Art Therapy
Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses creative activities, such as drawing,
painting, collage, clay, photography, or other visual arts, to help people explore
emotions, process experiences, build insight, and develop coping skills.
What happens in art therapy?
These are some of the ways art is used
in art therapy sessions:
-
Draw what an emotion looks like
-
Create a collage representing your identity or values
-
Paint an experience that is difficult to put into words
-
Create an image of healing, growth or hope
-
Draw a safe or calming place
-
Externalize anxious or intrusive thoughts onto paper
-
Create a self-compassion or inner-child image
-
Use imagery to explore relationships, boundaries, grief, or trauma
-
Combine artwork with journaling, reflection, or mindfulness
Who can benefit
from art therapy?
Art therapy is used with children, teens, and adults! It can be helpful for many concerns, including anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, relationship difficulties, life transitions, self-esteem, and emotional regulation.
Do I need
artistic experience?
Humans are innately creative and anyone can participate in art therapy! No traditional artistic training or experience is needed. In fact, many adults stopped participating in visual arts once it was not part of school curriculum. Art therapy is about the process and not the final product. It is not specifically aiming to create something aesthetically pleasing, but rather learning and growing from the process itself.
How does
art therapy help?
Art therapy can help in many ways. Here are a few examples:
-
Getting feelings "out of your head" and onto the paper
-
Slowing down an overactive mind
-
Practicing self-compassion
-
Clarifying what matters to you
-
Exploring parts of yourself
-
Making space for joy
How is theory incorporated
into art therapy?
Theory is what gives art therapy its clinical structure. The art itself is a medium, but theory helps me, as the therapist, decide why to use a particular directive, what to pay attention to, and how to process what emerges.
For example, psychodynamic theory is one of the earliest theoretical influences on art therapy. Artwork can provide access to unconscious material, conflicts, defenses, and emotions that may be difficult to verbalize. On the other hand, Jungian approaches pay closer attention to symbols, archetypes, dreams, imagery and the process of meaning-making.
While I use influences from many different theories, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a prominent focus in my personal approach to therapy. ACT focuses on psychological flexibility, values, acceptance, present-moment awareness, cognitive defusion, and committed action.
What are the origins of art therapy?
Humans have used images, symbols, storytelling, ritual, and creative expression to communicate emotions and make meaning for thousands of years. In the 19th century, the idea started to grow that creative expression could have a therapeutic function. Clinicians became interested in children's drawings as possible expressions of unconscious material.
Two important pioneers in the art therapy field are Margaret Naumburg and Edith Kramer. Naumburg is often referred to as the "mother of art therapy" and Kramer emphasized the healing potential of the artistic process itself. British artist Adrian Hill coined the term "art therapy" in 1942 after using art to cope with recovering from tuberculosis. In 1969, the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) was established and remains the governing body of art therapy to this day.
Will you interpret
my artwork?
Modern art therapy does not involve the therapist decoding artwork or assigning fixed meanings to symbols. Art therapy includes client exploration, including considerations about what the client notices in the artwork and what it means to them. The client is the expert of their own artwork. As the therapist, I offer observations and ask questions to support the client in further understanding and exploring their artwork.
