Art on Trial

David E. Gussak, Ph.D., ATR-BC, is chair of the Department of Art Education and professor of the Graduate Art Therapy Program at Florida State University. He has published and lectured extensively on the use of art therapy in correctional settings and with violent and aggressive clients.

• Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: Assessments, Art Therapy, and Forensics Part I. Art and the Murderer: A Case Study 1. How It Began 2. The Jailhouse Meeting 3. More Art and the Follow-up Part II. Defending the Art 4. The Deposition 5. The Testimony Part III. Analysis and Implications 6. The Case Study: Summary, Reflections, and Ethics 7. Art Therapists as Expert Witnesses: Three More Capital Cases 8. Forensic Art Therapy Revisited References

Art on Trial is a testament to the potent power of art as evidence. David Gussak's masterful presentation of the case, the client, and the art explains the role and value of art therapy in a court of law. His book is a triumph for art as evidence, expounding the value of art therapists as expert witnesses in legal proceedings as well as the advantages that art therapy offers. -- Marcia Liebman, Drexel University David Gussak has written a fascinating and important first-person account demonstrating the value of art therapy in the courtroom. His book represents an extraordinary interdisciplinary effort and will surely become a must-read for professionals in the fields 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