Transpersonal Art Therapy Education

Abstract

Training future art therapists is a challenging task. It requires a cautious, yet innovative approach to synthesizing both traditional and novel topics relevant to our field. Training programs have a responsibility to engage with paradigms that honor time-tested theories and also embrace the visionary. Transpersonal psychology, at its core, engages traditional psychological models with progressive models that examine matters of spirituality, world wisdom traditions, and consciousness research. This article addresses these themes along with a unique branch of transpersonal psychology referred to here as "contemplative education." Contemplative practices such as meditation, and their relationship to creating art, are discussed in detail. Transpersonal psychology and contemplative education create the foundation for the approach to art therapy training advocated in this paper. A definition of transpersonal art therapy is offered followed by a literature review to familiarize the reader with this recondite subject. Examples of contemplative education are covered throughout the paper.

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