UBC Press Art in Action book Paperback 240 pages

The field of expressive arts is closely tied to the work oftherapeutic change. As well as being beneficial for the individual orsmall group, expressive arts therapy has the potential for a much widerimpact, to inspire social action and bring about social change.The book's contributors explore the transformative power of thearts therapies in areas stricken by conflict, political unrest, povertyor natural disaster and discuss how and why expressive arts works. Theylook at the ways it can be used to engage community consciousness andimprove social conditions whilst taking into account the issues thatarise within different contexts and populations. Leading expressivearts therapy practitioners give inspiring accounts of their work, fromusing poetry as a tool in trauma intervention with Iraqi survivors ofwar and torture, to setting up storytelling workshops to aid theintegration of Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in Israel.Offering visionary perspectives on the role of the arts in inspiringchange at the community or social level, this is essential reading forstudents and practitioners of creative and expressive arts therapies,as well as psychotherapists, counsellors, artists and others working toeffect social change.

Ellen G. Levine is co-founder and faculty of ISISCanada and a Senior Staff Social Worker at the Hincks-Dellcrest Centrefor Children's Mental Health in Toronto, Canada. She is CoreFaculty and Dean of Individualized Studies in Expressive Arts Therapyat the European Graduate School in Switzerland. Stephen K.Levine is Professor Emeritus of Social Science at YorkUniversity in Toronto, Canada, Vice-Provost and Dean of the DoctoralProgram in Expressive Arts Therapy: Education, Consulting and SocialChange at the European Graduate School in Switzerland, and Co-Directorof ISIS Canada.