How the role and value of arts in evolutionary process as a product of
adaptation should be realized in contemporary arts psychotherapy? In human
history arts played the important roles for adaptive life as it had biological,
psychological and spiritual benefits for human beings' survival. Especially
therapeutic effects of arts performed in ritual are realized in contemporary
arts psychotherapy because essentially in both cases emotion that evolutionary
had a strong tendency to act is transformed into artistic activities and it
leads to aesthetic experience. Aesthetic experience in current psychology is
analysed into two different dimensions. One is Freud's type of catharsis. The
other is Mazlow's type of peak experience through self-actualization. These
different qualities of aesthetic experience should be realized in arts
psychotherapy process by provoking human beings' artistic instinct which is
the desire of 'making special'. The first is ‘making special’ of self-expression.
This is the process of expressing repressed and isolated emotional pieces
through artistic exploration. When genuine and special self expression is
made, we reach emotional catharsis. The second is 'making special value of
self' by being apprised by others and experiencing self actualization. When
this higher desire is fulfilled through will and effort to express aesthetically,
we experience special value of ourselves. The implication of aesthetic
experience in arts psychotherapy is to change more adaptive functioning
human beings through 'making special expression' and 'making special value
of artistic activity' as did the original function of arts.