Summary:

Expressive languages are tools widely used in therapeutic contexts due to their characteristics that allow the communication (in ways that are not necessarily verbal) of content or messages that words often fail to convey. But the scope of the office establishes a completely dissimilar framework to the public exhibition of the artwork outside and this diversity defines possibilities and impediments in the scope of the treatments. The objectives of this paper are to describe the influence of both spaces on the use of expressive languages for therapeutic purposes. For this, a development of concepts linked to expressive languages is carried out with supports such as the Psychology of Art and Communication Theory, among others. As a result, it is possible to reflect on the characteristics of these spaces with their own qualities for various therapeutic objectives. In conclusion, we seek to distinguish appropriate spaces so that the use of expressive languages in treatments generates the best therapeutic achievements, avoiding iatrogenic practices, overlapping professional roles and optimizing goals according to the different places they occupy in each space.

Key words: expressive languages | therapy | exposure | office | communication | art