(Scroll down for English)
藝術創作幫我們分辨與整合「理性與非理性」、「內在與外在」的世界 (Hartmann, 1961)。創作者往往能體驗到操控感、自主感，并且擴闊視野，從而提高處理日常生活問題的能力 (Cropley, 1990)。在創作過程中，我們要面對衝突、不平衡和矛盾。藝術作品使我們看到事情的全面，而不是其中的一小部分，理解事情可大於或異於各部分的總和 (Hammer, 1975) ！ 當我埋首於自己的創作後，再看看到別人的作品，往往會驚訝大家的想法，可以有多麼不同。這亦是治療小組跟個人治療有不同療效的原因之一。
Creativity helps us to differentiate and integrate ‘the rational and irrational’; ‘the external and internal’ worlds (Hartmann, 1961). Artists often experience a sense of mastery, autonomy, and develop a wide horizon. These can increase our capacity to deal with life situations (Cropley, 1990). During creative process, we have to resolve conflictual imbalance and contradictions. When contemplating artworks, it provides a condition for gestalts. A gestalts is an organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts (Hammer, 1975). I am always struck by the differences of the artworks made by my friends and myself. This is one of the reasons why group-based and individual-based therapies tend to have different therapeutic effects.
Hartmann, H. (1961). Ego Psychology and the Problem of Adaption. New York: International Universities Press.
Cropley, A. J. (1990). Creativity and mental health in everyday life. Creativity Research Journal, 3, 167-178.
Hammer, E. F. (1975). Artistic creativity: Giftedness or sickness. Art Psychotherapy, 2, 173-175.