What is Art Therapy?
Art Therapy uses the creative process of making art to enhance physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
Images say things that words cannot. In a context of safety and trust, art provides a form of expression for those things that have no words or are too difficult or too painful to put into words. It’s especially helpful for people who find it hard to express their thoughts and feelings verbally.
Art Therapy is effective in dealing with grief, abuse, stress, anxiety, depression, illness, and life transitions. It helps resolve conflicts, ease pain, increase self-awareness, self-esteem, and create a sense of personal empowerment and well-being.
Art Therapy has been very successful in treating addiction and substance abuse, as well as healing trauma.
It’s not just for people dealing with difficulties. It is also a powerful means of nourishing creativity, learning to play, exploring dreams, getting a fresh perspective on life, and birthing a sense of personal renewal. It is an intensely pleasurable way of re-enchanting the world and feeling more alive.
But Art Therapy is not just another “treatment modality” in the compendium of psychotherapeutic techniques. Art Therapy, the way I see it, is a process deeply rooted in ancient Shamanic practices.
When you give yourself permission to express yourself, the images that come from your imagination are a doorway to the mysteries of the deep self.
Art is a medicine for the body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Through color, line, and shape the unconscious mind can communicate with us and accelerate our transformation and our healing. This is not about making something to hang in a gallery. Our images are not to be evaluated by any external criteria, but only by our own internal sense of what is true.
Previous art experience is not necessary. You don’t need to have any drawing skills whatsoever to discover the surprising depth of this work.