Adolescent Art Therapy is an attempt to delineate the issues and techniques that are particular to the practice of art psychotherapy with an adolescent population. Adolescent Art Therapy provides a developmentally oriented rationale for the use of art psychotherapy with the adolescent patient.

Creative Arts-Based Group Therapy with Adolescents provides principles for effective use of different arts-based approaches in adolescent group therapy, grounding these principles in neuroscience and group process practice-based evidence. It includes chapters covering each of the main creative arts therapy modalities—art therapy, bibliotherapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy, music therapy, and poetry/expressive writing therapy—written by respected contributors who are expert in the application of these modalities in the context of groups. These methods are uniquely effective for engaging adolescents and addressing many of the developmental, familial, and societal problems that they face. The text offers theory and guiding principle, while also providing a comprehensive resource for group therapists of diverse disciplines who wish to incorporate creative arts-based methods into their practice with teens.

This new and timely second edition, updated with an expanded discussion of arts-based processes and additional instructions and heartfelt client narratives, continues in the trajectory of the first, promising to shape and provide guidance to both current and next generation of art therapists in the studio-based approach to working with a challenging and often maligned population. It continues to offer much in the way of guidance, motivation, and practical advice around the use of art making as the central curative component when developing therapeutic relationships with hurt and troubled teens. The author’s initial focus is on understanding the developmental issues facing adolescents and how these affect the psychotherapeutic treatment. This includes an outline of the phases of therapy: Resistance Phase, Imaging Phase, Immersion Phase, and Letting Go Phase. The second primary focus is devoted to the art as therapy approach to art psychotherapy, with several chapters examining components of this model. The final focus presents the author’s therapeutic approach to working with adolescents through responsive art making. A positive by-product of the book is that the reader will find many practical suggestions regarding materials, artistic tasks, and therapeutic techniques. In addition, the text is greatly enhanced by the powerful illustrations that highlight the chapters’ case narratives. This new edition continues to share the author’s essential philosophical, technical, pragmatic, and ethical aspects of practicing art therapy that have made him a standard-bearer for those who believe in the therapeutic power of art. The Dynamics of Art as Therapy with Adolescents should be a cornerstone text for any Adolescent Art Therapy course.

Expressive Arts Therapy for Traumatized Children and Adolescents is the book so many expressive arts and trauma therapists have been waiting for. Not only does it lay out an organized, thorough framework for applying varied expressive arts modalities, it provides clear directions for the application of these modalities at different phases of treatment. Both beginning and experienced clinicians and students will appreciate the thoughtful analyses of ways for introducing expressive arts to clients, engaging clients with their art, being present to the art that is created, and working within a particular session structure that guides the treatment process. Readers will also receive more specific learning regarding the process of using body-focused and sensory-based language and skills in the process of trauma treatment over time. They’ll pick up more than 60 priceless expressive-arts assessment and treatment interventions that are sure to serve them well for years to come. The appendices features these interventions as photocopiable handouts that will guide the therapist working with youth through each phase of treatment.

Art Therapy with Children: From Infancy to Adolescence takes the reader through the child's development by describing the specialist work of the art therapist in each developmental stage. This passionate and exciting book demonstrates the wide theoretical base of art therapy presenting new areas of clinical practice. New to the literature is innovative work with mothers and babies, a study of the sibling bond in looked after children, trans-generational work in kinship fostering, gender disorder and multi-family work with anorexic young people. The detail of clinical process brings alive the significance of the relationship between the art therapist, child and the art forms made. More general topics include: the value of art for the pre-verbal child the preventative role of art therapy in schools. the development of imagination in 'hard to reach' and dyspraxic children the importance of working with the family and professional network in the different settings of health, social services, education and voluntary sector. Art Therapy with Children: From Infancy to Adolescence will inspire the student, encourage the clinician and interest an international readership of all professionals working with children and young people.

Contemporary Art Therapy with Adolescents offers practical and imaginative solutions to the multifaceted challenges that clinicians face when treating young people. The author fuses the contemporary theories of clinical treatment with the creative processes of art therapy to arrive at a synthesis which yields successful outcomes when working with adolescents. Clinicians of allied disciplines, particularly art therapists, will find practical suggestions for using imagery to enrich their relationships with teenaged clients. The process of using art-making therapeutically, and the challenges of applying creativity in the current mental health world, are explored. Shirley Riley reviews current theories on adolescent development and therapy, and emphasizes the primary importance of relying on the youths' own narrative in the context of their social and economic backgrounds. She has found this approach preferential to following pre-designed assessment directives as a primary function of art therapy. Family, group and individual treatment are examined, as is the adolescent's response to short- and long-term treatment in residential and therapeutic school settings. The book is firmly rooted in Riley's clinical experience of working with this age group, and her proven ability to combine contemporary theories of adolescent treatment with inventive and effective art expressions.