GENERAL ENGLISH · GENERAL ISSUES · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

ART
THERAPY
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1 Warm up

These photographs show two women at work. Describe and compare the photos and say how you
think each woman uses art in her work.

picture 1 picture 2

Answer these questions in pairs or small groups.

1. Do you enjoy creating art?

2. How do people benefit from creating art?

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UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

ART THERAPY

2 Vocabulary

Work in A/B pairs. Match the words in your list with their meanings. Then explain the words to your
partner.

Student A

1. perspectives a. a large piece of art that is painted or drawn on a wall

2. vulnerable b. an item that schoolchildren used in the past to write on with chalk

3. reflection c. deep, serious thought, often about yourself or your experiences

4. slate d. easily hurt, attacked or influenced

5. mural e. results or effects

6. outcomes f. ways of looking at something, points of view

Student B

1. desperate a. already decided by someone else, fixed

2. set b. a type of art made by putting cut or torn paper together to form an
image
3. intrigued c. interested by something unusual

4. collage d. in the end, finally

5. ultimately e. meetings where people do something together and discuss what

they’ve done
6. workshops f. very serious or bad

Now, answer these questions:

1. Which four words are adjectives?

2. Which word is an adverb?
3. What part of speech are the rest of these words?

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ART THERAPY

3 Reading for main idea

You are going to read an article about art therapy in the UK. Before you read, match the pairs of items
that you think will go together in the article. One item is extra.

1. the homeless a. a collage

2. hospitals b. a Roman pot

3. explore collections c. create original artwork

4. a school slate d. food

5. community e. mental health patients

6. accommodation f. museums

7. extra: g. playfulness

Read the article on page 4 to check your ideas.

Explain why each pair of items is important in the article.

4 Reading for detail

Read the sentences below and decide if they agree with the information given in the article (page 4).
Write YES if they agree, NO if they do not agree, and NOT GIVEN if we cannot find information in
the article about this.

1. Dave Tovey’s situation changed overnight.

2. Most people would say that art is extremely important to vulnerable groups.
3. The majority of mental health patients refuse to take part in traditional psychotherapy.
4. The group in the experiment became more independent as the weeks went on.
5. Two people can look at the same object and see something different.
6. One of the people in the experiment never forgot that she was taking part in a mental health
programme.
7. The city of Manchester believes that arts programmes for homeless people have an immediate
effect.
8. Dave Tovey believes that the key to success for art therapy is making people feel relaxed.

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UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)
ART THERAPY
Art therapy changes lives
Museums bring new perspectives
1.
Dave Tovey had experienced a lot of bad luck in
his life; he was seriously ill, homeless, and thinking
of suicide. But after a chance conversation with
a security guard, Tovey moved into a night shelter
where they were running an art therapy programme.
He started taking photos the next day and this
completely turned his life around. Today he’s a
teacher, artist and activist.
2.
It may seem like a low priority to offer an art
class to people in desperate circumstances. But art
therapy is becoming an important part of an effective
package of support for all sorts of vulnerable people,
including the homeless and patients using mental
health services.
3.
People seeking help to change their lives are
often offered traditional psychotherapy in a hospital
setting, which encourages them to use words to
express their feelings. This sometimes includes art
therapy, which allows people to express themselves
through art instead of, or as well as, through
words. Museum-based art therapy takes this idea
a bit further, by introducing people to collections
of objects that they can respond to. One group of
researchers in the UK set out to investigate how this
works.
4.
In their experiment, a group of seven young adults
with mental health difficulties explored museum
collections and then created some art using a range
of materials. At first, they followed set tasks, for
example, finding three objects to represent their
past, present and future. As the project continued,
they took more responsibility for choosing objects to
respond to. The end of each session included time for
reflection and group discussion.
5.
The researchers found that people see themselves
in the objects they find in museums. An object
may stimulate a strong emotion or represent current
or past life experiences. Looking at these objects
seems to help participants develop greater self-
understanding. One woman in the programme was
intrigued by a school slate she found in a museum
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collection. She used this idea to design a modern item
which could "wipe away the past" so that the user
could "start again." Another participant was inspired
by a Roman pot, which had been repaired, to create
a collage showing that she was "piecing together"
different parts of her life. Not all participants chose to
produce a piece of art, but they still benefitted from
using objects for self-reflection.
6.
Researchers also found that when an art therapy
programme takes place in a local museum, it helps
the participants to feel more connected to their
community, and less "set apart" by their mental health
difficulties. One participant said, "You feel like you
are a real person working on your own personal goals
rather than just a patient going through treatment."
These programmes also help to build relationships
between group members and inspire creativity and
playfulness; one young person remarked that as the
sessions went on, "the group loosened up."
7.
Homeless people can also benefit from participating
in art projects. The city of Manchester ran a week-
long International Arts and Homelessness Festival
and Summit in 2018. As part of this event, a charity
brought together artists and people with experience
of homelessness to produce photographs and a street
mural. The city recognises that arts-based activities
are an important part of the support they need to
offer homeless people, along with accommodation,
food and medical treatment. They believe that
participation in the arts gives vulnerable people new
perspectives and ultimately leads to better outcomes
for them.
8.
These days, Dave Tovey runs art workshops at
homeless shelters in London. "When you’re in a
secure, safe environment, focusing on drawing or
mucking about with materials, you’re more likely to
share your problems," he says. "That’s why it’s so
powerful. It gets people talking." Therapists agree
that talking is the first step to making changes and
moving forward.
Sources: theguardian.com, theconversation.com
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UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

ART THERAPY

5 Language in context

Read the sentences and use the context to explain the meaning of the natural expressions in bold.

But after a chance conversation with a security guard, Tovey moved into a night shelter where
they were running an art therapy programme.

These programmes also help to build relationships between group members and inspire
creativity and playfulness; one young person remarked that as the sessions went on, "the
group loosened up."

"When you’re in a secure, safe environment, focusing on drawing or mucking about with
materials, you’re more likely to share your problems."

Work in pairs. Choose one topic to tell your partner about.

1. Describe a chance conversation that you once had which had important effects.
2. Talk about how a teacher or manager can encourage people to loosen up in class or at work.
3. Say what you like to, or would like to, muck about with.

6 Talking point

Discuss these questions in pairs or small groups.

1. What type of museums and galleries do you enjoy visiting the most? Why?
2. What do you think of the idea of art therapy?
3. Which aspect of museum-based art therapy do you think is the key to its apparent success?
4. To what extent do you agree with Manchester council’s approach to tackling homelessness?
5. What would you like to ask Dave Tovey or another homeless person, if you could meet them?
6. Have you heard of any other types of projects which offer people the chance to join in activities
as therapy?

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UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

ART THERAPY

7 Optional extension

There is some special vocabulary related to museums, for example:

In their experiment, a group of seven young adults with mental health difficulties explored
museum collections and then created some art using a range of materials.

Answer the questions about each pair of words which relate to the topic of museums. Then say what
the other word means.

1. Both of these words refer to collections of things for people to see in museums, but which word
can also refer to a performance? a display / an exhibit
2. Both of these words refer to pieces of furniture that hold museum displays. Which word means
something you can look through from all sides? a cabinet / a glass case
3. Which of these shows a model of a scene from nature or history? a diorama / a plinth
4. Which of these refers to a person who takes care of museum collections? a curator / a donor
5. Which of these is a list of items in a museum collection? an archive / a catalogue

Use this vocabulary to describe a visit to a museum that you enjoyed in the past, or a visit
you would like to make to a museum in the future.

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