How Art Therapy Can Help Your Mental Health
Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that helps people express emotions that may be difficult to express otherwise. A common misconception about art therapy is that you must be artistic to partake in it. However, art therapy focuses more on the process of creating art rather than the finished product.
Art therapy can help improve mental health in several different ways. One of the reasons that art therapy is so helpful is it allows people to express their emotions without needing to use words. Sometimes, when people struggle with difficult experiences or emotions, they don’t have the tools to express them in a healthy way. Art therapy can provide the opportunity to use the creative process to express their emotions and ultimately heal from them.
Another way art therapy is helpful for participants is it increases their creativity and gives them a place to express it. Creativity can help people learn things about themselves and reduce stress and anxiety. Even people who don’t classify themselves as especially creative can still benefit from the creative process through art therapy.
Art therapy can also be used to improve a person’s self-esteem. When people participate in art therapy, they have a natural connection and pride in their work. If this work is used to bring awareness to difficulties the person is going through, they can use their revelations to heal. Higher levels of self-esteem and self-awareness are associated with an overall better quality of life.
In addition to improving self-esteem, art therapy can help improve the ability of people to engage in self-reflection. Self-reflection is a great way to explore past events in your life in a way that allows you to learn and grow from them.
The most common use for art therapy is the treatment of mental disorders. Art therapy can help people struggling with mental illnesses express themselves using the creative process. Art therapists help guide patients through the creative process in a comforting and supportive way. The art therapist also uses their training to help patients identify nonverbal cues and metaphors in their art. These revelations can then be considered when a therapist is trying to find the best way to treat their specific disorder.
When people partake in art therapy, they may enjoy the process so much that they adopt it as a coping skill. Coping skills are essential to maintain healthy mental health and help prevent difficulties in the future. Participants in art therapy can also experiment with different mediums, which can open their eyes to different ways to express themselves and cope.
Working with an art therapist can be a great addition to a person’s life. Art therapy can be used to explore different ways of healing that might not have been possible using other methods. Even if you don’t work with an art therapist in a formal sense, you can still try using the creative process to learn, reflect, and heal. You can bring these discoveries to therapy and discuss different ways to integrate them into your life.
If you are interested in working with a therapist, you can reach out to us here. We are excited to help you on your healing journey.
References
https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/healing-through-art
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10343444/
https://www.husson.edu/online/blog/2024/02/benefits-of-art-therapy
https://arttherapy.org/what-is-art-therapy/
Keywords: art therapy, mental health, creativity, therapist