Art Therapy in the Treatment of Addiction and Trauma

This book examines the benefits and uses of art therapy in the treatment of addiction and trauma, highlighting its effectiveness at revealing underlying causes and relapse triggers, as well as treating co-occurring conditions that impair learning and recovery.

This book also focuses on art therapy for trauma within specific populations, including incarcerated individuals, military personnel and survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. Quinn discusses how art therapy is often carried out alongside combined approaches, such as CBT and DBT, and how it can help those with cognitive issues to learn through treatment. Furthermore, this book explores the benefits art therapy has for people with co-morbid conditions, such as dementia, emotional disorders and traumatic and acquired brain injuries.

With co-authored chapters from leading researchers in art therapy, the book demonstrates how art therapy can help to uncover triggers, process trauma and find a means of self-expression whilst working towards a sustained recovery.

Pat Quinn deserves the gratitude of all who toil in the challenging world of people caught in the fierce and seductive grip of addiction. Her book is at once comprehensive and scholarly, yet also deeply humane. Refreshingly unbiased, she and her colleagues explore multiple approaches to helping addicted trauma survivors who have sought to escape their pain with drugs and alcohol. This book overflows with creative integrations by skilled clinicians, not only of art therapy, but also of diverse ways of both understanding and treating those who suffer. It is genuinely optimistic, inspiring hope in what has been for far too long a dark and difficult domain.--Judith A. Rubin, PhD, ATR-BC, HLM, author of The Art of Art Therapy

This text illuminates the multidimensional etiology of addictions and the relationship to traumatic experiences within the context of art therapy practice and intervention. Honoring traditional and contemporary perspectives applied within a range of clinical health populations, Pat Quinn and authors offer a responsible socio-political and neurobiological lens that is valuable for the seasoned clinician and also accessible for the graduate student in training.--Juliet L. King MA, ATR-BC, LPC, LMHC, Associate Professor of Art Therapy; The George Washington University and Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology; Indiana University School of Medicine

In this landmark text, Quinn orchestrates and enlists contributions from experts in the fields of Art Therapy, Addiction and Trauma. Through these chapters, Quinn reveals the creative forces mobilized by art making and its salubrious and transformative effect on addiction and trauma. This opus offers current research and strategies for overcoming the cognitive damage caused by addiction and trauma, via the use of varied art media and methods to stimulate neurological change and recovery. A must read.--Dr Ellen Horovitz

Everything practitioners need to know about how art therapy can assist with recovery from addiction

Patricia Quinn is a Licensed Creative Arts, and Certified Trauma Therapist who worked for two decades as an addiction therapist. She has served as an adjunct professor of art therapy at the College of New Rochelle and SUNY Westchester, as Governmental Affairs Chair of the NY Art Therapy Association and as President of the Mental Health Association of Orange County. She has presented widely on the uses of art therapy for addiction and trauma.