“Before a child talks they sing. Before they write they draw. As soon as they stand they dance. Art is fundamental to human expression.”
What is Art Therapy
“Art therapy is an integrative mental health and human services profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship.”
-AATA, 2017
Art therapy is a psychotherapist who is trained to use the expressive arts such as painting, drawing, and collage during therapy sessions as a way for a client or group to heal and process emotions to improve their mental health wellness.It is facilitated by a trained master’s level clinician whom received their Masters of Arts in Art Therapy degree. Art therapy is fairly new starting in the 1940s in Europe and the United States. The artwork and creative process provides a space for a client to explore their feelings, increase self-awareness, increase mindfulness, strengthen social skills, reduce anxiety, improve self-esteem, improve communication skills, and improve cognitive and sensory-motor function. Art therapy can help people communicate non-verbally, and it is a great type of therapy for those who can’t find the words to what they feel or who don’t easily open up verbally to others.
Art therapy is known to be effective in accessing trauma memories through the art making process. When something traumatic happens, our brains may go on fight/flight/Freeze and thus activating our mammalian part of the brain which does not use language and it is not the logical thinking part of the brain where our conscious thoughts live. Instead trauma it is remembered through bodily sensations such as visual, auditory, tactile, movement, etc. Through the art one is able to safely express body sensations and implicit memories that are inaccessible by verbal language and our rational, conscious mind, making it an effective brain based intervention and body and mind connection. Therefore, Art allows us to reach different parts of the brain that otherwise would be hard to access through talk therapy.
Sessions can be individual, couple, family, or group. Art materials use vary from painting, clay, collage, found objects, sand tray, to jewelry making. Art therapists are trained to work with many different art materials and how to apply different art interventions to different counseling theories.
Art therapist can be found in the following community and clinical settings:
Inpatient/outpatient hospitalizations
Schools
Crisis centers
Senior living centers
Community clinics
Rehabilitation centers
Cancer centers
For more information check out:
AATA, https://arttherapy.org/
Huffpost: “Art Therapy is more than just making nice pictures”
