Main description:

* The only resource available that focus solely on using clay work within art therapy to help women with negative body image * The case studies presented were researched as part of a PhD, examining the benefits for women of exploring body image through clay work within art therapy practice. The results of the research point to clay work as a significant resource, providing a positive and contained way to find personal acceptance and develop a balanced view of their body/person as a 'whole' rather than as a collection of 'imperfect' parts * As well as delineating the results of the study - offering both clinical and practical implications - this book provides a full protocol for the research and evaluation methods carried out, enabling further replication of the intervention, research, and analysis by other therapists

Contents:

List of Figures; Acknowledgements; Section One: Preparing the Ground - Digging for Clay; Chapter 1. Introduction & Context: Body Image, Art Therapy & Clay Work; Chapter 2. The Distorted Mirror: Body Image, The Critical Mother & Shame; Chapter 3. Making Connections: Metaphor, Evolution & Neuroscience; Section Two: Vignettes & Case Studies - Shaping the Self; Chapter 4: Case Vignettes - Study One, Sessions One, Two, Three & Four; Chapter 5: Case Studies, Study Two: Metaphor, Symbolism & Body Image; Chapter 6: Case Studies, Study Two: Mother's and Other's Influence on Body Image; Chapter 7: Case Studies, Study Two: Clay Work as Meaningful Play; Section Three: Protocol, Evaluation Methods & Conclusions - Opening the Kiln; Chapter 8. Intervention Protocol; Chapter 9. Methods of Analysis; Chapter 10. Adding the Glaze: Finding Meaning and Healing through Metaphor & Symbolism; Bibliography, Index.