Using Assessments in Art Therapy
When clients ask about art therapy and it’s usefulness, I often give a bit of background on the field. I also explain what I do as an art therapist and how it can be helpful for clients in the therapeutic space. Often, I also mention that there are a set of art therapy assessments designed to evaluate clients based on different life skills or level of functioning. Only trained art therapists can provide assessments for clients and they are a useful tool when meeting a new client to understand more about them.
A few types of useful art therapy assessments
There are a variety of approved and tested art therapy assessments that can be used in art therapy sessions. One of my favorites includes Person in the Rain, which measures coping skills. Also, I really enjoy using The Bridge Drawing, which can help identify goals, fears, and patterns of feeling stuck. Another one of my favorites is Favorite Kind of Day, which can help me learn more about a client’s likes and dislikes.
How are results interpreted?
Some art therapy assessments have specific rating scales and some are interpreted based on client response. For those with rating scales, we can compare the results of a drawing to the rating scale in order to determine the results of each individual assessment. Some assessments require interpretation based on client response. With these assessments, I often ask the client to tell me about what they decided to draw, and then I can help them interpret what it means based on the symbols used. This can help both client and therapist identify areas in the client’s life that might need more attention.
Why use these assessments?
The word “assessment” can cause some fear, as most clients don’t anticipate coming to therapy to take a test. The use of art therapy assessments can help mitigate these fears, since clients won’t complete a written assignment. Rather, they will draw or create from a specific prompt. The use of art takes off pressure to respond in a certain way. It can also help to eliminate self-report bias, which is when a client answers an assessment based on how they believe they should respond. Art therapy assessments are a fun and unique way to help me understand a client more, and give more information to the client about how I can help them succeed with their goals.
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