Kunst als Therapie: Über die Schwierigkeiten, die Ursachen heilender Wirkungen ästhetischer Erfahrungen einzugrenzen.

Abstract

Art as therapy: Problems of defining the healing effects of aesthetic experiences. Therapies based on creative media are enjoying an increasing popularity but face the problem that their concrete therapeutic effects are difficult to define and prove. Researchers have often failed to realize that aesthetic effects and experiences cannot be reduced to a linear stimulus-response scheme. Hence, therapeutic impacts occur more in „situations of aesthetic experience“ and are less often due to singular identifiable stimuli. In this regard, the paper considers the question of whether evidence derived from arts-based therapies can be applied to other therapeutic contexts.