David Gussak

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David E. Gussak , Ph.D., ATR-BC is chairman of the Department of Education of Arts Florida State University and professor of art therapy program. He is the author of Art on Trial: Art Therapy at Capital Murder Cases, 84-chapter co-editor of The Wiley Handbook of Art Therapy with his colleague Dr. Marcia Rosal, and has developed and written a blog for Psychology Today, "Art on Trial: Confessions of Serial Art Therapist". He has, through his research, national and international presentations and publications, become one of the foremost authorities in art therapy in forensic and correctional settings.

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Biography

David Gussak grew up in NY. He received a BA in Arts degree with a minor in Psychology from California State University at Long Beach in 1989 and an MA in Arts Therapy from Vermont College in 1991. During his 9-month internship he set up an art therapy program at the Alpine Convalescent Center in Alpine, CA where he provides individual and group therapy services to adults in long-term psychiatric facilities. After graduating in 1991, he earned a position as an art therapist/rehabilitation therapist at Prison Medical Facility in Vacaville, CA. providing services for acute psychiatric units in adult male jails. He received the recognition of the Art of Registration Therapy (ATR) in 1994 and the Certification Board (ATR-BC) one year later through the Art Therapy Council of Credentials (ATCB). During these years, Gussak provides a number of weekend courses and workshops for various art therapy programs throughout the United States, including the College of Notre Dame in CA, the College of New Rochelle in NY, and Mt. Mary College in Wisconsin.

In 1998, Gussak joined the art therapy faculty at the Department of Psychology and Special Education at Emporia State University (ESU) in Emporia, Kansas. He started as an instructor, and later became an assistant professor and Director of his program for 4 years he taught there. Simultaneously, Gussak pursued his doctorate. While there, Gussak oversaw the practice of practicum art, including building a prison intern site and a prison, and suggesting thesis and master projects. He was awarded a Ph.D. of the ESU after successfully defending his dissertation "The Work of the Art Therapist: An Interactionist Perspective" on September 11, 2001.

Gussak began teaching at Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee, FL in 2002 as Assistant Professor for art therapy program at the Department of Art Education. He became obedient and Associate Professor in 2007, appointed as Chairman of the Department of Arts Education in 2008, and promoted to Professor in 2013. He continues to live in Tallahassee, FL with his wife and family.

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Art therapy in correctional settings

While Gussak has experience working with aggressive populations before receiving his bachelor's degree, he first started working as an art therapist in prison in 1991. This was when he began his work at Prison Medical Facility in Vacaville, CA through the Department of Mental Health. Realizing there was not much literature available to take, he first began presenting his theory of the benefits of art therapy at the American Art Therapy Association national conference in 1994, the predecessor of many paper presentations and other panels on this topic. This experience culminated in the development and publication of his first book, with Dr. Evelyn Virshup, Drawing Time: Art Therapy in Prisons and Other Correctional Settings (1997). In this book, Gussak first proposed that, given the difficulty in providing art therapy services in an environment that takes advantage of the vulnerable, art therapy has special benefits and art therapy:

has the advantage of going through a rigid defense, including pervasive dishonesty
promotes unconscious disclosure, even when the client is not forced to discuss therapeutic issues orally, which might make him vulnerable
takes advantage of the greater creativity inherent in the prison community, because of the strong need for diversion and escape
does not require that the prisoner/patient know, acknowledge or discuss what he or she has disclosed. Because the environment is so dangerous, any unintentional insight disclosure can be more threatening
enables prisoners/patients to express themselves in an acceptable way both inside and outside the culture
can produce symptom mitigation without verbal interpretation
is helpful in this environment, given the severity of this population, such as low levels of education and/or illiteracy, organicity and other barriers to verbal communication

These advantages have evolved over the years through various publications and presentations [cited].

Shortly after starting his teaching position at Emporia State University, he began working with Accessible Arts, Inc., in Kansas City, Mo, 1998 to provide grant-funded services as Director of Art Therapy-Based Programs for the Jackson County Justice Department of Youth in Kansas City, MO. Over the next 7 months, Gussak provides art therapy services for teenagers at several juvenile detention facilities in the Kansas City area.

