- Art therapy is a mixture of psychotherapy (psychology) and creativity (art). It is a dynamic process that requires active participation from an individual. This process is done through art making.
- During a session, simple art materials are used such as markers, paint, chalk, clay, colage and drawing material.
- Art therapy is based on the belief that the creative process of art is both healing and life- enhancing.
- Art making is seen as an opportunity to express oneself imaginatively, authentically, and spontaneously, an experience that, over time, can lead to personal: fulfillment, emotional reparation and transformation.
- While doing art, the individual build a special and a professional bond with the therapist. She or he build strength, confidence and trust in the therapist and the art making process. The artwork created becomes a vessel in the expressive and the communicative process.
There is numerous reasons why someone would want invest in art therapy:
- for emotional support
- to resolve or heal inner conflict
- to awaken individual creativity
- to enhance your ability to know yourself
- to cultivate deeper relationship
- to greater enhance quality of life
- to relieving stress and tension
- to simply participate in an enjoying and pleasurable expressive activity
- to better understand who we are
- to express feelings and ideas that words cannot
- to create art work
- to share emotional ideas about the creative process
- to visual thinking to organise feelings, thoughts, and perceptions about the world around us through images
- to better deal with ADD, ADHD, compulsive disorders
- to better understand our state of mind, our behavior
- to find strategies to see the world differently
- to better cope with controllable or uncontrollable issues
Using creative art is a powerful and effective way to identify and touch feelings and emotions. The work of the art therapist is to create an environment where the participant can experience openly his or her feelings. The private and secure environment allows a client to gain confidence and insights, to release stresses, to find answers, to build self-esteem and confidence, to deal with anxiety, to work through grief, to find and experience different strategies, to work on some transformations, to build a strong, secure and professional relationship.