With accounts from Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Israel and South Africa, this book vividly illustrates the therapeutic power of art making and art therapy in helping individuals, families and communities cope with experiences of political violence.

This dissertation, "Inhabited Studio: Art Therapy and Mindfulness With Survivors of Political Violence" by Debra, Kalmanowitz, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: The objective of this study is to understand the ways in which art therapy and mindfulness meditation form a working model specific to the context of political violence and refugees. This is a qualitative phenomenological study based on the social constructivist paradigm. Twelve refugees in Hong Kong from multiple cultures took part in two intensive full two-day art therapy and mindfulness meditation workshops over the space of eight days. In an art therapy studio (later called the Inhabited Studio) participants engaged in art making that stimulated imagination and in mindfulness meditation practice. The research looks at how participants responded to the approach, what their perceptions were and what they found useful. Different aspects of the Inhabited Studio appealed to participants based on their specific worldview, culture, religion, and coping style. Responses to the Inhabited Studio are organized into seven thematic clusters: five of these are organized in two broad categories composed of personal elements (memory, identity) and mediating aspects (emotional/self-regulation, communication, imagination) and the final two, resilience and worldview, span both categories. Participants found the Inhabited Studio culturally compatible and some of the acquired skills helpful in times of stress, indicating the contribution of this combination to enhancing coping and to building resilience. Subjects: Political refugees - Counseling of Meditation Art therapy

This dissertation, "Inhabited Studio: Art Therapy and Mindfulness With Survivors of Political Violence" by Debra, Kalmanowitz, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: The objective of this study is to understand the ways in which art therapy and mindfulness meditation form a working model specific to the context of political violence and refugees. This is a qualitative phenomenological study based on the social constructivist paradigm. Twelve refugees in Hong Kong from multiple cultures took part in two intensive full two-day art therapy and mindfulness meditation workshops over the space of eight days. In an art therapy studio (later called the Inhabited Studio) participants engaged in art making that stimulated imagination and in mindfulness meditation practice. The research looks at how participants responded to the approach, what their perceptions were and what they found useful. Different aspects of the Inhabited Studio appealed to participants based on their specific worldview, culture, religion, and coping style. Responses to the Inhabited Studio are organized into seven thematic clusters: five of these are organized in two broad categories composed of personal elements (memory, identity) and mediating aspects (emotional/self-regulation, communication, imagination) and the final two, resilience and worldview, span both categories. Participants found the Inhabited Studio culturally compatible and some of the acquired skills helpful in times of stress, indicating the contribution of this combination to enhancing coping and to building resilience. Subjects: Political refugees - Counseling of Meditation Art therapy

Witnessing cruelty scars our psyche for life, and the emotional pain and triggers remain untouched and keep us in limbo between two split selves, victim and survivor. This book is a self-discovery and self-healing process for all witnesses to cruelty which makes all of us. This book reveals the roles of religion and politics which intentionally create fear and confusion in mass. Any act of political and religious violence not only creates psychological scars and devastation in specific targeted group but also it hurts all the witnesses from around the world who are exposed to news through media. This book creates awareness and provides healing tools which leads to revelation of old confused abode of a witness, it frees us from helplessness and hopelessness stance and empowers us to bring upon change in our consciousness and as the result in our outside world.

Art therapy has been slow to embrace the critical and theoretical viewpoints, including feminism, that have made a huge impact on other areas of the humanities and social sciences. Art therapists are ideally situated, however, to respond to the growing awareness of how language, media and images influence gender inequality and the pressures that can lead to poor mental health, and diminished well being, among women. The contributors explore the ways in which gender issues can be addressed through art therapy. By being sensitive to the socio-cultural dimensions of women's lives, therapists can become more receptive to the needs of their female clients. The case studies included here illustrate how issues of class, ethnicity and gender introduce a social element into what is sometimes described as a purely personal, cathartic process. By discussing empowerment, sexuality, pregnancy and childbirth, this volume provides a comprehensive survey of women's issues within art therapy and will prompt a reevaluation of current training and practice in the field.

"This is criticism at its best." —Carolyn Kellogg, Los Angeles Times Writing in the tradition of Susan Sontag and Elaine Scarry, Maggie Nelson has emerged as one of our foremost cultural critics with this landmark work about representations of cruelty and violence in art. From Sylvia Plath’s poetry to Francis Bacon’s paintings, from the Saw franchise to Yoko Ono’s performance art, Nelson’s nuanced exploration across the artistic landscape ultimately offers a model of how one might balance strong ethical convictions with an equally strong appreciation for work that tests the limits of taste, taboo, and permissibility.