Continuing on exciting happenings in the field of Creative Arts, this blog is inspired by an article published by Art therapist, Cathy Malchiodi on the topic- Art Therapy Meets Digital Art and Social Multimedia, Art therapy goes digital in the 21st century…well maybe.

Cathy’s opening paragraph caught my attention as did this video I saw on the internet. According to her, traditional materials of 20th century visual arts-drawing, painting, sculpture, and collage or mixed media–have defined the field of art therapy for the past 50 years. But as digital technology has become more accessible and straight-forward, practitioners of art therapy are gradually including digital media as a method and means for client self-expression.

Now whether art therapists are going to use this medium or not is dependent on individuals- will it be covered by insurance etc and be seen as important as face to face sessions or not will probably will take time as, again according to Cathy, first, the field of art therapy will have to catch up with fast-moving changes in digital and social media as well as develop research studies to evaluate the benefits of these media with the hands-on activities such as drawing, painting, modeling, constructing, and assembling.

For those who are interested, this video demonstrates how traditional and non- traditional formats of using art therapy with clients can be intermixed to make the medium more accessible and interactive at the same time.

You can also join an ongoing lively discussion, Digital Art Therapy, is via the social networking service LinkedIn and hosted by media expert Ginger Poole to get more information.