The Art Therapist’s Guide to Social Media (Routledge) offers the art therapy community a guide that addresses content related to social media use, its growing influence, and the impact social networking has on the profession and work of art therapists. This book presents a framework of relevant theories, best practices, and examples to explore existing and emerging areas of social networking’s power for art therapists as practitioners and artists. Divided into three sections that highlight the themes of connection, community, and creativity, chapters explore timely topics such as the professional use of social media, ethical considerations, potential benefits and challenges, and strategies to embrace the possibilities that social media can create for the field worldwide. Art therapists in training, art therapy educators and supervisors, and practicing art therapists will find content in this text helpful for their learning and professional practice.

About the Author:  Gretchen M. Miller, MA, ATR-BC, ACTP, is a registered board certified art therapist who practices in the Greater Cleveland, Ohio, area. She is also an adjunct professor for Ursuline College’s Counseling and Art Therapy Program. Gretchen previously served as web editor of the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) and on the Association’s Social Media Committee. She is also the founder of the online communities Art Therapy Alliance and 6 Degrees of Creativity. Her technology contributions include creating and managing various sites, forums, and blogging related to art therapy, creativity, and community organizing for art therapists.

Foreword by Lynn Kapitan PhD, ATR-BC, HLM. Illustrations by Nate Fehlauer of Wiscy Jones Creative.

Available through Routledge Books here.

Reviews & Endorsements

“This comprehensive guide surpasses expectation. Visionary author Gretchen Miller presents a 360 degree view of art therapy in the digital age, from opportunities to challenges and everything in between. She has also achieved the virtual impossibility of conveying future applications and potential of social media for art therapists in the rapidly changing digital age. The book is a must have for students and practitioners who seek to bring relevance and vitality to their lives and work.“ ~ Donna Betts, PhD, ATR-BC, president, American Art Therapy Association, associate professor and research director, George Washington University Art Therapy

“No one reading this text can miss Gretchen Miller’s exuberant optimism in explaining how art therapists can leverage the potential of our digital age in highly relevant, creative ways. Where other texts on this fast-moving subject will quickly become dated, readers only need open this book from time to time to become re-inspired by Gretchen’s pragmatic assurances and creative vision.”  ~ Lynn Kapitan, PhD, ATR-BC, HLM, Former Executive Editor of Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, Past President of the American Art Therapy Association, Author of Introduction to Art Therapy Research and Re-enchanting Art Therapy, Professor and Director of the Professional Doctorate in Art Therapy at Mount Mary University

“Gretchen Miller’s The Art Therapist’s Guide to Social Media is a much needed text to help art therapists ethically manage their digital footprint within social media environments. This book explores the growing influence of and the impact of social media by exploring the professional use of social media for developing community, connections and creativity in the field of art therapy. Gretchen Miller accomplishes this in a well-researched, thoughtful and in-depth manner that will greatly help art therapists moving into the digital world with their practice and with their clients.” ~ Dr. Penelope Orr, ATR-BC, ATCS, professor, Edinboro University

“This book is a valuable resource for art therapists and for students in art therapy graduate programs to recognize the influence and applications of social media, and how technology as a whole will ultimately affect the field of art therapy. The imminent reality is that art therapy and other mental health professions will need to engage with informed digital practice not only in the immediate present but also for decades to come. Art therapists ultimately have influence in how art therapy is represented in the content shared and they must be vigilant to be proactive in maintaining transparency and art therapy’s core ethical principles.”     ~ Ann E. Lawton, Book Review, Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association 

“This book is beyond timely! Indeed, it suits the present moment of a speedy online revolution that often feels like ‘fast forward.‘ For me, despite having communicated on the Internet through words and images, I had not been able to put it all together. Gretchen Miller, already an Internet and social media pioneer for art therapy, has now contributed a thoughtful book for which I, for one, am deeply grateful.“ ~ Judith A. Rubin, PhD, ATR-BC, HLM, author, filmmaker, and president, Expressive Media