Book Review: Expressive Arts for Social Work and Social Change
Expressive Arts for Social Work and Social Change, by Tuula Heinonen, Deana Halonen, and Elizabeth Krahn, Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780190912406, New York, 2019, 173 pages, $33.20.
Expressive Arts for Social Work and Social Change is a valuable resource for social workers who are interested in the arts and their contribution to the field. The book defines expressive arts as arts-based methods for practice. In the preface, the authors describe expressive arts as art therapy, music therapy, and movement and dance therapy. The term expressive arts is used in this book, and in general, as an umbrella term, without referencing the profession of Expressive Arts Therapy and Education and its focus on intermodality.
The book is organized with the first two chapters offering the reader an invitation to see the connection between expressive arts and social work and how the arts can be transformative. The authors, who are from Canada, state that “environment-green social work and the significance of place; Indigenous perspectives; social justice and social action; cultural safety and creative expression as a compelling human need for people’s well-being” inform the writing (p. 6).
In the following six chapters, the authors organize the materials around specific art modalities, such as visual arts, photography and video, movement and dance, storytelling, poetry and metaphor, music and theater, drama, and performance. Each of the chapters offers a description of the modality, in addition to examples and applications. The chapters end with questions for reflection and a list of resources for further exploration.
The book does not recognize the history and work of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA), with its Registered Expressive Arts Therapy (REAT) and Registered Expressive Arts Consultant Educator (REACE), designations. In addition, multiple education and training sites exist in North America and internationally. In some expressive arts therapy programs, the education is offered in BSW/MSW programs such as in Hong Kong.
Although references can be found in journals and books related to expressive arts, there is less written about the use of expressive arts from a social work perspective. Thus, this book offers a valuable resource for social workers, other disciplines, and people interested in the arts regardless of discipline. The authors identify the value of the arts with a grounding in the social work Code of Ethics and emphasizing both the micro and macro uses of the arts. Arts-based inquiry is explored, along with arts-based pedagogy in social work education. The book is well researched and offers a wealth of references that can inspire practitioner, educator, and scholar.
Reviewed by Heather Thorp, MSSA, LCSW, REAT, Field Director, Appalachian State University.
