Overview
This book actively challenges the constraints imposed by dominant cis-heteronormative paradigms and advocates for a dynamic and fluid understanding of identity and healing, framing social justice and liberation as indispensable components of therapeutic practice. Each chapter investigates queer and trans epistemologies—ways of knowing, feeling, and imagining—that destabilize conventional therapeutic approaches. It provides adaptive and practical strategies for incorporating queer worldmaking into art therapy, thereby transforming therapeutic environments to be more inclusive, affirming, and just. Through detailed case studies and real-world applications, the book showcases innovative strategies that advocate for an expanded professional practice that honors the vibrant diversity of LGBTQIA+ identities. By equipping art therapists with tools for active allyship and ethical care, Queer Worldmaking in Art Therapy aims to catalyze a shift towards more equitable therapeutic landscapes for all.
Full Product Details
Author: Zachary D. Van Den Berg
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint: Routledge
Weight: 0.970kg
ISBN: 9781032937700
ISBN 10: 103293770
Pages: 408
Publication Date: 12 June 2026
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Availability: Not yet available
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.
Reviews
""Reading this book has opened my eyes to multiple new ways of thinking for which I am deeply grateful. Its many chapters and contributors introduce the reader not only to a group of people, but also to a perspective on existing ways of understanding and helping that is both sharply critical and tenderly compassionate. It is a major contribution to the literature of the profession, and should be required reading in all art therapy training programs."" Judith A. Rubin, PhD, ATR-BC, HLM, past president and honorary life member of the American Art Therapy Association, co-founder of the Expressive Media Film Library, author of seven books including Approaches to Art Therapy: Theory and Technique, 3rd Edition, and creator of thirteen films ""Queer Worldmaking in Art Therapy is a timely anthology that gathers critical essays on queerness, art and therapy to challenge the cis-heteronormative foundations of the field. Bridging theory and practice, the collection reimagines art therapy as an inclusive, socially engaged discipline grounded in a queer ethos of care—one that values multiplicity, fluidity, and relationality. Acknowledging the field’s exclusionary histories, the contributors propose “queer worldmaking” as a transformative framework for survival, meaning-making, and collective healing, inviting new possibilities for care, resistance, and belonging beyond therapy."" Savneet K. Talwar, PhD, ATR-BC, professor in art therapy at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, editor of Art Therapy for Social Justice: Radical Intersections ""I’ve been waiting for such a lively, informative, and grace-filled book all my professional life: Filled to the brim with the practice wisdom of art therapists who are audaciously generating new possibilities for queer life in its many meaningful, life-enhancing forms. Deeply scholarly and refreshingly accessible, this expansive collection offers a potent professional resource for readers that will draw them into the creative project of queer worldmaking and transform their capacity to practice a queer ethos of care with imagination, depth, and solidarity."" Lynn Kapitan, PhD, HLM, ATR-BC, professor emerita of art therapy at Mount Mary University, past president and honorary life member of the American Art Therapy Association and former executive editor of Art Therapy, author of Introduction to Art Therapy Research, 3rd Edition ""Van Den Berg masterfully weaves together the disparate experiences of numerous clinicians, therapists, and artists through impactful historical reflections, personal narratives, clinical applications, epistemological examinations and ethical considerations, to create a singular illustration of inclusivity and belonging. To say this book is timely is simply unjust; it should have been available years ago. We owe them a debt of thanks."" David E. Gussak, PhD, ATR-BC, HLM, professor/director, Florida State University Institute for the Arts and Art Therapy with the Imprisoned, honorary life member of the American Art Therapy Association, co-editor of The Wiley Handbook of Art Therapy, 2nd Edition ""Queer Worldmaking in Art Therapy offers culturally relevant tools for practice and education. The deep exploration of intersectionality carries a thoughtful examination of communities and experiences absent from art therapy literature. The expansive variety of perspectives depicts compelling introspection and dynamic case studies. Eclectic and practical applications prompt us to examine our biases, offering ways to discover and activate equitable therapeutic spaces."" Louvenia Jackson, PhD, LMFT, ATR-BC, professor and department chair of marital and family therapy with specialized training in art therapy at Loyola Marymount University, former board member of the American Art Therapy