Myra Levick is one of the first Art Therapy pioneers and she greatly supported the early development of art therapy by helping to create many art therapy education programs. Some other programs she jumpstarted include the American Art Therapy Association (AATA), and the Levick Emotional and Cognitive Art Therapy Assessment. Her life and career took many different turns as she became a wife; mother; art therapist; art therapy educator, and ultimately one of the founders of AATA. She was able to push out of the stereo-typical women of her time and become a professional woman that jump-started art therapy as a career. Levick, from a young age, started as an artist and become an art psychotherapist. Levick is someone who strived to teach and inform people about art therapy and how this unique therapy can help many individuals. Her passion has been pivotal to the field of mental health and art therapy and she made important strides to grow this profession to be what it is today.
Background & History
Myra Levick was born on August 20th, 1924, and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her parents Louis and Ida Friedman. As a young child, Levick was already interested in art and her parents encouraged her in this interest (Levick, 2018). At 10-years-old, this encouragement placed her into an art class for children where she excelled and soon after, she was transferred to the adult class. In high school, she became eligible to go to a school that provided art as a major. She credited those years as the ones to help prepare her for college and helped her obtain a bachelor’s in fine arts.
Levick started college but then took a break from schooling and got married on December 26th, 1943. During this 17-year break from school, Levick had three children named Bonnie, Karen, and Marsha. In 1963, she graduated from Moore College of Art and was accepted into Bryn Mawr College in the art history graduate program. In the 1960s, Levick applied for an art therapist position and was accepted to work with patients that were mentally ill. Through this opportunity, she learned what art therapy was and how it uses the creative process instead of just words as communication and that art therapists help the patient interpret their own work (Levick, 2018). Levick also was able to work with Anna Freud for a five-week period which was a great educational opportunity. Her passion for art therapy grew strong in the 1960s and she had a specific interest in intellectual and emotional development as well as coping mechanisms (Gussak & Rosal, 2016). Levick graduated with a Master of Education from Temple University in 1967 and got a Doctor in Philosophy from Bryn Mawr College in 1982 (Levick, 2018).
In 1963, Myra Levick began her work as an art therapy clinician at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia (Gussak & Rosal, 2016). Levick worked as an art psychotherapist at the medical center for four years and in 1967 she started working as the director and graduate training program for art therapy at Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital (Levick, 2018). Levick worked as a co-director with Morris Goldman, which lasted for six years and was the first program for art therapy (Junge, 2010). Starting in 1973, Levick became the director for the Master of Creative Arts in Therapy program which ended in 1986. She became a professor consultant at Drexel University in 1977. Levick published four books and many “psychology journals, medical journals, education journals, art journals, and art therapy journals” (Junge, 2010, pg. 117). Myra Levick retired in 1986 and moved to Florida were she occasionally practices art therapy and spends most of her time painting or studying with local artists (Levick, 2018).
Main Contributions
American Art Therapy Association
In 1968, Myra Levick became the director of the art therapy master’s program at Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia. Paul Fink and Levick also created a lecture series that was given at the Hahnemann Medical School. Levick hosted a meeting of 50 practitioners, who were using art in therapy around the world. These individuals came together to discuss the definition of what art therapy would be as a profession (Moon, 2017). Many individuals were practicing some form of art therapy but there was no official name for the profession. It must have been a difficult and exciting time for Levick as she took risks to establish a new focus of counseling that needed to be shared with the world. Later in the year. In 1969, The American Art Therapy Association (AATA) was created and Levick was put in charge to develop a structure for the association. Myra Levick was one of the founders of AATA and was its first president. In 1970, the first AATA conference was held and from there, art therapy started to grow. They awarded Margaret Naumburg as the first Honorary Life Membership and Levick received one in 1973. In 1981, she was also awarded the AATA’s Research Award (Junge, 2010). While this was a time of great growth for the organization, it was also a time of great opposition from the general counseling field. Levick struggled with this and became less involved with the general counseling field for 5 years. She not only helped AATA come to life but also organized many training and education programs that jump-started the profession.
