Expressive arts therapy in trauma – informed counseling

Abstract

This paper overviews psychological grounds and conditions for expressive arts therapy in trauma-informed counseling and personal development activation. The author outlines the peculiarities of professional dialogical interaction within the framework of two major theoretical-methodological paradigms of art therapy – the psychodynamic branch and the expressive arts branch, as well as describes the differences between the two practices. The paper highlights the dialogue as part of the transformational dialogical approach in expressive arts therapy of trauma while exhibiting the structure of dialogical interaction in a group setting during therapy involving expressive arts.