Ethical Issues in Art Therapy

The real world of professional ethics in art therapy is, more times than not, a spectrum of shades of gray. In this exceptional new fourth edition, the authors raise questions and provide information related to the many ethical dilemmas art therapists face. Several chapters refer to the Ethical Principles for Art Therapists and Code of Professional Practice of the Art Therapy Credentials Board. Changes that were made to the AATA Ethics Document in 2013 are discussed. Models of how to think through and resolve the difficult ethical problems art therapists encounter during their professional lives are presented. A chapter discussing burnout and compassion fatigue - costs of caring -- provides an understanding of the responsibility that systems hold in supporting therapists and clients. Within each chapter, there are dilemma-laden vignettes intended to stimulate reflection and discussion. Most chapters include a series of questions pertaining to practical applications aimed at helping to review the material, formulate, and clarify positions on key issues. Also included are suggested artistic tasks intended to help the reader engage with topics in meta-cognitive, kinetic, visual, and sensory methods. Compelling illustrations throughout the text are provided as examples of creative responses to the artistic tasks. In addition, informational topics dealing with ethical violations, rights of artworks, marketing, advertising, and publicity are explored. The importance of multicultural approaches is expanded with the discussion that competence is a baseline for practice as an art therapist. Significant updates were made to the chapter that explores art therapy in the digital age. The appendices contain ethics documents of the British Association of Art Therapists for comparison. This unique book is designed for art therapy students, art therapists, expressive arts therapy professionals, and will be a useful and supplemental textbook for art therapy courses dealing with professional ethics and supervision, art therapy theory and practice.