What Is Art Therapy?
Art therapy is the field where the worlds of art and psychology meet.
Art therapy is the use of art materials and creative processes in a therapeutic setting to explore experiences, express feelings and foster mental wellbeing, healing and growth.
Art therapy is a unique approach to offer our clients the channel of expression as well as communication (which can be particularly beneficial to people who find it hard to express their thoughts and feelings verbally – due to the sense that they are unspeakable or because of other developmental or cognitive conditions).
No previous experience or skill in art is required to participate in art therapy. The art therapist is not primarily concerned with making an aesthetic or diagnostic assessment of the client’s images/objects. The overall aim of its practitioners is to enable a client to effect change and growth on a personal level, through the use of art materials, in a safe environment.
By making the unconscious conscious, art therapy can allow key ‘shifts’ that modify conscious thoughts, feelings and behaviours beneficially. Art therapy often assists people to open up, take a raw and honest look at their thoughts, feelings and perceptions, grasp the source of emotional distress or trauma and reduce struggles.