Art as therapy

Using art as a healing medium dates back to ancient times: most ancient cultures in particular, used the seemingly magical power of music to affect healt and behaviour. Nowadays art therapy is a ricognised profession, employed in many clinical fields as well as among other settings and training courses are run by colleges and universities: a second level degree program of “Theory and Practice of Art Therapy” for insatance, is offered by the Brera Fine Arts Academy of Milan, Many doctors and nurses witnessed the effect of art based interventions in reducing adverse physiological and psychological outcomes, but nowadays in a scenario where evidence of good practice is growingly requested, there is a legitimate quest for thorough research supporting its use in clinical practice. The main focus of presentation is a presentation of the debate between the community of art therapist and the sceptical world outside the discipline.