Art Therapy
A picture is worth a thousand words. So is making art.
You don't have to be an "artist" to reap the emotional, psychological and physiological rewards of art therapy.
Utilizing a variety of art materials and found objects allows the brain to get out of its own way, so you can give tangible form to your inner reality
and observe it from a bird's eye view.
When words fail or are not enough, creating art is a safe outlet that can help you process what is happening, release pent up emotions and
give you back a sense of control of your life.
Utilizing a variety of art materials and found objects allows the brain to get out of its own way, so you can give tangible form to your inner reality
and observe it from a bird's eye view.
When words fail or are not enough, creating art is a safe outlet that can help you process what is happening, release pent up emotions and
give you back a sense of control of your life.
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Too much was happening all at once - three young children, an ugly divorce, living with my mother and struggling with Parkinson's disease. The artwork I did brought a smile to my face. I felt in control of my life and felt the self I knew return.
- Nurse, age 37 |
I have been to several therapists. I was rather reluctant to try another, especially art therapy. Now I enjoy the fact that I can express my thoughts and feelings in symbolic form. I find I am able to explore issues that have been a barrier to my having significant relationships.
- Male commodities trader, age 37 |
What Art Therapy Can Help With
ADD and ADHD | Alzheimer's | Anxiety | Asperger's | Autism | Couples Counseling | Dementia | Depression | Developmental Delays | Dissociative Identity Disorder | Divorce and other Life Transitions | Domestic Violence | Down Syndrome | Eating Disorders | Family Counseling | Grief and Loss | Learning Disabilities | OCD | Schizophrenia | Self-Esteem Issues | Stress | Substance Abuse and Addictions | Survival of Suicide Loss
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Art Therapy & Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety is like a rocking chair: you go back and forth and don't get anywhere.
Making art guides you to focus and transform your energy, so you begin to relax and regain control. |
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Art Therapy & Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)Art making gives voice, shape and color to emotions and memories that overwhelm us, whether consciously or unconsciously.
This is a safe way for individuals suffering from PTSD to release what is bottled up inside them, even when they are not able - or willing - to speak about it. Read how art therapy and creating painted masks helps war veterans suffering from PTSD express how they feel. |
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Art Therapy & Alzheimer's/Dementia
People with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia can find it difficult to access the words and meanings they need to communicate effectively.
Viewing and making art is a visual process that calls on different parts of the brain from verbal language, so it can provide new avenues for communication and brain stimulation. Read how art therapy helped my mother express herself as she was suffering from Alzheimer's. |
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Art Therapy & Learning Disabilities/Developmental DelaysPeople with learning disabilities and developmental delays are faced with frustrations and the constant thought of "being different."
During art therapy sessions, you turn limitations into strengths creating something unique to you - with no pressure to conform. The girl who produced this piece named it "Cow-nary" A cow and a bird combined! |
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Art Therapy & Physical DisabilitiesArt therapy helps people even with severe physical disabilities make their limitations work for them, not against them.
The sensorial experience of making art, like rolling a tennis ball dipped in paint across a page or tearing up pieces of paper, can be extremely validating and stimulating for someone with a physical impairment. The art therapist might help the patient make choices or suggest the materials that can give the most pleasure and functions as a "third hand" when needed. Read how art therapy helps Rachel, a girl with spina bifida. |
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Art Therapy & Attention Deficit Disorders (ADD and ADHD)Art therapy offers individuals with attention deficit disorders solace from their struggles and opportunities to focus.
The art therapist will choose approaches that meet the person's needs. For some, this might mean having a limited selection of materials to choose from, while others might derive benefit from the tactile quality of the tools or from creating with unusual objects. |
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Art Therapy & DepressionPeople suffering from depression often find in art therapy a tool that helps them give a voice to their sadness and fill the nothingness they are experiencing. Creating something with their hands, using different materials, engages the neurotransmitters in the brain; it activates the senses and breaks the solitary confinement they have built for themselves.
The process often leads to discoveries that help individuals find new meanings and move forward. |
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Art Therapy & Building Self-EsteemFor individuals with low self-esteem, the act of creating something - whatever that might be - brings a sense of purpose and opens the door for self-discovery.
Art therapy sessions provide a safe, judgement-free space where there are no mistakes - only possibilities. This results in acceptance, the capacity for self-soothing and increased confidence. |
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Art Therapy & Autism, Asperger's and Down SyndromeThe art making tasks are specifically designed to meet each person at their developmental level.
Art therapy will assist children and adults with Autism, Asperger's or Down Syndrome to release frustrations and tension through their art making, while experiencing a sense of pride and accomplishment. |
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Art Therapy & Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)For people affected by dissociative identity disorder, art therapy is an avenue to build, paint, sculpt or collage their past and release difficult memories. This process, in turn, makes it easier for them to be more grounded in the present.
"The value of art for me is that I could communicate between parts that have difficulty accepting the truth of other parts and their need to express certain things... It is difficult to discern what is real when what actually happened is so weird that it appears more like a metaphor, although it is not. The art therapy sessions have given me a way to express these “weird” thoughts and feelings and the courage to express all of me." - Patient with Dissociative Identity Disorder |
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Art Therapy & Survivors of Suicide LossFor those who have lost a loved one through suicide, art therapy provides a way to give shape to their thoughts and feelings of guilt, shame, denial, anger and depression.
This assists the survivors in honoring their grief through a tangible form of expression, which is often more powerful than words. |
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Art Therapy & Addiction/Eating DisordersPeople suffering from alcohol or drug addictions and eating disorders are stuck in destructive patterns they are not able to distance themselves from.
Art therapy gives you the tools to express and explore those patterns and find the reasons behind them. It then allows you to visualize ways to distance yourself from negative habits and replace them with new, more productive patterns. Read how art therapy helped a defiant teenager struggling with anorexia. |
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Art Therapy & Victims of Domestic ViolenceArt therapy helps victims of domestic violence acknowledge the atmosphere pervading their everyday lives. This, in turn, leads them to relieve and release the tension they are experiencing.
The art making process can also guide the victims to start building symbolic boundaries and visualizing the safety they seek. |
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Art Therapy & Family/Couples CounselingArt therapy uses non-verbal tools to help families and couples communicate and understand each other, giving everyone an equal voice and leaving no room for judgement or criticism.
The process of making art together can also spotlight underlining relationship dynamics, which can then observed and discussed through the art therapist's guidance. |
One session we drew an image of the wall we had built between us and what we needed to remove it. This assisted us to understand each other better and provided options to be more loving with one another. Art Therapy saved us from an unnecessary divorce!
- Married couple
- Married couple