The Art Therapy Large Group: A Lateral Affiliation

Pat de Mare describes a lateral affiliation for developing understanding between the psychodynamics of the large group and areas such as anthropology and sociology. This paper poses the Art Therapy Large Group (ATLG) as such an affiliation. The paper will describe the history, context, aims and theoretical background in large group, art therapy, political theory and contemporary art; and give an example illustrating its practice of the ATLG in the Goldsmiths, MA in Art Psychotherapy. The paper will then go onto describe how, as an arena in which engagement with the material � the space of the room, physical/bodily activity and art materials interact with verbal dialogue, the ATLG provides a space in which difference is represented. The process of working through difference in the security of similarity reflects what De Mare describes as the humanization of society. Finally we will describe what has been learnt from running the ATLG in venues across Europe.