As a kind of treatment for mental health issues, art therapy encourages patients to express themselves creatively. Figure out the ins and outs and more.
Therapists may aid their patients in making sense of and finding solutions to their inner turmoil by using art therapy. With the support of an art therapist, patients may discover ways to express and make sense of the feelings, thoughts, and conflicts that are triggering their suffering.
Although art therapy as a field didn’t get much traction until the 1970s, it had its start in the 1940s. It uses creative processes similar to other forms of expressive arts therapy, including music therapy and dance therapy. Find out whether art therapy is right for you by reading about its benefits and drawbacks.
How Can Art Therapists Help?
Professional art therapists have advanced degrees and treat patients of various ages and walks of life. The education and supervised training that art therapists get to equip them to deal culturally and competently with varied groups in a range of contexts, including private practices, schools, communities, residential homes, hospitals, and private practices. They are also subject to certain ethical standards. People with physical and mental health issues, as well as those wishing to develop their spirituality, creativity, or emotional well-being, may all benefit from the guidance of an art therapist.
It is possible to become a licensed art therapist by completing an undergraduate degree program in art therapy or a closely related field that offers art therapy and art courses. A master’s degree in art therapy or a closely related subject, like counseling, may be attained via courses in art therapy. Research paper writing is a common requirement of many training programs, and a strong bibliography is essential to both academic achievement and your future career. Nevertheless, particularly if you are training to become an art therapist, creating a bibliography for a dissertation or other academic work may be rather difficult. Complexity is increased by the need to critically annotate all sources in addition to citing them. One excellent option in this situation is to look for online help with annotated bibliography/
Such services provide expert help in locating academic resources, as well as in evaluating and formatting each source in compliance with your institution’s standards. This is especially pertinent to the area of art therapy because choosing literature calls for a specialized method that includes studies in psychology, therapeutic arts, and creative interaction methods.
Methods Used in Art Therapy
“What is art therapy and how does it work?” is a common question. Fundamental ideas include the positive effects of creative expression on mental health and the ability to get a fresh understanding of and perspective on one’s own emotions and thoughts via expressive arts therapy.
In art therapy sessions, clients and therapists collaborate to identify and address the root causes of emotional discomfort. Subsequently, the therapist assists the client in making art that tackles the root of their problem. What art therapists do during a session is:
What is the Purpose of Art Therapy?
Make it clear that customers don’t need to be artistic or creative to get the benefits.
A variety of media are available to clients; assist them in selecting and working with one.
Asking questions is a good way to lead a customer into creative expression.
Go over the outcomes, including the finished product and the client’s reaction.
Consider scheduling a follow-up appointment or assigning the client independent tasks.
What are the Benefits of Art Therapy?
The fundamental tenet of art therapy is the idea that expressing oneself creatively may bring about positive transformation and recovery. Making something new involves complete immersion in the here and now, which in and of itself is therapeutic and cathartic.
When words fail, art therapy may provide a means of expression and communication that transcends language limitations.
Art therapy has the potential to promote autonomy, decision-making, and problem-solving abilities while simultaneously encouraging creativity, which in turn may lead to alternative reactions to challenging circumstances.
One way art therapy may boost self-esteem is by giving patients a chance to express themselves creatively and get a feeling of accomplishment when they finish an artwork.
An environment is conducive to insight-oriented work may be offered via art therapy. To go a little further into the meaning and significance of the artwork produced during the session, it might be helpful to explore and process some of life’s challenges via artistic means.
To illustrate, the following are some instances of situations in which art therapy might be beneficial:
●Those adults who are experiencing significant emotional discomfort.
●People who have experienced trauma, regardless of whether they are children or adults.
●Children who are exhibiting behavior that is disruptive or antisocial, whether they are at home or in school.
●Kids who are having difficulty in school.
●People who cope with life after suffering a brain injury.
●People who are struggling with emotional or mental health difficulties.
How Does an Art Therapy Session Work?
Art therapists often encourage their clients to create artwork during sessions by offering suggestions for topics to explore or by implementing a planned art intervention based on the client’s individual requirements. On the other hand, art therapists often step back and let their clients go wild with the materials they’ve been given, offering only suggestions and encouragement. Paint, clay, collage, photography, and even natural materials may all be included in art therapy. Each client will be assessed by the art therapist to establish the most appropriate medium. Following the art-making session, the client and art therapist will reflect on and talk about the session’s overall experience and the finished artwork. The client and art therapist will work together to delve further into the artwork’s content, examining and deciphering any metaphors or symbols that may have surfaced.
Can Art Therapy Relieve Pain?
What are the benefits of art therapy for mental health? Studies have shown that art therapy can treat many mental health disorders, but we still don’t completely understand how the brain works, so we can’t say for sure how art therapy works.
More and more research is showing that art therapy may assist with mood-related issues, including anxiety, despair, trauma, and poor self-esteem. Additionally, it helps those attempting to build good coping mechanisms, such as incarcerated individuals and those dealing with terminal illnesses like cancer. People who are in physical discomfort while hospitalized might also benefit from art therapy. Additionally, there is some evidence that it may help with PTSD.
The evidence for art therapy’s efficacy for severe mental disorders is encouraging but limited due to the therapy’s relative youth.
Are There Any Potential Risks of Adverse Effects from Art Therapy?
The risks of art therapy are the same as those of other therapeutic approaches. Possible adverse consequences may involve:
●Anxiety and tension at elevated levels
●Bringing feelings to the surface without acknowledging or addressing them
●Having a hard time with the sudden end of treatment
If the patient’s problems are not adequately resolved by art therapy, then the treatment is useless. In many cases, this makes the patient more uncomfortable and may even make them resistant to alternative treatments that might work better for them.
Because of misconceptions about the need for innate creative ability, dismissal as “arts and crafts” rather than a therapeutic aid, and general skepticism about its efficacy, many clients are hesitant to try art therapy. Because of this, art therapy won’t work for these people either.
Due to the novelty of art therapy, there is currently insufficient data to determine which problems it is most helpful for and under what circumstances it outperforms other types of treatment. Instead of relying only on art therapy, patients with severe mental issues may think about including it in their treatment plan.
Exclusions of Art Therapy:
●The importance of the process, rather than the end result, is central to art therapy since it is not product-oriented.
●Art therapy is more than just making things.
●Art therapy goes beyond just being a leisure pastime.
●Drawing, painting, or sculpting is only the beginning of what art therapy entails.
●In art therapy, the therapist does not only “read” or “interpret” the artwork; rather, the therapist and client collaborate to discover the client’s meaning within the artwork.
●Making art for the sake of art exhibitions is not the point of art therapy.
●You don’t need any kind of artistic training or background to practice art therapy.
●Art therapy is not the same thing as art classes or art instruction.
Those Who Should Not Pursue Art Therapy
Some people don’t benefit from art therapy. Art therapy doesn’t need exceptional creative or artistic abilities to work, but many people may be dubious or reluctant to do it because they feel they lack these qualities.
Beyond that, not all mental health issues have responded well to art therapy. As an example, one meta-analysis indicated that art therapy did not influence the severity of schizophrenia symptoms, either good or bad.