intro.html For a British Association of Art Therapists presentation, Danny Sofer created this online forum.

1996 Arts in Therapy Network
Archived Site: www.artsintherapy.com Founded by Chriss Berk, this online community for creative arts therapists included networking, referral resources, and the Arts in Therapy e-mailer.

1996 Creative Arts Therapy Forum
on Behavior OnLineArchives: www.behavior.net/forums/arttherapy/1999 Behavior OnLine, dedicated to providing a meeting place on the web for mental health professionals, hosted this electronic message board dedicated to creative arts therapies discussions. Sophia Kelly moderated this forum from 1996–1999.

1996 Art Therapy in Canada
Archived Site: adamidis.caThis website created by Petrea Hansen-Adamidis included an art therapy newsgroup, e-mail list group, and links to other web-based art therapy groups and message boards that were starting to emerge in the field.

1997 Creative Arts Therapies Chat
Daniel R. Leopold created this site, which included online chats about a variety of creative arts therapy topics, links, and web-based resources.

1999 Art Therapy Student Networking Forum
on DelphiForums.com Created by this author, this network for art therapy students and interested professionals used an electronic message board and chat room. This forum can now be found on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/groups/2923203.

1999 Arts in Therapy (AiT) E-Group
on Yahoo! GroupsThis e-group was founded and managed by Francine Lévesque for creative arts therapists, expressive art therapists, and art therapists.

2000 Creative Arts Therapies International Forum
on Behavior OnLineArchives: www.behavior.net/forums/arttherapy/2000 Martin Perdoux and Cathy Malchiodi re-launched the Creative Arts Therapy Forum originally founded in 1996.

2000 Art Therapy Dialogue E-Group
on Yahoo! Groupsgroups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ART-TXT his e-group for art therapists offers dialogue about art therapy topics and issues, especially in the United States. This group was founded by Carol Lark and moderated by Lark until 2008. Currently Kathy King is moderator of this e-group.

in one on one, private communication (Humphreys, 2016). Social media fosters increased interactivity between individuals, groups, and content for anyone to share and respond.

A significant factor that defines the uniqueness behind the power of social media includes the intersection of these two ideas: the development of UGC and Web 2.0 (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2009). Web 2.0 made it possible for the Internet to move from being a fixed form of published information into a culture of high participation and engagement with multiple users and platforms through sharing, editing, and creating content (Siegel, 2011). Content can take the form of a blog, photo, video, and music sharing, or interacting with discussions through newsfeeds, trending topics, and digital communities (to be discussed further in Chapter 4). These concepts and accompanying software platforms embrace the idea that information is not just made and disseminated by a sole individual in a static format, but could be published, amended, and engaged with by multiple users. In addition to this participatory shift on the Internet, user activity is the primary source of content found on SNSs (Meikle & Young, 2012).

Boyd and Ellison (2008) point out that while social networks can differ in how they function, the core framework for most sites focuses on the creation of a user-generated profile and a community of contacts. The common profile is usually created by a collection of general identifying information (i.e. location, age, interests, photo, etc.) Depending on the SNS, social media relationships can be described as, but not limited to, “friends,” “followers,” “connections,” or “likes.” Privacy management, which will be addressed in more depth in the next chapter, varies from site to site and controls who can see and have access to your shared information.

Rise and Impact of Mobile Connection

The use of mobile phones and devices has definitely had a major impact on the way we are able to connect to social media. We no longer have to be physically present at a plugged-in computer that sits on a desk at our home or work to access the digital world. Today’s technology provides a powerful connection wherever and whenever we want. Mobility has become commonplace to how we function in this digital culture, communicate, and obtain information. Mobile technology increases our sense of connectedness and the content that is available can be received (or shared) instantly in real time (Peters, 2004). In addition to mobility changing our communication and access to information, this technology has also impacted how we socialize and engage with SNSs and our connections. The use and rise of apps for everything and anything on our mobile devices have made it even easier to stay connected and interact online (Lehman, 2016).

Types of Social Media and Core Concepts to Popular Platforms

As introduced above, the possibilities and purpose of social media sites can vary in regards to features and how they function for creating, managing, obtaining, or connecting with content, including engagement with others. These factors can contribute to becoming overwhelmed by what social media has to offer, how each platform works, and how we as art therapists can benefit from these tools to strengthen our sense of connection, community, and creativity with professional competence and capability. An additional challenge is that new social media networks and applications are introduced every day or existing sites regularly make changes and adaptions to features and functions.

Kietzmann et al. (2011) organize current social media sites using the following categories: sites for the general masses, professional networks, media-sharing sites/content communities, blogs, and micro-blogging. An additional category (not included by Kietzmann et al.) to also consider is social bookmarking. Below are descriptions of each of these categories, platform examples, and their usefulness to the art therapy community. Chapter 5 provides more information about how art therapists c...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Figures and Tables
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• PART I Connection
• PART II Community
• PART III Creativity
• Glossary
• Appendix A: Digital Social Responsibility Resources for Clients
• Appendix B: Digital Social Responsibility Resources for Art Therapists
• Appendix C: Digital Presence Needs Worksheet for Art Therapists
• Appendix D: Facebook Pages: American Art Therapy Association and Chapters (June 2017)
• Appendix E: Global Art Therapy Resources: Websites of Professional Membership Associations
• Index