I have recently felt that my blog has been in need of a revamp. Having started Art as Therapy in 2o12 as an aspiring Art Psychotherapist, I now realise that the aims and objectives of the blog have changed considerably. The blog was originally written as a means of making sense of my Art Therapy training. I found it helpful to grapple with Art Therapy theory through a blog intended for artists as it forced me to break down what I was learning about in a way that was more palatable for others. The blog served as a companion piece to my Art Therapy training and also the years after graduating. However, having now worked within this field for three years, I found myself pondering the relevance of this blog to myself and others. Particularly as efforts to add new posts feel more laboured.
One thing I found really helpful was to go way back to the beginning and re-read the first few years of developing content for Art as Therapy. The experience was cathartic and a reminder of all of the things that had inspired me to write the blog in the first place. I discovered that my core interest at the time had been to draw links between Art Therapy and my own art practice, something that continues to be relevant for me now. However, I am now equally interested in what makes Art Therapy different from other art-making practices and why the distinction is important. Ultimately, are all forms of art making therapeutic and why might it depend on the individual or group engaging in these activities?
Over the course of this week, I will give some thought to how I could revise the opening statement for the blog to reflect how my interests have changed or developed over time.
