In our last post, Is Art Therapy a Good Career? An Outlook on Art Therapy, we apparently caused a bit of a stir among some people due to an image we posted along with that article.
After some misunderstandings we have removed the picture from that article. We have included it here in case you missed it:
The picture is from a sign outside of a student art gallery. It was meant to be a humourous tongue-in-cheek image. While some people found the humour in this, others did not. In hindsight, this was probably not the best image choice.
We apologize if anyone was offended, as this was certainly not our intention. We invest a significant amount of our free time into this site and will be the first to admit that we’re not perfect.
One lesson to take away from this – and it’s not a new lesson – is that humour is a difficult thing to execute and may not always be perceived similarly by others. We try to have fun with this site and hope some of that fun does spill over to our readers. In this instance, we felt it spilled more the other way, and the humour was mostly lost. Therefore, we removed the image. Again, please accept our apologies if you were offended.
Thank you.
Thanks for the background 🙂 I wanted to like it at first but couldn’t get past being puzzled by it, wondering what it meant. If an ATR had posted it with some disclaimer, it may have been somewhat more well-received by the greater art therapist community. That’s how art can be, though… sometimes people don’t like what they don’t understand, and the meaning of an image or phrase may only truly be known by the maker/speaker.
Given my eperience attempting to get decent recognition and compensation for my work in this field. I thought it was hilarious. Absolutely tongue in cheeck. Though I can see why some may be offended.
Apology accepted. You apparently are reading posts on Facebook. We now understand that you cannot possibly be an art therapist. Thank you for that clarification that this blog is written by a lay person.
My undergraduate training was in “high art” – I know that in that “art world,” the controversy that this image created would be the highest testiment to its value as an important visual statement. No offense taken here.
Sorry–but I don’t understand what would offend? I am an artist–I am a mental health counselor–I am about to do grad school with concentration in play/art therapy–so I guess I am what one post referred to as “lay person” and am not a “certified” or “registered” art therapist–but I think it is dangerous when we start telling people who is entitled to speak on “art” and “therapy”–perhaps I misunderstand but isn’t a blog merely an online conversation which is composed of opinions, thoughts, etc. Do we live in a society now that only recognizes and attributes merit to those individuals with educational credentials? Interesting thoughts to ponder I think. Just my humble little individual opinion. Thanks for listening.
Peace
P
Everyone, thanks for the encouraging and understanding comments. Peggy, you make an excellent point and a reminder that this is a blog with a variety of opinions and thoughts, as well as a conversation. Thanks for everyone’s input!
As a trauma victim, outsider painter, and one who owns almost every book on art therapy there is (with a special interest in children’s art (and not just for therapeutic reasons but for its intrinsic value), I thought the sign was hilarious!! But I am quite a cynic; obviously there are others who are not. Tooooo sensitive!!!
Thank you for this excellent resource. I find it very valuable and inspiring. I am training as an Expressive Arts Therapist and am currently doing a practicum in my community. I understood clearly the joke of the artwork above – to me it spoke to the fact that the creative arts therapies have had a challenging time getting recognized for how valuable they are and the power they have to transform people’s lives.
I understand what it’s like to have to constantly defend our ATR credentials, but I was surprised that many spoke out against this image before asking what the admin intended by it. We’re here to make friends and colleagues, not enemies.
I’m not a registered practitioner, although I’d like to be – I’ve had to study part time to get this far and the goalposts keep moving – now I can’t afford to keep studying. Anyway, I use art therapy with cancer patients (having been diagnosed with cancer in 2005 myself) and humour IS the best medicine, provided it is used sensitively. When I saw this picture I appreciated it for what it was – a tongue-in-cheek poke at how hard it is to get recognition and compensation for what we do. Let’s face it, people are happy to go out for a coffee, sometimes several times a week, yet they are reticient about paying for therapy. Keep it going team, you’re doing a great job in my opinion – and a post to a blog is just that, one persons opinion.
I’ve been a licensed mental health clinician for over 25 years. I can say without any hesitation that if we take ourselves too seriously, and over-value our own abilities, we will never be able to provide genuine help. Having a sense of humor, and the ability to laugh at oneself is only the starting point.
BTW, some of the best helpers I’ve ever worked with have been “lay” people. Never, ever, underestimate the value of someone who wants to help. Believe me, having an education does NOT make someone a helper.
Sorry maybe its my age…. I trained in education in England the early 70s and then moved across slowly into art as therapy. I now live and work in India. Please someone explain fully why is there a fuss about this image. I have worked with a school here in India where a lot of problems arise because teachers make a big deal out of something flippant a students says… I really need to understand this ….
Good Heavenly Days! Such a fuss! Being an artist and a coffee lover (expensive coffee at that, no mermaids, I mean names mentioned here) and also studying to become an Art Therapist, I find this sign and your posting of it not only humorous, but also a profound statement as to the often askew priorities of many of us, myself included. I have vowed to skip fancy coffee for straight coffee and cream and instead buy more art supplies this year.
Maybe if you had paid $60,000 for an art therapy masters degree and then you cannot get a job with a salary higher than a psych assistant, then you might understand how insulting that image is. You who are calling those who are upset as being overly sensitive are maybe not very sensitive yourselves. I hope you understand this, I mean it in the spirit of presenting all sides.
I will look forward to hearing from those of you who are going to graduate school in Art Therapy after you graduate. You may see the image of coffee costing more than art therapy in a different light then.
JJ – did you not do research on your profession before you enrolled and spent $60, 000+?
People do art because it brings joy and calm into their worlds, not to make money; at least that’s how I view it.
I find this picture hilarious. I work in long term care and our “art therapy” program is one of our most popular programs; but we can’t pay the gals who run the program. Most of you would likely remove the value of the program because they do not have a masters in Art Therapy, but if you were able to see the joy and calm it brings to our demented residents you would call them therapists. They do get free coffee on their days here though; its good coffee too!
Keep up the great work on this blog!
I am glad others were confused about what could be offensive in the post. I recognize the reference to “Peanuts” –where Lucy often gave horrible advice to Charlie Brown at her ‘Therapy 5¢ Booth’–that many didn’t get reference makes me feel very old — true but what a bummer. I’ve been an artist for many years and in therapy for almost as long–but I just started to see an art therapist (go figure) and I am delighted by how helpful it is. I have some severe chronic mental health problems so I need all the tools I can find. Art and humor have always been the best healers for me. If I am inclined to be offended by something–I first think about the intent of the source. People with kind hearts and good intent don’t offend me no matter how awkward or inappropriate the statement. (the sign was light-hearted and humorous–I think)