Harriet Wadeson

Harriet Claire Wadeson Ph.D., LCSW, ATR-BC, HLM (January 9, 1931 – January 26, 2016 ) was a pioneer in the art therapy profession, and an author, researcher, and educator, who established and directed the Art Therapy Graduate Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Art Therapy Certificate Program at Northwestern University where she taught until get death.

Wadeson was an Honorary Life Member (HLM) of the American Art Therapy Association, Kwiatkowska originated family art therapy and offered to train Wadeson at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). At that time, there were no master's degree programs in art therapy. Wadeson began working at NIMH in 1961 by conducting art therapy with adolescent groups. Her first publication was about this experience. For eight years Wadeson worked with patients with affective disorders, including mania, psychotic depression, and suicide risk. During this time Wadeson was the only female and non-MD on the project's research team. She won the Benjamin Rush Award for Scientific Exhibits from the American Psychiatric Association for her exhibit, "Portraits of Suicide." Subsequently, she worked with people who suffered from schizophrenia and received no medication. After spending thirteen years at NIMH, Wadeson had published twenty-nine articles, primarily in psychiatric journals. She believed it is important for art therapists to have a comprehensive knowledge of various human development and sociological theories to be most effective in working in diverse settings. She stated that an eclectic approach allows the therapist to be open to possibilities and to use methods that best suit individual clients, groups, and communities. Nevertheless, she believed it is important for art therapists to develop their own approach based on their life experience.

Publications Wadeson was giving presentations, workshops, and book signings throughout the US and in Europe, until she died, in connection with her most recent book, "Journaling Cancer in Words and Images, Caught in the Clutch of the Crab," and its emphasis on the use of creative self-expression in facing the challenge of living with cancer In addition to 8 books, she published 70 papers in refereed journals and numerous chapters in psychology and art therapy texts. Her books include: Art Psychotherapy (John Wiley & sons, 1980) Advances in Art Therapy (John Wiley & sons, 1989) The Dynamics of Art Therapy (John Wiley & sons, 1987) Art Therapy Practice (John Wiley & sons, 2000) Art Therapy Research (American Art Therapy Assn., 1992) Architects of Art Therapy (Charles C. Thomas, 2006) Art Psychotherapy, 2nd Edition (John Wiley & Sons, 2010) Journaling Cancer in Words and Images, Caught in the Clutch of the Crab (Charles C. Thomas, 2011)