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How does art therapy help emotionally?
It helps with exploring confused or difficult thoughts and feelings. It can encourage positive feelings too. People enjoy the control and expressive qualities of making art. Sharing experiences with a trained art therapist is supportive. Traditional talk-therapy is also a challenge for individuals who have experienced trauma and have a difficult time verbalizing their experience. As an alternative, art therapy offers the space to explore and process the feelings, memories, and effects of trauma in their creations. Painting, drawing and other art forms can help increase the number of connections in the brain that impact memory, improve moods and expand a person’s vocabulary. Art therapy is even used in treating cancer as it helps decrease stress and perception of pain, improves quality of life and compliance to treatment. Do you talk during art therapy? YES – talking is also an important part of art therapy. Art Therapists are trained in talk therapy and counseling, so sometimes talking might be the only thing that’s therapeutic in the session so that’s what you’ll do. Researchers tell us that not only do children who participate in arts programming over an extended period of time show more sophisticated social skills such as sharing and cooperation, but also show reduced shyness and anxiety (internalized display of emotions) and reduced aggressive behavior (externalized display of …
How does art therapy heal the soul?
Q: How does art contribute to healing? A: Art is healing because it forces you to forge a connection between your mind and your body. Unlike exercise, which works your body, or meditation, which clears your mind, art-making accesses both mind and body to promote healing. Traditional healing arts include music, art, dance/movement, poetry/writing, and drama therapies. These approaches combine artistic expression with psychological awareness and communication, and are led by therapists experienced in both areas. Research has found that making art can activate reward pathways in the brain, reduce stress, lower anxiety levels and improve mood. Art Therapy may be used in treatments for a variety of conditions, and any of these treatments may include a variety of artistic media, though painting and drawing remain most common. 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. Art has been used throughout history as a way for people to convey emotions, communicate thoughts, and even record history. Above all that, art has been the medium for many people, both artists and non-artists alike, to express themselves.
Who is art therapy best for?
Art therapy is an effective treatment for persons experiencing developmental, medical, educational, social or psychological impairment. A key goal in art therapy is to improve or restore the client’s functioning and his/her sense of personal well being. Art therapists are trained in both art and therapy. 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 provides a safe way to approach traumatic memories through the use of symbols, which may facilitate consolidation of experiences by converting an artistic form, representative of emotions and reactions to trauma, into linguistic communication (Gantt & Tinnin, 2007; Morgan & Johnson, 1995). Some cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBTs) principles useful to art therapists are problem-solving, modeling, relaxation techniques and mental imagery, stress reduction and systematic desensitization and/or flooding. These CBAT principles are discussed using examples from both historic and current writers. How frequently you have art therapy depends on you and your needs. Usually weekly sessions are best. But some people who are in crisis need more than one session per week, while others find having sessions every other week works best. Art gives us the ability to express ourselves in ways that nothing else can. Self-expression allows us to understand ourselves and process our emotions. Research conducted at the Georgetown Behavioral Health Institute confirms that self-expression in the arts positively affects mood, function, cognition, and behavior.
What techniques do art therapists use?
Paints, oil and soft pastels, markers or other drawing tools, and clay give art therapists a solid toolbox for various therapeutic interventions, but there are many other tools that therapists use, such as tissue art, fiber arts, beadwork, and mask making. For example, an art therapist might work with clients to develop coping skills or strategies for changing behavior. Other tasks. Art therapists also do assessments, write treatment plans and summary reports, and discuss a client’s progress with colleagues. Another way that art therapy is utilized is art psychotherapy. Perhaps one of the most common differences between the two is the overall goal, which is self expression. In other words, the main goal involving art therapy is to either communicate or express something, while the main goal involving therapeutic art-making is to either experiment or learn something.
What happens in the brain during art therapy?
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. Art makes you feel better Trying creative activities helps our brain produce more dopamine, the brain chemical that we are not getting enough of when we’re lonely or depressed. Dopamine provides us with the motivation to start and continue an activity. Kids, teenagers, or adults with personal problems can benefit from using art therapy. People with more serious issues can make use of art therapy… For example, people with autism, brain injuries, eating disorders, cancer, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, etc. Once you identify what you’re feeling, you can start to channel those feelings into art. You can think about composing a song, writing, painting, dancing, singing, or making a sculpture. Think of your deepest feelings associated with that emotional wound. Begin to shape those feelings into a creative work of art. Visual art, music, dance/movement, drama, and expressive writing are the primary expressive arts modalities used in counseling. The creative arts offer both the clinician and the client an opportunity to move beyond the expressive limits of talk therapy.