Is Art Therapy for you?
Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses art materials, such as paints, pastels, collage, and clay, to help people explore their internal world, express their feelings, and make sense of their experiences. It combines non-verbal forms of expression, with written and verbal reflections. Art therapy can be used in conjunction with other forms of therapy, such as talk therapy or medication, to provide a well-rounded approach to treatment.
The Benefits of Art Therapy:
1. Reduce stress and anxiety: Art therapy can help to reduce stress and anxiety by providing a creative outlet for emotions and feelings. The artmaking itself can help to promote relaxation and a sense of calm, allowing the individual to slow down, focus on one thing, and utilize rhythm, repetition, and motion to increase calm in the body. Art can also be used to develop mindfulness skills, increasing one’s ability to be present and direct one’s focus, which are important skills to develop when struggling with anxiety.
2. Enhancing emotion-regulation: Art therapy can help to enhance emotional regulation by providing a safe and supportive environment for individuals to express and process their emotions. The process of artmaking allows the individual to spend time with a specific emotion, building distress tolerance skills. The art allows the individual to create some distance between themselves and the uncomfortable emotion, which provides opportunity for further exploration and understanding. When an individual can remain in a calm state while processing uncomfortable emotions, they avoid becoming emotionally flooded, and they are better able to accept, make sense of, and find creative solutions.
3. Improving self-esteem and self-awareness: Art Therapy can help to improve self-esteem and self-awareness by encouraging self-expression and helping individuals to understand their own emotions and thoughts. One of my favourite things about using art to express oneself is its capacity to hold multiple contrasting ideas, themes, or experiences. Rather than telling a singular story about who we are, a piece of art can reflect multiple stories, for example both hardships and successes, the past and the future, one’s fears and hopes. Through the artmaking process the individual can come to see themselves more wholistically, bringing their many parts and experiences together, supporting increased awareness and self-acceptance.
4. Enhancing cognitive development: Art therapy can help to enhance cognitive development by supporting brain integration and promoting creativity and problem-solving skills. For those who tend to be more rational thinkers, artmaking can help access more creative ways of thinking. Art therapy can help a client discover alternative perspectives, creative solutions and new possibilities that would otherwise not have been available to the rational mind.
5. Increasing communication and social skills: Art therapy can help to increase communication and social skills by providing a nonverbal form of expression that can be used to communicate thoughts and feelings. I find this particularly helpful when working with children by adjusting to their developmental level, and when working with individuals struggling with social anxiety by adjusting to their comfort level. The art allows me to meet the client where they are. We build rapport, safety and develop a shared understanding of their experience using art therapy interventions. Then gradually we layer in written and verbal forms of communication into the reflection process, providing the client with transferable skills that can then be utilized elsewhere in their daily life.
6. Helping process trauma: Art therapy can be an effective way for individuals to process and cope with the impact of traumatic experiences. Artmaking is a sensory-motor activity that can be used to ground the client in the present, while processing traumatic experiences so they do not become overwhelmed. It is also an effective modality for trauma processing, helping the client share the images and sensations of the traumatic memory, giving form, language, and sequence to the memories with the goal of incorporating the traumatic experience into their life narrative.
7. Enhances spirituality: Art therapy can help to enhance spirituality by providing a means of self-expression that can be used to explore one’s inner self and connect with a higher power. Art therapy is a process oriented therapeutic approach. I often find that meaning is generated as the art takes form. This process creates space for spiritual reflections and, if one is open to it, spiritual intervention. Art can be used as a form of prayer, worship, and reflection.
As an art therapist, and registered social worker trained in clinical counselling, I use art therapy in my work with children, families, adults, and groups. I am particularly interested in using art therapy to treat people who have had traumatic experiences and in working with children.
Art Therapy as a Trauma Treatment:
Art therapy is a particularly effective method of treatment for individuals who have experienced trauma.[1]When experiencing a trauma, the brain goes into ‘survival’ mode (fight, flight, freeze) and the higher functioning parts (rational thinking, regulation) of the brain become less accessible. As a result, the traumatic memories are stored as images and sensations (disconnected from language, sequencing, or meaning) often presenting as flashbacks and nightmares.[2] Therefore, these traumatic memories can be more easily retrieved, expressed, and understood through sensory and imagery interventions like art therapy.[3] The combination of artmaking and verbalization processes, such as labelling, reasoning and narration, can help the client cognitively process the traumatic visual sensory experiences.
