Logo

8th Annual Conference of the German Scientific Association for Arts Therapies

Wissenschaftliche Fachgesellschaft für Künstlerische Therapien
13.-14.11.2025
Berlin


Meeting Abstract

Nature as a space of resonance: The significance of artistic engagement with nature in art therapy training

Anna Müller 1
1Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences, Department of Arts Therapies and Therapy Sciences, Alfter, Germany

Text

This bachelor thesis examines the significance of artistic engagement with nature as a space of resonance within art therapy training. It is grounded in the assumption that experiences in nature, when combined with artistic practice, can foster perception, self-reflection, and the capacity for resonance, thereby serving as a sustainable resource for professional art therapy practice. The study employs two methodological approaches: aesthetic research – consisting of nature walks, journal entries, and artistic works documented according to Leuschner’s five-phase model (2012) and Kämpf-Jansen’s fifteen theses (2001) – as well as open questionnaires completed by students and instructors. The findings indicate that nature is consistently experienced as a resonant partner within artistic processes, and that these processes can emerge from and be sustained by impulses from the natural environment. The survey results further show that both students and instructors value the integration of nature into training, albeit from different yet complementary perspectives. When compared with the initial hypotheses, the results clarify that nature strengthens artistic perception and reflective processes, acts as a bridge between theory and practice, and can serve as a long-term resource for art therapy practice. Methodological limitations include the small sample size and the author’s subjective proximity to the research field. Overall, this thesis contributes to the ongoing discussion on embedding nature-related content in art therapy curricula and opens new perspectives for a training approach grounded both ecologically and aesthetically.