A House in Tension: Boundary Spanning and Resistance in the Origins of North American Art Therapy

Abstract

This article traces the origins of the art therapy profession in North America, beginning with its early 20^th century forerunners and branching out into webs of influence across the continent that produced the uniquely multicentered, pluralistic nature of the field today. Born in the boundary-spanning overlap between the domains of art, education, and psychology, art therapy was formed in the turbulent exchange of dominant and resistant energies that characterize social ecotones. These tensions can harden boundaries or catalyze creative adaptation. Polarizing conflict that arose in the founding of the profession in North America is described and put into the context of art therapy’s hybrid nature, which may illuminate similar struggles that have accompanied art therapy throughout the world. Origin narratives are a source of valuable insights for art therapists: for locating the lineage of their own professional identities and beliefs, and decentering that which no longer serves in order to open up spaces for new or alternative possibilities.