Art Therapy and Childhood: Contexts, Principles, and Approaches, 2015 (2nd edition)
Dr. Anne-Marie Dubois and Corinne Montchanin
Elsevier Masson Editions

Art therapy is becoming increasingly common among the range of therapies available in healthcare institutions. However, it remains marginal and poorly supported in the field of child psychiatry.
This book discusses the use of graphic and pictorial mediation with children when it is implemented on medical advice and for psychotherapeutic purposes.
Applying the principles of art therapy to child psychotherapy requires taking into account the specificities of ongoing development. The book therefore begins, in its first part, by discussing the stages of maturation of children and their drawings. While graphic activity is an integral part of this developmental process, its deployment is not the only factor to be considered. Art therapy must take into account the child’s environment and specific needs. Specific adaptations are necessary so that the act of drawing, which is part of the child’s everyday life, can give rise to both a creative process and a therapeutic process. Art Therapy and Childhood thus addresses, in its second part, the framework and approach to be implemented in these art-based psychotherapies.
This unique combination of artistic practice and psychotherapeutic objectives is illustrated in the third part of the book through three examples of treatment pathways.