There is No Art Therapy: A Proposal for an Art Workshop Scheme in Work with Young Adults

The essay describes a system of artist-run studios at L’Esquisse, an inpatient clinic for young adults. Based on these workshops, which bring together young patients and artists, we examine the role that creative processes play in adolescence. The majority of patients admitted to the clinic present, above all, a phobic withdrawal associated with mental inhibition. These symptoms maintain them in ever-increasing psychic isolation, leading to the breakdown of social ties and an elevated school dropout rate. The essay asks to what degree artist-run workshops, which we distinguish from the notion of “art therapy” but which function in close connection with the therapeutic framework, provide support to the process of psychic change. Further, it explores how artistic practice allows us to reestablish connections between the scenes of the hospital and those of the school or other educational spaces.