Art Therapy – A New Approach to Mental Health

Art therapy uses various forms of art and creativity to help individuals process their emotions and gain psychological insight through examining their art. Art therapy may be used on its own, or it might also be used as a component of or complement to another mental health treatment, according to the American Art Therapy Association.

What is art in psychotherapy?

Art therapy is a tool therapists use to help patients interpret, express, and resolve their emotions and thoughts. Patients work with an art therapist to explore their emotions, understand conflicts or feelings that are causing them distress, and use art to help them find resolutions to those issues. It encourages the development of healthy coping strategies. Therapy can facilitate insight, empathy, and acceptance of other’s life challenges. It is capable of promoting problem-solving skills. Art therapy is capable of exploring, managing, and providing insight into traumatic experiences. Art therapy integrates psychotherapy and some form of visual arts as a specific, stand-alone form of therapy, but it is also used in combination with other types of therapy. Another way that art therapy is utilized is art psychotherapy. 15 Different Art Therapy Types. In the U.S. Margaret Naumburg, an American psychologist, educator, artist and author, and founder of the Walden School of New York City is credited with introducing art as a therapeutic modality in the 1940s. She called her approach Dynamically Oriented Art Therapy.

What type of therapy is art?

Art Therapy is a therapeutic modality that uses various forms of art and creativity to help individuals process their emotions and gain psychological insight through examining their art. Art Therapy may be used on its own, or it might also be used as a component of or complement to another mental health treatment. Art therapy is a mental health treatment, also known as art psychotherapy. It utilises art materials to facilitate expression alongside verbal communication, although in some cases it may be solely non-verbal (dependant on the client group). Art therapy improves the mental health of people who are dealing with addictions, anxiety, attention disorders, grief and loss, dementia, depression, eating disorders, physical illness, PTSD, trauma, relationship issues and much more. It is not therapy. Therapy aims at transformation through understanding. Art aims at transformation more directly. When we make a piece of art about something we don’t understand, we come to understand it, or, at least, our relationship to it through our own experience—which is more full-bodied than merely cerebral. Art forces the mind to slow down, to focus on the details, and it helps to block out the mind’s distractions, resulting in people feeling noticeably calmer and less anxious. You should have a degree in art or creative therapies to do a postgraduate course. You may be able to apply if you’ve got a degree in a related subject, for example psychology, nursing or social work.

What is the difference between art therapy and art psychotherapy?

Art therapy is a mental health treatment, also known as art psychotherapy. It utilises art materials to facilitate expression alongside verbal communication, although in some cases it may be solely non-verbal (dependant on the client group). Depression and Art Therapy Art therapy provides an individual who is feeling pressured or overwhelmed with an opportunity to slow down and explore the issues that are occurring in their life. It provides them with a way to manage their behavior, reduce anxiety, process feelings, and destress. But it’s important to note that art therapy is not a kind of CBT. Rather, CBT is a viable approach to art therapy. Nonetheless, many studies have shown that art is an effective tool in the CBT process. Two studies showed that, when combined with CBT, art can help treat anxiety disorders. Taking into account the number of publications/studies, academic programs, and/or practicing professionals, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is arguably the gold standard of the psychotherapy field.

What is art therapy journal?

Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association A broad spectrum of ideas in therapy, practice, professional issues, and research. Peer-reviewed empirical research, theory and practice papers, viewpoints, reviews of current literature in art therapy, and best practices. Art therapy supports the important tenets of DBT by providing coping skills to clients. Coping skills help clients to identify emotions, implement grounding techniques, and use self-regulation strategies to reduce maladaptive behaviours. Margaret Naumburg, often described as the “mother of art therapy,” established the Walden School in her home city of New York in 1915. She is widely viewed as the primary founder of the American art therapy movement. However, today contemporary fine art is more than just painting and is defined by 7 fine art disciplines: painting, sculpture, architecture, poetry, music, literature, and dance. An art diary, art journal or visual journal is a daily journal kept by artists, often containing both words and sketches, and occasionally including mixed media elements such as collages. There is increasing evidence in rehabilitation medicine and the field of neuroscience that art enhances brain function by impacting brain wave patterns, emotions, and the nervous system. Art can also raise serotonin levels. These benefits don’t just come from making art, they also occur by experiencing art.

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