Singing in the Dark Times: Creation and Resistance in the Arts Therapies

Singing in the Dark Times is a compilation of scholarly chapters by 21 authors of global reputation in the arts therapies. This publication brings together selected works from the 17th ECArTE conference, which took place in 2024 in Ghent, Belgium.It explores the tensions between inner psychotherapeutic processes and the pursuit of wellbeing and social change.Inspired by Stéphane Hessel’s call to “create to resist and resist to create,” it highlights creativity as a form of active resistance and dignity.The contributions reflect diverse, original responses from international practitioners and scholars.Drawing on the line from Brecht’s poem “Motto” (1939), “Singing about the Dark Times,” the publication emphasizes the role of the arts in enabling transformation.Ultimately, it presents the arts and arts therapies as a powerful space for critical reflection, collaboration, change and hope.Contributors from Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Lebanon, Serbia and the United