Levick Emotional and Cognitive Art Therapy Assessment
In 1983, Myra Levick created an assessment that was another main contribution to the art therapy field. Levick emphasized children’s expression through artwork and saw them as defense mechanisms (Gussak & Rosal, 2016, pg.34). The Levick Emotional and Cognitive Art Therapy Assessment (LECATA) was created as a tool to evaluate the therapeutic needs of children with special needs. This tool specifically identified strengths and weaknesses, and levels of cognitive and emotional functioning as well as “developmental milestones, and skills that fall above and below normative expectation” (Gussak & Rosal, 2016 pg. 437). The work of defense mechanism by Sigmund and Anna Freud influenced Levick and she believed that defenses could be recognized in drawings. In 1986, many assessments where being used but this was being used for a specific population of special needs. Levick ended up taking on a 3-year study that collected 330 sets of LECATA of children who functioned averagely within the elementary school (Gussak & Rosal, 2016). The main goal was to move the concentration from the diagnosis and expand it to a defining personality.
The LECATA is made up of five tasks that involve a structured format to produce consistent data. In task one children are directed to draw representational images, in task two children were directed to draw a self-portrait, in task three a scribble drawing is produced, in task four children were told to focus on internalized values, and in task five children were asked to draw a family (Gussak & Rosal, 2016). This assessment has been used to determine the “appropriateness for art therapy services and assisting in the development of priority educational needs, goals, and benchmarks to be included on a student individualized education plan (IEP)” but it also can identify at-risk children before symptoms become apparent (Gussak & Rosal, 2016, pg. 545).
Art on Trial
Gussak worked on a case, in 2006, that involved a man facing the death penalty but the “defense suspected that serious mental illness was the driving force behind the crime” (Gussak &Rosal, 2016, pg. 622). The man on trial had created many art pieces that the defense believed would support the claim but, it was questioned that the 100 pieces of art could be used as evidence. Myra Levick along with Maxine Junge and Sandra Graves started collecting information to compare court cases, they found “art was a reliable method to assess for the presence of mental illness” (Gussak & Rosal, 2016, pg.623). They convinced the courts that “art was a valuable contribution… and valued as evidence” as well as learned to respect the process of art and “recognized how such information could corroborate traditional testimonial procedures” (Gussak & Rosal, 2016, pg. 623). Myra Levick helped prove how valuable art can be in a variety of settings and how it can be supported in courtrooms. Levick became an expert witness and is qualified in five states (Levick, 2018).
Conclusion
One fascinating pioneer of art therapy is Myra Levick. She overcame so much and helped create the profession that I strive to be a part of. She helped art therapy develop by being a vital part of educating and advocating. She helped start the American Art Therapy Association and the Levick Emotional and Cognitive Art Therapy Assessment which helped connect art therapists from all over and helped organize the field. Levick started her passion for art at a young age and she worked hard for a way to incorporate it in her life and career. Now retired, Levick still has a passion for art and spends her time learning from other artists. The field of art therapy would not be the same without the powerful impression left by Myra Levick. She was an innovator, educator, and leader, and this is why she is an important art therapy pioneer.
References
Gussak, D. E., & Rosal, M. L. (2016). The Wiley Handbook of Art Therapy. New York: Wiley.
Junge, M. B. (2010). The Modern History of Art Therapy in the United States. Charles C. Thomas.
Levick, M. (2018). About Myra Levick - Artist. Retrieved from http://www.myraatartpsychotherapy.com/about-myra-levick-artist/
Moon, B. L. (2017). Introduction to art therapy: Faith in the product. Springfield, IL, U.S.A.: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher.
Betts, D. (2011). Review of Levick emotional and cognitive art therapy assessment: A normative study. Art Therapy, 28(3), 147–148. https://doi-org.uc.opal-libraries.org/10.1080/07421656.2011.600220
Levick, M. F. (2009). Commentary. Art Therapy, 26(3), 139. https://doi-org.uc.opal-libraries.org/10.1080/07421656.2009.10129373
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