ordering by e-mail: kossola@uni-muenster.de

ordering by e-mail: kossola@uni-muenster.de

The second volume of the publication Arts - Therapies - Communication, which was already announced in Volume 1 (Münster 2001), is now ready. lts conception and realisation have taken place under considerably more difficult circumstances than those of Volume 1. The intention in this 20d volume was to overcome the attitude of thinking in terms of specific countries. (principle of national states) and to make a contribution for arts therapy to a " Europe of the Regions" (principle of trans-national regionality). It was necessary to give a precise context to the otherwise non-defined term "regionality", and indeed to do this in such a way as to acquire an orientation which is not small-roomed, but rather of large dimensions according to a socio-topological principle (social spaces determined by nature and culture). Although the region North­ Northwest ( Great Britain and Ireland ) was somewhat easier to define due to the "splendid isolation" of its insular position, in the case of continental Europe , the complexity of details to be considered made the circumstances exceptionally

difficult. The Introduction includes an attempt at classification on the basis of how the parts (regions) of the whole ( Europe ) could behave, a conceptional attempt which "orders" the individual contributions from the countries in their regional context to part of a greater whole.

Thus it would be possible to read the contributions "in different directions" ­and, in addition, there is a cross-border overlap of the content-related blocks which we have created. In other words, a regional discourse with a large number of open questions and enormous opportunities of intervention has now been initiated - thanks to creative ideas and the acquisition of knowledge on the spot. ECArTE allows this scope, indeed demands it with its conferences and communication links between member universities and/or the co-operating representatives of the relevant faculties.

Perhaps this publication will have a forerunner function. The idea is to open up a display window of European Arts Therapy in which a certain classification is prescribed, which makes it possible to combine the pertinent information from two subject-linked conferences, and the results they have produced, under one main subject heading. With this a medium-term perspective would have been achieved. European Arts Therapy in the university context (research and teaching - i.e. theory as well as practice) needs time to catch its breath, yet at the same time it is obliged to produce results, otherwise it will remain a mere illusion. However, it also needs - beyond its "academic anchorage" - a future-­orientated, publicising power to attract arts therapists from Europe and all over the world to express themselves in their own capacity about their experiences in an extremely important and (not just academic) context.

We should like to express our thanks to all authors who have made contributions, for their commitment and their patience with the publication of the 20d volume. We should also like to thank the Executive Board and General Assemblies of ECArTE whose involvement in the decision contributed to the realisation of the conferences and their content stipulations. The co-editors Sarah Scob1e and Diane Waller, as native speakers, have rendered a particu­larly valuable service in dealing with the author-contributions from arts therapists from many different linguistic backgrounds without any dilution

whatsoever of the original versions (a task requiring equally high levels of competence and fine feeling).

For my part, together with Anneliese Mannzmann (socio-history/mnemo­therapy), I have tried to set a framework for regional arts therapy. This work involved much time and energy as well as a very high frustration-tolerance level! However the Rubicon has been crossed - and now we are irrevocably committed to a "Europe of Regions" for arts therapy.

Sincere thanks for the technical realisation and meticulous attention to an infinite number of details concerning this volume are owed to Dolores Smith, Sabine Feske and Ingrid Kämmerling. We are also greatly indebted to Alan and Carol Hogg, who were responsib1e for the translations from German into English (Introduction and Preface in Volumes 1 and 2). They had to become acquainted with very complex texts which they handled with skill and sensitivity. The LIT Publishing House has been extremely accommodating with the costing, their flexible reaction to time schedules and printing arrangements for the final manuscript. To them also, we should like to express our sincere thanks.