Immediately after a position at the University of Florida Arts Therapy University Postgraduate Program, he became a Clinical Coordinator. Through this position, he created several practicum placements for art therapy students at local prisons and other prisons. With the help of these students and through encouragement and support by the Florida Department of Improvement, Gussak applied several empirical studies and collected data (from 2003-2009) in male and female prisons throughout North Florida to determine whether art therapy is effective in providing support for prisoners. Throughout all of this research, emerging data support the idea that art therapy:

decreased depression with male and female prisoners
increased locus of control in male and female prisoners
facilitate proper socialization and resolution of problems in male and female prisoners

It was also revealed that female prisoners had greater mood swings and locus of control than their male counterparts. After further investigation, he realized that the reason seems to be that women are more benefited is because they start with a lower numerical score. They begin to be more depressed with a larger external locus of control than men, but both men and women end up comparatively in terms of these variables.

In 2007, he was asked to help create, develop and co-chair (with Leslie Neal of ArtSprings, Inc.) Florida Arts in the Correction program by the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Corrections. Laura Bedard. Since the program ended, the Masters Program of Prisoner Arts (IMAP) has remained for several years. Through IMAP, Gussak works with graduate students and alumni to complete large-scale murals with prison and jail prisoners, including one settled with inmates from County Miller Prison, on the side of a building in downtown Colquitt, GA.

Gussak continues to work with the Florida Department of Corrections to establish state-of-the-art art programs, and to build practical practice practice experiences for Florida State University programs. She has also been asked to consult and advise on art and art therapy programs in correctional settings throughout the country.

In 2006, Gussak's focus shifted slightly to the other end of the forensic spectrum, when he was asked to give testimony of expert witnesses to the capital murder case. He was asked to testify about the art of a man who killed one of his sons. This experience is comprehensively recorded and evaluated in the 2013 book Art on Trial: Art Therapy in Capital Murder Cases, described below.

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Presentation history

Gussak has been presenting regionally, nationally, and internationally on art therapy in forensic settings and working with aggressive clients. Together with many of his peer presentations, he has been invited to attend a number of places, including several plenary panels, and to provide Important Addresses for national and state conferences, including the Illinois Art Therapy Association of the Delaware Valley. Association of Art Therapy, Oklahoma Art Therapy Association and the Florida Art Therapy Association. He has also developed a growing international presence. He presented his first international paper on art therapy in prison in Budapest, Hungary for the 1st Annual World Medical Congress. His articles have been published in several different countries, including Slovakia, Russia, and South Korea. In 2009, he was invited to give the Keynote Address and a weekend workshop for the Korean Art Therapy Association Annual Conference in Daegu, South Korea. He will also present the Keynote Address for the Canadian Art Therapy Association in 2016.

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Main publication

Gussak has published many articles and book chapters for edited volumes, generally focusing on art therapy in correctional settings and working with aggressive and abusive clients. Lots of publications focusing on his empirical research on the effectiveness of art therapy in prison.

Gussak is also the author and editor of several full length books. As indicated, Gussak is a co-editor, along with Drs. Evelyn Virshup, and contributing author of Time Drawing: Art Therapy in Prison and Other Correctional Arrangements, published in 1997 by Magnolia Street Publishing. This book covers chapters from various art and professional therapists in different penitentiaries. This book is the first in the United States to present the focus of art therapy in prison. Other chapters explore art and art therapy from juvenile justice settings, to prisons, to prison geriatric care.

In 2006, Gussak was asked to become an expert witness for a premeditated murder trial; He finally gave testimony in 2009. This became the focus of his 2013 publication of Art on Trial: Art Therapy in Case of Capital Murder, released by Columbia University Press.

His latest full publication was The Wiley Handbook of Art Therapy, edited by his colleagues and friends, Dr. Marcia L. Rosal. It has 84 chapters, written by the 90 most prominent and innovative field writers from around the world. This handbook is a collection of current and innovative clinical, theoretical and research approaches in the field.

Together with his book and article, Gussak was asked by Psychology Today magazine in 2013 to provide an ongoing blog for his online site. It was then that he created "Art on Trial: Confessions of Serial Art Therapist" in which he explored art therapy in forensic settings.

