Blog 17

The problem that I chose to look into was mental illness and how art therapy can affect it. I specifically chose to focus on schizophrenia as a mental illness. In the future I plan to study/work with people who have any form of mental illness, but I have always thought that schizophrenia was interesting and that I would like to study it. The essay that I chose is called, The science of therapeutic images: Francis Reitman, schizophrenia and postwar psychiatric art at the Maudsley and Netherne Hospitals by Connor Cummings. Throughout the essay Cummings recounts the theories of Francis Reitman about schizophrenia and how schizophrenic art can be used to measure that patients level of schizophrenia. Reitman compared the different styles of art, such as surrealism, modern, and cubism and found connection between them and schizophrenia art. He explains that the art made by someone with schizophrenia depicts an image of their reality. Reitman also explains that this form of art could help to give a better understanding of how a patient with schizophrenia perceives the world. This could be helpful not only for psychiatrists who are trying to treat the patient, but also for ordinary people as well. It is possible that people will be more understanding and empathetic if they understood why a person was acting a certain way, and how that person sees the world. This doesn’t even have to be just for schizophrenia, but it can be beneficial for all mental illnesses. Reitman also explains how a patient with schizophrenia’s art can be used to diagnose their level of schizophrenia. He says that just one painting is not enough to judge, and that it takes a spectrum of artwork to tell because their level can change over time as their art will change. He also says that art can not necessarily diagnose someone with schizophrenia, but it can measure the possibility and how far on the spectrum they could be. I think this issue is important because I don’t think schizophrenia gets the same amount of attention that other mental illnesses do. I think it is important to be able to diagnose a person correctly, and if art is an easy and effective way to do that then that is great. I overall believe that this essay is a trustworthy source. Though the currency of when Reitman did his study was from a while ago, I believe that his research is this relevant. This form of diagnose can be used today, and further research could be done to expand on this idea as well. Cummings correctness has credibility because he along with Reitman he talked about different scientists who also studied art therapy and their association with mental illness. This essay will be very helpful for me because I will be able to use this as an example of how art and science need to be used together.