Art Therapy
What is art therapy?
Art therapy is a tool that therapists can use to help assist people in understanding, expressing, and resolving their feelings and thoughts (Feeney, 2024; Shukla et al., 2022). In collaboration with an art therapist, the client can explore their feelings, understand conflicts or emotions that are upsetting them, and use art to help them come to terms with those problems (Feeney, 2024). Ideally, people will be able to understand and respond to their emotions and thoughts with a new perspective (Cherry, 2023).
How does art therapy work?
During a session, the art therapist works with the client to understand what is causing them issues and distress. The therapist then guides the client to create art that addresses the main cause of their issues (Feeney, 2024; Cherry, 2023). While in a session, an art therapist may do some of the following (Cherry, 2023; Feeney, 2024:
They will describe the goal of art therapy.
Let you know that you do not need to think of yourself as creative or artistic in order to see benefits.
They will help you pick what type of art you want to do, such as drawing, painting, sketching, colouring, collage, etc.
The art therapist will also guide you through expressing yourself through the chosen medium; they may also ask you questions.
Once the art is complete, they will discuss the results, both the final product and how you felt while creating it.
Create goals and plan for future sessions.
Types and techniques
There are many different types of creative therapies, such as dance therapy, drama therapy, music therapy, or even writing therapy and expressive therapy. Many techniques can be used, such as collage, drawing, sketching, painting, colouring, sculpting, finger painting, and photography (Cherry, 2023; Hu et al., 2021).
Art therapy and mood disorders
Art therapy has shown that it can help with emotional regulation and emotional acceptance. Overall, art therapy has shown to have positive effects on mood disorders as well as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia (Shukla et al., 2022). Shukla et al. (2022) also highlight that implementing creative activities helps people to cope with stress and despair and can help alleviate the burden of chronic mental illnesses.
What does it help with?
More specifically, art therapy can be used to help with a variety of issues, especially when used in conjunction with other modalities such as CBT or group therapy (Cherry, 2023). It has been known to help people struggling with dementia, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, family or relationship issues, PTSD, stress, addiction, chronic illness, and cancer (Hu et al., 2021; Shukla et al., 2022).
It is important to note that art therapy is not the same as an art class. Art therapy focuses on guiding the client to focus on their inner experience. As well, you do not need to be artistic in order to benefit from this intervention. Art therapy can be for all ages and does not require artistic skill or ability (Cherry, 2023; Shukla et al., 2022).
If you think art therapy could help you in your healing journey, we have a certified art therapist named Karen here at Vaughan Counselling and Psychotherapy. You can contact us to book a free consultation at admin@vaughanpsychotherapist.com or call 647-267-9853.
References
Cherry, K. (2023, November 9). What Is Art Therapy? verywellmind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-art-therapy-2795755
Feeney, A. (2024, March 28). What Is Art Therapy? psychology.org. https://www.psychology.org/resources/what-is-art-therapy/#:~:text=Art%20therapy%20is%20a%20tool,find%20resolutions%20to%20those%20issues.
Hi, J., Zhang, J., Hu, L., Yu, H., & Xu, J. (2021). Art therapy: A complementary treatment for mental disorders. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(1), 686005. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.686005
Shukla, A., Choudhari, S. G., Gaidhane, A. M., & Quazi Syed, Z. (2022). Role of art therapy in the promotion of mental health: A critical review. Cureus, 14(8), e28026. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.28026