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Book reviews and critical praise

Book Reviews

Van Der Vennet (2014) reviews Gussak's book Art on Trial: Art Therapy in Capital Murder Cases. This review gives Gussak credit for bringing fame to the field of art therapy as well as forensics transfer to the forefront of the field of art therapy internally. Gussak was also given the confession to become an expert witness as an art therapist at a murder trial in the capital. Using the ethical and legal protocols as determined by the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) and the Arts Therapy Council (ATCB), Gussak is able to compete on a level of competence equal to other competent mental health professionals.

Gussak used standard instruments to measure Kevin Ward's defendant's artwork by appointing Apple's People of Trees (PPAT), which was later assessed by the standardized Standardized Elements of Face Elements (FEATS) Element. Both PPAT and FEATS are used as a tool to precisely provide a mental health diagnosis of schizophrenia-related disorders for defendants. Ward was tried for killing his son and trying to kill his other son, also known as filicide. Gussak was assigned as an expert witness to help Ward escape the death penalty and receive a lesser sentence. Through a collection of Ward art consisting of about 100 images, ranging from nearly 15 years; Gussak was able to humanize Ward before the court and unknowingly came to the same diagnosis as the psychiatrist and psychologist who was appointed to the case.

Critical Acclaim

"Art on Trial is a testament to the powerful strength of art as evidence.Advanced presentation of David Gussak's case, client, and art explains the role and value of art therapy in a court of law.His book is a triumph of art as evidence, explaining the value of art therapists as a witness experts in the legal process as well as the benefits offered by art therapy. "

-Marcia Liebman, Drexel University

"David Gussak has written an interesting and important first-person account that shows the value of art therapy in the courtroom, his book an extraordinary interdisciplinary effort and will definitely be a must-read for professionals in the field of art therapy, criminology, and abnormal Psychology."

-Jack Levin, Northeastern University, author of Serial Killers and Sadistic Murderers: Up Close and Personal and, with Gordana Rabrenovic, Why We Hate

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Selected bibliography

Gussak, D. (2013). Art in Court: Art Therapy in Case of Capital Murder. New York: Columbia University Press.
Breiner, M., Tuomisto, L., Beuyea, E., Gussak, D. & amp; Aufderheide, D. (2011). Creating an art of anger therapy (ATAM) management protocol for male prisoners through collaborative relationships. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. 56 (7), 1124-1143.
Anderson, T., Gussak, D., Hallmark, K & amp; Paul, A. (eds.). (2010). Education Art and Social Justice, Reston, VA: NAEA.
Gussak, D. (2009). Comparing the effectiveness of art therapy on Depression and Locus of Control male and female prisoners, The Arts in Psychotherapy, 36 (4), 202-207
Arguing, J., Bennett, J & amp; Gussak, D. (2009). Transformation through negotiation: Starts a Masters Program of Prisoner Arts. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 36, 313-319.
Gussak, D. (2008). An interactionist perspective on understanding gender identity in art therapy. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 25 (2), 64-69 [2]
Gussak, D. (2007). The effectiveness of art therapy in reducing depression in prison populations. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 5 (4). 444-460
Gussak, D. (2006). Symbolic interactionism, aggression and therapy. In F. Kaplan (Ed.), Art Therapy and Social Action (pp. 142-156). London: Jessica Kingsley, Publisher.
Gussak, D. (2006). The effect of art therapy with inmates in prison: A follow-up study. The Arts In Psychotherapy, 33, pp.Ãƒ, 188-198.
Fenner, L. & amp; Gussak, D. (2006). Therapeutic thresholds in prison settings: Dialogue between apprentice physician and his superior. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 33,414-421.
Gussak, D. (2004). as a cradle ': Arteterapia vo vÃƒÆ'Ã‚Â¤zenÃƒÆ'. [Drawing time: Art therapy in prison] ArteterapeutickÃƒÆ' Ã‚ Â© Listy [Art Therapy Letters (Slovak Journal)], 3 (4), pp.Ãƒ, 7-11.
Gussak, D. (2004). Art therapy with inmates: A pilot study. The Arts In Psychotherapy, 31 (4), pp.Ãƒ, 245-259.
Gussak, D. & amp; Virshup E. (Eds.). (1997). Drawing Time: Art Therapy In Prison and Other Correctional Arrangements. Chicago, IL: Magnolia Street Publishers.

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References