A Review of ‘Quick and Creative Art Projects for Creative Therapists with (Very) Limited Budgets’

Abstract

economic barriers. Additionally, she explores the power inherent in the ability of the individual to reflect the most intimate aspects of their story in their own way. Too often SUD clients are framed as “difficult clients”—a problem to be solved. In truth, they are people with a deadly and progressive disease whose reactive behaviors frequently reflect the levels of frustration, fear, and somatic symptoms they are experiencing. Schmanke endeavors to meet her clients at their place of need. She demonstrates this through multiple case studies and personal reflections that detail experiences with both individuals and groups. But she also addresses the practical aspects of integrating existing interventions into one’s practice, including demystifying 12-Step recovery and explaining the strong procedural CBT aspects of SUDfocused art therapy. Schmanke also provides concepts of her own interventions that explore countertransference and address cultural disparities as a means of aligning with the client in a common goal. Readers will come away with an understanding of the neuroscience of addiction (and the art therapy disciplines that invoke it), medication-assisted support in treatment, a surprisingly modern survey of drugs of abuse and dependence, and a generous aggregation of assessments, experientials and professional wisdom gathered from Schmanke’s studied knowledge of her subject, Art Therapy and Substance Abuse covers considerable ground but, more importantly, it is a very cogent summation of the modality’s power to honor the human being instead of just hammering home the need for change. Though many art therapists can find themselves at odds with institutional practices and procedures, Schmanke explores these environments with the reader and quietly reveals how mining existing models and interventions, which can correlate easily to art therapy practices and principles, can be a fruitful path to integration. In this way she is able to exact outcomes that are viable for the facility, meaningful for the client, and empowering for the practitioner. Schmanke recognizes and maximizes assets, a valuable skill in the treatment of SUD and perhaps even more valuable when navigating the commerce of behavioral health. As with anything that aspires to the breadth and depth of Art Therapy and Substance Abuse, some readers may be inclined contest aspects of its content or a few of the statistics represented here. It is this writer’s opinion that any fault one may find with Schmanke’s book is greatly overshadowed by its achievement. It’s unlikely that practitioners will find a more illuminating, thorough or useful text on the subject of art therapy and substance abuse. I am hopeful that this will be the first of many editions to come.