Association and author. ""Zachary D. Van Den Berg and colleagues bring us an unprecedented collection of writings that promise to enhance awareness and understanding for LGBTQIA+ topics. This edited volume is a must read for all art therapists seeking to better meet the needs of queer and trans patients and clients in the art therapy community and beyond."" Girija Kaimal, EdD, MA, ATR-BC, professor and chair of Drexel University’s Department of Creative Arts Therapies and past president of the American Art Therapy Association, co-editor of Arts-Based Approaches to Support Mental Health and Well-Being ""When I presented on art therapy and coming out at the American Art Therapy Association conference in 2000, I could have only hoped for a resource like this one. This volume is a bold and proud declaration of the generational protest chant, ‘We’re here! We’re queer! Get used to it!’ With attention to unique aspects that inform LGBTQIA+ experiences, contributors offer theories, practices, and cases that appreciate how queer joy, queer discrimination, queer resistance, and queer community coalesce as a foundation for comprehensive and responsive art therapy."" Jordan S. Potash, PhD, ATR-BC, LPAT (DC), LCPAT (MD), associate professor of art therapy at The George Washington University, former executive editor of Art Therapy ""Queer Worldmaking in Art Therapy is a groundbreaking contribution that reimagines therapeutic practice. Van Den Berg and the extensive collective of contributors they have gathered refuse to simply add LGBTQIA+ perspectives to existing frameworks: they audaciously challenge art therapy to become a space of radical transformation where materials become co-conspirators in reshaping identity and possibility. This book equips art therapists with the critical consciousness and concrete tools needed for genuine allyship, making it essential for practitioners ready to embrace social justice and liberation as fundamental to therapeutic practice."" Dr Alex McDonald, art therapist and researcher, professional development manager at the British Association of Art Therapists, and former editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Art Therapy ""Queer Worldmaking in Art Therapy is the kind of book that the art therapy profession has been waiting for. It centers diverse voices of LGBTQIA+-identified clients and art therapists and deftly challenges the dominant cultural paradigms. But it does much more: It leads us to a vision of a radically inclusive future for all, where we relate to each other with a deep sense of care and the commitment to justice in our hearts."" Miki Nishida Goerdt, LCSW, LCSW-C, ATR-BC, adjunct professor at George Mason University Department of Social Work, former board member for American Art Therapy Association ""Queer Worldmaking in Art Therapy fills a critical gap in the field by bringing together essential information and resources that have long been missing from mainstream art therapy discourse. Grounded in a queer orientation, this groundbreaking work uplifts often marginalized histories, theories, and practices within the profession. It thoughtfully addresses inclusivity and social justice, offering guidance to enhance our therapeutic practices with greater awareness, sensitivity, and cultural humility. In a time when the LGBTQIA+ community continues to face violence and discrimination, this resource is not only timely but vital. I deeply applaud the authors' efforts in creating such a comprehensive and necessary contribution to the field."" Charlotte Boston, MA, ATR-BC, LCPAT, past president of the Art Therapy Credentials Board, former chair of the American Art Therapy Association’s Multicultural Committee ""Van Den Berg has assembled a landmark book that comprehensively reaches into unspoken spaces to clearly articulate a new paradigm in praxis. They extract and uncover the roots of sexuality and gender within art therapy, while the breadth of contributing authors envision new paths of inclusive engagement, examining structures of oppression, illustrating relationally attuned queer worldmaking in our post-modern future."" Mary Andrus, DAT, LCAT, LPC, ATCS, assistant professor of art therapy and co-director of the art therapy masters’ program at Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Counseling and Education ""Queer Worldmaking in Art Therapy: Theory & Praxis is an exhilarating read with plenty of wide-ranging stimulating polemical writing. This book is going to be helpful for all art therapists, as chapters challenge oppressive binaries, emphasising the 'emergence' of gender across the lifespan, 'in-betweenness,' 'fluidity' and the 'non-binary.'"" Susan Hogan, PhD, D.Litt., professor of arts & health, College of Health & Humanities, UoD and professorial fellow at Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham, editor of Gender and Difference in the Arts Therapies and Arts Therapies & Gender: International Perspectives on Research
Author Information
Zachary D. Van Den Berg, MA, LPC, ATR-BC (they/he), is an art therapist, scholar, and founder of the Coalition for Queer Creative Arts Therapies Inc. in Austin, Texas, United States.
