Lauren Sutton

Professor Sinclair

LBST Critical Thinking and Communication

November 30, 2020

Annotated Bibliography

Bitonte, Robert A, and Marisa De Santo. “Art Therapy: An Underutilized, Yet Effective Tool.”

Mental Illness Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Ltd., 3 July 2014,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4253394/.

Art therapy was developed as a method of allowing patients to express their feelings and

problems through non-threatening and non-invasive activities. The therapeutic value of

art was first discovered in 1942 by a World War II war artist who implemented the

practice on himself whilst battling tuberculosis. The upside to art therapy is that the

patient has control over how much they are willing to reveal, and it allows them to

express through images or objects what they may not be able or willing to put into words.

It has been proven by multiple studies to be an effective practice, yet it is very

underutilized. This could be due to a lack of extensive research on this practice. Although

it is not a very widespread practice, it has beneficial effects to numerous physical and

mental conditions, ranging all the way from traumatic brain injuries to schizophrenia. I

found this article useful because it explained some of the history of art therapy, and it

also helps the reader understand how and when it can be used. It is proof that art can be a
 useful tool in mitigating mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, thus

contributing to a good life.

Riley, Shirley. “Art Therapy with Adolescents.” The Western Journal of Medicine, BMJ

Publishing Group, July 2001, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1071468/.

Providing therapy to adolescents can be a difficult task because adolescence is a

challenging period of time, and many are going through puberty in which hormones

levels are changing rapidly and a person’s mood may be all over the place. Around this

time children are just starting to learn how to think abstractly and hypothetically and they

are beginning to explore the world and discover who they are. Art therapy is a good form

of therapy for adolescents because it gives them an outlet to let out their stress without

feeling attacked or threatened. It also allows them to illustrate their problems, allowing

them to distance themselves from the issue. No expectations to explain their problems are

placed on them, so they can freely express their frustrations through a productive and

non-harmful way, and they have the freedom to share as little or as much as they wish

with the therapist. This article is useful to me because it went more in depth as to how art

therapy is conducted and what various practices can be used. It also explained how it can

be more effective than other forms of therapy to a certain age group.