Eco-Art Therapy in Practice

Amanda Alders Pike

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000369649
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Psychotherapy
• Index: Psychology

Eco-Art Therapy in Practice is uplifting, optimistic, and empowering while outlining cost-effective, time efficient, and research-based steps on how to use nature in session to enhance client engagement and outcomes.

Dr. Pike employs her background and credentials as a certified educational leader and board-certified art therapist to walk readers through establishing ecologically-based practices— such as growing art materials using hydroponics regardless of facility constraints. Each chapter is aligned with the continuing education requirements for art therapy board certification renewal to make its relevance clear and to orient the book for future training program integration. Appendices feature clinical directives in easy-to-follow, one-page protocols which encourage readers to consider client needs when applying methods, along with intake forms to bolster real-world application.

This text will help clinicians and educators to employ eco-art therapy in practice, in turn empowering their clients and conveying an inclusive message of respect— respect for self, others, community, and the world.

1 Theories and Practice

Introduction to Eco-Art Therapy

As therapists and educators, we find ourselves at a pivotal time in human history; one marked by tremendous possibility and human need (Scheirich, 2020). More than 85% of a person’s daily life is spent indoors and as blue and green spaces decrease in the U.S. and abroad, clients yearn to reconnect with nature for psychosocial and physical well-being (Lee, Lee, Park, & Miyazaki, 2015). For instance, with COVID-19 and related sheltering-in-place and quarantining came profound social isolation resulting in unprecedented mental health and education challenges for people across the world (Iyengar & Shin, 2020). Many found themselves indefinitely at home turning to natural environments for a sense of place, belonging, and community to keep mentally and physically healthy (Iyengar & Shin, 2020).

Now more than ever, helping professionals have an opportunity to employ holistic methods, like eco-art therapy, to empower communities and support those in greatest need (Horesh & Brown, 2020). The mission of any helping profession is to improve the quality of life, health, and well-being of those in need (Li, Louis Kruger, & Krishnan, 2016). To achieve this goal, helping professionals seek methods which empower their clients and equip them with life-long coping skills (Li, Louis Kruger, & Krishnan, 2016). Eco-art therapy is one such method as nature offers a sanctuary and can provide a sense of relief, peace, and wonder (Houghton & Worroll, 2016).

Within our current society, clients and helping professionals alike have a choice of perspective. We may focus on the stressors posing as obstacles to well-being or on elements which elevate our joy and health (Pritchard, 2020). Rather than focus on the negative, eco-art therapy processes take on positive psychology tenets to enable clients to lead lives with greater fulfillment. Optimism, gratitude, peace, meaning, purpose, and hope underlie research-based eco-art therapy directives and highlight client strengths. As a result, sessions which center on the question “What lifts you up?” help clients focus on rising above and moving beyond limitations and challenges (Pritchard, 2020).

Methodologically, “eco-art therapy” is based upon applying an eco-psychology theory to art therapy practices to invigorate the senses and facilitate clients in sharing emotions, memories, and wisdom (Sweeney, 2001–2002; Sweeney, 2013a; Sweeney, 2013b). Given this foundation of art therapy and its holistic form of treatment backed by research, eco-art therapy has a lower perceived stigma than typical psychotherapy; some even describe the process as a free-flowing, collaborative, and expressive effort between the client and therapist (Gwinner, 2016 as cited in Daughtry, 2018). Within eco-art therapy, clients create art and reflect on the art product and processes, thereby increasing awareness of themselves, others, and the world around them. This process enables clients to cope more effectively with symptoms to experience enhanced quality of life. Simply put, through eco-art therapy practices, clients can relish the beauty and health-providing benefits of nature because through art making, the therapeutic impact of nature is heightened. For instance, imagine yourself in a forest (adapted from O’Malley, 2020): Feel the fresh breeze on your face and breathe in the fragrant oils released by the trees, melting stress away and strengthening your immune system. Take time to marvel at a spider’s web glistening in a shaft of light or a flower in full bloom. In this moment—here and now—embrace the sensations of wellness and vitality.

By creating art with or in nature, clients are able to prolong such sensory-based, wonder-infused moments, contemplating their connection to the world around them and cultivating synergy between environmental and personal well-being (McMaster, 2013; Chalquist, 2007, p. 35). This is because many clients find nature’s vibrancy an inspiration for artistic expression (Whitaker, 2010, p. 120 as cited in di Maria Nankervis et al., 2013). Art making is a form of thinking and as such it aids in the exploration of sensory and perceptual experiences (Kapitan, 2010, p. 162 as cited in Gardner, 2016). For instance, touching nature during art making expands awareness and presence as clients center attention on their senses, promoting trust and empathy in themselves and, by extension, others (Berger & Tiry, 2012; Houghton & Worroll, 2016).

Art and nature have been linked since man’s history began; research shows art making is a fundamental element of being human and helps us process the way we live and see life as an art in and of itself (Sweeney, 2001–2002). Take as an example research documenting art making as an effective stress reduction technique (Abbott, Shanahan, & Neufeld, 2013). When clients express why art making helped them therapeutically, they typically explain that the process is fun, thoughtful, and relaxing (Sheller, 2007). Pairing this process with nature allows therapists and educators to maximize therapeutic potential.

Natural materials, subjects, and settings can help clients to process significant and meaningful events, places, and relationships (Stace, 2016). Handmade paper, natural textures, branches, dried seaweed, berries, flowers, photography, and journaling are all used in eco-art therapy and can help orient clients to place, time, and situation (Whitaker, 2010, p. 121 as cited in di Maria Nankervis et al., 2013). This art making helps clients process their experiences and, as a result, eco-art therapy can provide opportunities for clients to make choices, connect and communicate with others, and feel engaged and alive (Abraham, 2005 as cited in McMaster, 2013). Broadly speaking, eco-art therapy helps clients meet psychosocial goals by employing nature throughout art making within a professional relationship.

