TY - JOUR
T1 - Art Therapy in The Arab World
AU - Hebi, Maimounah
AU - Czamanski-Cohen, Johanna
AU - Azaiza, Faisal
N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by The National Institute of Nursing Research of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01NR017186 . The content is solely the responsibility of the investigators and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2022/11
Y1 - 2022/11
N2 - Art therapy helps individuals explore their inner world, conflicts, strength, and experiences. It promotes human growth, development, and healing. While art therapy utilizes nonverbal expression as a means of communication, which benefits individuals from traditional and collectivistic societies, it is still novel in the Arab world. This paper aims to review art therapy and its implementation in the Arab world. A scoping review explored the implementation of visual art therapy, specifically in Arab countries. We identified relevant studies from different databases and general Internet searches. The data (n = 27 papers) were summarized and reported following data charting and extraction. Art therapy in the Arab world is present in various disciplines in general psychological support, mainly for trauma-informed interventions. In the 27 studies reviewed, participants reported feeling safe in the sessions, and art was described as a productive way to unmask emotions without violating their sociocultural needs. Art therapy was well accepted and may provide an alternative means of emotion processing. In conducting art therapy interventions with individuals from Arab societies, art therapists may encounter complex cultural, religious, and political issues. Cultural sensitivity and humility should be used to take this into consideration. Art therapists can learn from the above findings to adapt their interventions to the Arab culture and possible with other traditional and collectivistic individuals.
AB - Art therapy helps individuals explore their inner world, conflicts, strength, and experiences. It promotes human growth, development, and healing. While art therapy utilizes nonverbal expression as a means of communication, which benefits individuals from traditional and collectivistic societies, it is still novel in the Arab world. This paper aims to review art therapy and its implementation in the Arab world. A scoping review explored the implementation of visual art therapy, specifically in Arab countries. We identified relevant studies from different databases and general Internet searches. The data (n = 27 papers) were summarized and reported following data charting and extraction. Art therapy in the Arab world is present in various disciplines in general psychological support, mainly for trauma-informed interventions. In the 27 studies reviewed, participants reported feeling safe in the sessions, and art was described as a productive way to unmask emotions without violating their sociocultural needs. Art therapy was well accepted and may provide an alternative means of emotion processing. In conducting art therapy interventions with individuals from Arab societies, art therapists may encounter complex cultural, religious, and political issues. Cultural sensitivity and humility should be used to take this into consideration. Art therapists can learn from the above findings to adapt their interventions to the Arab culture and possible with other traditional and collectivistic individuals.
KW - Arab world
KW - Art therapy
KW - Cultural sensitivity
KW - Psychotherapy
KW - Visual art therapy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85140329447&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2022.101969
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2022.101969
M3 - Article
SN - 0197-4556
VL - 81
JO - Arts in Psychotherapy
JF - Arts in Psychotherapy
M1 - 101969
ER -
