The Role of the Expressive Therapies Continuum in Human Creativity in the Age of AI

Abstract

Art generated by artificial intelligence (AI) programs resembling human creative outputs profoundly challenges cultural, social, and psychological conceptions of creativity and its value. Defining creativity within the psychological literature amid the rise of AI poses limitations and highlights the significance of the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC). The ETC theory provides a model for understanding the unique nature of human creativity because it includes bodily based, emotional, and cognitive influences on creativity alongside social, cultural, and relational experiences. Understanding the limitations, risks, and benefits of AI applications can help art therapists explore this new medium in ethical and therapeutic ways. Therefore, an opportunity emerges for art therapy to incorporate both AI and the ETC to produce effective and creative interventions.