Defined clinically: Eco-art therapy is a holistic, integrative mental health practice in which clients, facilitated by the therapist, use natural art materials and settings, the creative process, and the resulting artwork to improve mental, physical, and emotional health (adapted from American Art Therapy Association [AATA], 2020).

From a clinical standpoint, eco-art therapy is a goal-oriented practice. To achieve clinical goals, therapists engage clients in activities such as exploring the natural world and its naturally occurring phenomena, including, but not limited to, living organisms, rocks and minerals, natural landscapes, or the sky (McMaster, 2013). Throughout eco-art therapy, therapists also guide clients in the use of natural resources—in other words, materials obtained from plants, animals, or the ground, such as clay, pine cones, shells, or wood. Beyond these activities and uses, educators and therapists have multiple avenues of integrating eco-art therapy practices, whether it be taking clients outdoors to collect natural art materials, teaching them to cultivate art-making resources, or utilizing metaphor to embody nature processes (Struckman, 2020). As a result, eco-art therapy approaches are three-fold: nature-as-subject, setting, material, or a combination of the three.

• Nature-as-subject approaches to eco-art therapy entail depicting nature in 2D or 3D forms such as by painting a landscape from observations or by memory.

• Nature-as-setting approaches to eco-art therapy entail visiting or recreating a blue or green space marked by biodiversity (e.g., plants, flowers, water, butterflies). Sessions use these settings for nature-based experiences and the cultivation and collection of materials. Setting examples include an onsite garden, state park, or even an office which has been converted into a “green space.”

• Nature-as-material approaches to eco-art therapy entail using natural artifacts to create paint, clay, collage, paper, and more. Plants serve as dye, paint, or paper-making pulp, allowing the plant to become a conduit of creativity.

The benefits of eco-art therapy are in the expressive processes and include but are not limited to: 1) decreasing isolation, depression, and anxiety, 2) alleviating stress, and 3) increasing self-efficacy and social connectedness (Bessone, 2019; De Petrillo & Winner, 2005). However, eco-art therapy, given its art-making process, has many possible therapeutic benefits: It is a way to make meaning of an event, a way to communicate distress and thus provide some kind of relief, and a way to regulate emotions (Drake, Hastedt, & James, 2016). For these benefits to occur though, eco-art therapy sessions must promote safety and comfort and be client-centered (Cherdymova et al., 2019).

Safety and comfort is the highest priority in an eco-art therapy session. When clients feel safe, they are better able to communicate their experiences, thoughts, and feelings in ways which foster their well-being. This priority also reflects psychologist Abraham Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs—basic needs, such as those for safety and comfort must be met first to allow clients to achieve their full potential for personal development. Client safety and comfort is enhanced through clear boundaries which help group members support one another. Clear boundaries in the form of rules increase demonstrations of mutual respect and appreciation for everyone’s contribution and effort. Along these lines, basic rules may describe required group member behavior like: respecting all cultures, perspectives and feelings, and ensuring the confidentiality of anything shared in the sessions (Cherdymova et al., 2019). Confidentiality and privacy are also essential considerations to ensure clients remain engaged, especially when eco-art therapy sessions are outdoors.

Client-centered approaches entail empowering clients as “experts” with regard to their thoughts and feelings as well as the meanings represented in their artwork, including the latent and manifest content. Furthermore, all artworks are treated with equal respect, regardless of professionalism since the artwork is valued as a means of client self-expression. The quality is not judged and the content is not analyzed unless the client does so in tandem with the therapist.

Ultimately, we want to utilize eco-art therapy sessions to improve client mental health. To do this, we need to ensure clients fully engage in using nature as an opportunity for sensory experience. When processes are client-centered, safe, and comfortable, individuals more readily employ natural artifacts as metaphoric and symbolic elements in their art (Masterton, Carver, & Parkes, 2020).

Evidence Basis: “Why This Approach?”

Neuroscience and Outcome Studies

Incorporating nature into art therapy through eco-art therapy aligns with research and neuroscience findings (Hermann, 2020). On a physical level, being in nature decreases the risk of chronic disease such as by decreasing blood pressure, risk of cardiovascular disease, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and obesity (O’Malley, 2020). For instance, our skin receptors belong to the largest organ of the body and connect to the central nervous system (Kopytin & Rugh, 2017). The simple act of relishing a gentle breeze as it brushes against our skin can have a profound physiological impact on relaxing our nervous system. So much so, that a rising field of scientific inquiry called epigenetics explores how our environment, relationships, and experiences affect the very expression of our genetic coding (Kumsta, 2019).

Mentally, research shows that humans are drawn to interact with nature and create with it to process meaningful experiences, communicate, experience relief, and therefore regulate emotions (Drake, Hastedt, & James, 2016; Sweeney, 2001–2002). More specifically, current research in neuroscience reveals that the brain retains its plasticity, and that despite deterioration caused by everything from stress to dementia, people can form new neural pathways (Power, 2010 as cited in McMaster, 2013). Therapists can support this growth through eco-art therapy, help to improve brain function, and work to enhance client quality of life by targeting a variety of skills (Power, 2010 as cited in McMaster, 2013). For example, in the simple act of picking up a dried flower and gluing it to a canvas, the client is receiving tactile stimulation, planning and executing movement, and processing thoughts and emotion related to the experience including problem solving (Killick & Craig, 2011 as cit...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of illustrations
• Author Biography
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Theories and Practice
• 2 Professional Issues
• 3 Assessment and Ethics
• 4 Client and Multicultural Competence
• 5 Methods and Materials
• Appendix A: 25 Eco-Art Therapy Protocols
• Appendix B: Intake and Check-in Forms
• Index