In addition, art therapy interventions can support the client to share about their traumatic experiences while remaining grounded in the present and remediating the stress response, thereby creating new, positive sensory experiences when re-processing. Artmaking also gives the client the opportunity to externalize and create a distance between oneself and the image of the trauma. While this sounds complicated the process is extremely accessible. Art therapy is an excellent treatment modality for children and adults who have experienced trauma.
Finally, it is important to note, that the trauma processing described above is part of a much longer therapeutic process, all of which can be facilitated using art therapy interventions, including establishing safety, building self-regulation, enhancing coping skills, making meaning of the one’s experiences, and supporting posttraumatic growth.
[1] Hass-Cohen, 2008
[2] Van der Kolk, 2014
[3] Steele & Malchiodi, 2012
Art Therapy for children:
Art therapy is a developmentally appropriate therapeutic modality that can also be used to help children develop their social and emotional skills. It is an accessible and inviting approach when building rapport and engaging children in the therapeutic process. Artmaking is a familiar and unintimidating method of communication for a child that allows them to share indirectly using art materials. It naturally lends itself to storytelling, allowing the child to share about their experiences, and creative problem solving, encouraging the child to use their imagination to resolve unmet needs.
For children struggling with mood disorders and behavioural challenges art therapy can be used increase their emotion regulation skills. Art therapy interventions include identifying and labelling their emotions, using colours, lines, shapes, and metaphors to describe what their feelings look like and how they show up in their bodies. Children can learn to befriend their feelings, turning them into ‘critters’ using modelling clay and listening to their important messages. Puppets, stories, comics and stop motion videos can be used to explore how comfortable feelings, like ‘calm,’ can help the uncomfortable feelings, like ‘anger’, ‘fear’ or ‘sadness’ when they get too big. Resources and calming skills are collected and documented, creatively captured through cards, key chains, or toolkits the child can take home and use as reminders. Gradually, using a variety of art forms and therapeutic interventions children can develop the ability to notice, label, understand and regulate their feelings.
Misconceptions:
Despite its benefits, there are still many misconceptions about art therapy that can prevent individuals from seeking out this form of treatment.
Misconception 1: Art therapy is only for the ‘artistic’ or ‘creative’
One common misconception is that art therapy is only for individuals who are “artistic” or “creative.” Art therapy is not about creating a masterpiece or being good at art. It is about using the creative process to express emotions and explore one’s inner self. Anyone can benefit from art therapy, regardless of their artistic ability.
Misconception 2: Art therapy is only for children
Some people might think that art therapy is only for children or adolescents, but it can be effective for people of all ages. Some adults chose to engage in art therapy in an effort to move beyond linear logic and the limits of language to access more creative problem-solving skills.
Misconception 3: Art therapy is not for serious issues
Another misconception is that art therapy is not as “serious” or “valid” as other forms of therapy, such as talk therapy. However, art therapy is a well-respected and evidenced-based therapeutic modality that is recognized by the Canadian and American art therapy associations and other professional organizations. Art therapists are highly trained professionals who have a post-graduate certificate or a master’s level diploma in art therapy.
Art therapy interventions can be integrated with various therapeutic approaches including, but not limited to, Solution Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and Somatic Therapies. It can be used to treat individuals and groups dealing with a variety of emotional and mental health challenges, including but not limited to:
- Trauma and PTSD
- Mood disorders like depression and anxiety
- Coping with stress and transitions in life
- Self-esteem and empowerment
- Behavioural issues
- Emotion Regulation
- Grief and loss
Disclaimer:
It is important to note that art therapy should be conducted by a qualified and trained art therapist. They will provide the materials and guidance as well as the skills and knowledge to create a safe and supportive environment.
Summary:
Art therapy is a powerful and effective tool that can help those looking to improve their social and emotional well-being, cognitive functioning, and overall quality of life. Perhaps you or your loved one could benefit from art therapy!
References:
Hass-Cohen, N. (2008). Partnering of art therapy and clinical neuroscience. In N. Hass-Cohen & R. Carr (Eds.), Art therapy and clinical neuroscience (pp.21-42). London, UK: Jessica Kingsley.
Steele, W. & Kuban, C. (2012). Using drawing in short-term trauma resolution. In C.A. Malchiodi (Ed.), Handbook of art therapy (2nd Ed.), (pp. 162-174). New York, NY: The Guildford Press.
Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps score: Brain, mind and body in the healing of trauma. New York, NY: Penguin Group.