Welcome

In order to take art therapy to future generations, we must be open to new image making and creative tools. The computer is one of the most prominent art mediums of today's society. Today many school systems, after school programs, and hospitals have incorporated computers into their creative spaces. Children and adolescents are learning to express themselves through the digital medium. As art therapists, we cannot ignore computers as an art making and creative tool, but we also must not expect the work to be therapeutic simply by introducing a client to the computer's creativity software. Barbara Parker-Bell (1999) explained, "No art tool - including the computer - suits all needs or situations, but most can be used well in a therapeutic context if the therapist knows the properties and potentials they hold" (p. 184).

Digital Cameras

September 15, 2010

There are three distinct advantages of digital cameras: the capability to see the final image right away, the ability to take one picture and print it without waiting to develop the entire roll of film, and the digital film or memory card is reusable. Not only do you save on film developing, you never have [...]

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Input Devices

September 15, 2010

Defined as devices used for inputting information into a computer, input devices can be specifically chosen to suit the needs of the population and customize the studio environment. Whether a need exists for a trackball, joystick, graphic tablet, digital camera, or scanner, today’s continuously developing technology makes these devices and others accessible and affordable for [...]

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Storage Systems

September 15, 2010

“When picking a storage device, you’ll want to balance several factors, including capacity, portability, and cost. Which one you choose will depend on how you intend to use your storage” (Null, n.d., ¶2). Digital cards and USB flash keys are ideal for taking work files home. External hard drives and DVD+/-RWs are best for performing [...]

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Decoding the Hardware

September 15, 2010

Just the thought of operating a computer and mastering equipment such as ‘scanners’ and ‘modems’ can baffle, bewilder, and mystify even the most intelligent person” (Malchiodi, 2000, p. 32). Although there are many factors to consider when designing the ideal computer or computer(s), budget and space will dictate what peripherals are adequate for the individual [...]

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Digital Video & Editing

September 15, 2010

Video Art Therapy is a form of psychotherapy that utilizes video making as an artform and mode of communication. Since each person’s experience and need are different, therapies are personalized to serve the client’s need. No previous video technical skill is required.Grief and loss are normal experiences. When time is not a healer and loss [...]

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Digital Photo | Photo Manipulation

September 15, 2010

Photography is defined as the art of exposing film or a computer chip to light in order to generate an image. With the invention of digital cameras, scanners, and the like, photo manipulation and development has moved from the dark room to the home office. Along with the drawing and painting tools already discussed, when [...]

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Digital Sculpture | Modeling

September 15, 2010

Defined as the art of making three-dimensional forms, sculpture is conventionally created by chiseling, carving, modeling, or casting. Today, the term modeling alludes to a form of sculpture that does not use clay, wood, stone, or plaster. Along with texturing, rigging, and lighting, it is an essential aspect of computer 3D animation. Although many of [...]

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Digital Collage

September 15, 2010

Known as the technique of creating a pictorial composition in two dimensions or very low relief by gluing items onto each other, collage traditionally incorporates any natural, manufactured, colored, or textured materials. By superimposing these items, the artist incorporates actual fragments of the real world into their compositions. Collages created on the computer achieve the [...]

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Digital Painting

September 15, 2010

Painters use a number of materials to produce the effects they desire. These include the materials of the surface, the pigments, and the medium in which the color is mixed. Utilizing the same input devices and Adobe Photoshop, the painting surface is the computer screen, the pigments are virtual but infinite, and the digital paintbrush [...]

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Digital Imaging | Drawing

September 15, 2010

The common definition of drawing is the representation of forms or objects on a surface by means of lines or marks. Typically, this is done with a pen, pencil, or marker. In the computer, drawings can be made by manipulating a mouse or stylus. Combined with Adobe Photoshop’s pencil tool, the hard-edged, freehand lines that [...]

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Basia Mosinski, MA, MFA, ATR

September 15, 2010

OFFICE LOCATION Manhattan, NY (Union Square) POPULATION Adolescents, Adults, Children, Elders IN HER WORDS I have worked with many clients who have never held a video camera. Clients who have never edited images and sounds prior to working with me. What I found remarkable was offering them the concept that anything they learned in session [...]

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Brian Austin, MA, ATR

September 15, 2010

OFFICE LOCATION Manhattan, NY IN HIS WORDS After almost two decades as a professional animator (writing, teaching and production) I am busy launching The Animation Project, a NYC-based nonprofit integrating emerging technologies, like video games and 3D computer animation, with art therapy techniques.

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Sairalyn Ansano, BFA, MA, ATR-BC

September 15, 2010

CLINICAL SETTING Hartley House TITLE Creative Arts Director OFFICE LOCATION 413 W46th Street New York, NY 10036 P. 212.246.9885 POPULATION School Aged Students, Adults, Seniors, and Families IN HER WORDS When I began my art therapy internships as an undergraduate student, I myself was not sure how to adapt my knowledge of the creative depths [...]

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Devorah Samet Canter

September 15, 2010

The concept of maintaining ego boundaries may also have played a part in Canter’s (1987; 1989) research with school children and adolescents diagnosed with behavioral and emotional problems. However, Canter attributed her results to the computer’s ability to deliver the right level of success. Thus, in her 1987 and 1989 articles, Canter focused on the [...]

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Peter Hartwich & Rolf Brandecker

September 15, 2010

Hartwich and Brandecker (1997) continued on this theme by focusing on how their patients with schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder responded to painting on the computer as opposed to conventional means. Their trial computer painting program was conducted within the creative art therapy program in the psychiatric unit of a hospital in Frankfurt, Germany. They [...]

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