Language is power: anti-oppressive, conscious language in art therapy practice

Abstract

ABSTRACT Language not only expresses but shapes how we understand the world, each other, and ourselves. Words serve a key role in maintaining cultural norms and values regarding which experiences and identities are considered valuable, normal, and powerful and which are considered abnormal, pathological, and even nonhuman. As such, there is no objective, least-offensive, neutral language that does not perpetuate the status quo. This article contributes a critical discussion of the power of words to harm in the context of art therapy, and offers helpful examples of how art therapists can disrupt oppression in language. The authors clarify that anti-oppressive, conscious language is not about censorship, language policing, or being politically correct; rather, it is about centering care and avoiding harm. Strategies are offered for recognizing how dehumanizing, invisibilizing, and pathologizing language may show up in art therapy, and how to counter oppressive language in day-to-day practice. With greater attention to how they use words, art therapists may begin to incorporate conscious language into their skillset as another art form that is attentive to culture, power, and care. Cultivating a liberatory mental model—oriented toward a future that is free from all forms of violence and where all life, all identities and experiences, and all ways of making meaning are equally honored and valued—can affect not only our language but also our entire practice and understanding of art therapy.