Art therapy is a method based on the use of various forms of artistic expression for therapeutic purposes. This article approaches art therapy aiming to think about art as a working tool specifically in the field of psychology. Based on current literature review of the subject, our starting point was an historical outlook in order to examine the context in which art therapy emerges and evolves in Brazil. Following that, fundamental notions that guide the psychologist in this practice are analyzed, as well as the conceptual and methodological aspects specific to each one of the main approaches in art therapy: psychoanalytical, jungian and Gestalt. This reflection lead us to think, despite the different theoretical frames, that art therapy is pervaded by a conception of human aesthetics, seeing the person as a creative being, and capable of becoming his own life's artist. The conclusion is that art can be a valuable tool for psychologists in many different contexts, in connection to the ethical commitment of contributing to the subject so that he/she can (re)constitute him/herself as the author of his/her own history.
Art therapy; Psychoanalysis; Junguian psychology; Gestalt therapy
