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What is Art Therapy?

Humankind has used art as therapeutic solace for the longest time. Cultures worldwide have integrated art and its significance for communicating and healing. Religious sculptures and paintings have given people a sense of connectivity and spirituality. Art and therapy have always had a correlation with each other throughout history.

The expressive/creative treatment umbrella has various forms like dance/movement, arts, music, etc. This treatment modality widely refers to visual art and its application with a therapeutic objective. The therapy type doesn't necessarily focus on equipping any individual to pursue art professionally. It rather enables them to convey their emotions effectively. However, the world identified the concept of art as therapy in the mid-20th century.

British artist Adrian Hill discovered this approach in the year 1942. The concept behind this therapy is predominantly from Hill's experience of dealing with tuberculosis and utilizing art as a distraction from the pain and a medium to portray his discontent with his illness. Hill might have discovered the basics of this therapy, but with time it became more advanced and researched. Margaret Naumburg, Florence Cane, Hanna Kwiatkowska, Edith Kramer, and Elinor Ulman were the five women whose research and writings established this therapy's core principles and concepts.

To date, Margaret Naumburg is widely referred to as the mother of Art Therapy. Her discontent with not being able to express herself entirely inspired her to discover an educational practice that focuses on children's emotional needs and individuality. At a time when the standard academic approach was restrictive and conservative, Naumburg started her "Children's School," which later became the "Walden School." The educational model of this school was rather experimental, as it focused more on enhancing a child's capacity and not simply accumulating knowledge. In 1920, she asked her sister Florence Cane to join the school as a faculty. Every modern theory of Art psychotherapy that we know today is based on the works of Naumburg and Cane.

Another major contributor to the field is Hanna Kwiatkowska. Kwiatkowski was a Polish sculptor and artist who later worked at the National Institutes of Mental Health. She observed how effectively art served as a tool of self-expression among the family members, which led them to identify their respective roles within the family. Another significant pioneer in the field is Edith Kramer. Born in 1916, Kramer studied arts in Vienna, Austria, and immigrated to the United States in 1938 and became an art therapist while working at the Wiltwycks School for Boys. She also established the first Graduate Program in Art Therapy at New York University. Elinor Ulman is another great name. Ulman is credited for establishing the first Art Therapy Journal in the United States, which started as The Bulletin of Art Therapy and later became The American Journal of Art Therapy. She also created one of the initial training programs in the field.

Overall, today's Art therapy is a cohesive therapeutic intervention technique implemented by a professional to help and gently guide an individual. It enhances an individual's ability to recognize and uncover suppressed emotions through the help of visual arts, its creative process, the psychological theory, and, most importantly, the human experience that comes with this psychotherapeutic affinity. The psychotherapy technique uses a gentle approach to:

• Improve cognitive and sensory-motor functions
• Boost self-esteem and self-awareness
• Develop emotional strength
• Enhance social skills
• Reduce and resolve conflicts and distress, and
• Advance societal change.

The therapy type encapsulates personal and collaborative change in a positive direction by helping individuals to become efficient members of society.

The Different Types

A professional creates a treatment session based on their client's unique concerns. And different problems might require a different approach. Depending on the case, a person might develop a liking for a specific type and use it as their emotional outlet. The main goal of visual/artistic therapy practices is to offer a mode of communication without any help of verbal communication. Art therapists might guide individuals, but they do not impose their point of view over the person's creative expression. Here are some variations of visual arts therapy:

• Painting: refers to choosing from different painting mediums, like paint or pigment, and applying them on a surface. For instance, watercolor, oil paintings, or finger paintings. Although in disciplinary art, the emphasis heavily relies on the tool and techniques. The focus is on the process of painting and how it makes one feel.
• Drawing: similar to painting, drawing is also a two-dimensional art form. The practice of sketching, doodling or scribbling on paper or canvas with the help of pencil, charcoal, ink, etc. In most cases, drawing or sketching can be devoid of colors, concentrating more on lines and shapes.
• Photography: might seem different from drawing or painting, but it can be an eloquent approach for many. Creating a photo journal or simply documenting the mundane nuances of daily life helps individuals visually witness their progress. Sometimes, a person might even understand their thought process and how it reflects in the outer world.
• Sculpture: refers to a three-dimensional art form with a hard surface like wood or stone carved to create a shape or abstract. The tactile nature of the art offers the creator a different perception of their creation compared to two-dimensional art forms.
• Ceramic art: is also a tangible art form. A person can mold and create impressions in wet clay through ceramic or clay art, which allows them to create a rhythm with their emotions.
• Collage-making: refers to an exciting creative approach where a person creates an art piece by putting together different pictures or prints collected from old magazines or newspapers. Assembling mismatched pieces to create something entirely new shows how a person's emotions guide them.

Every other type has its own rules and disciplines in the professional field. However, in therapy, they are merely a mode of communication. The outcome of these sessions doesn't require anyone's judgment. They are just a testimony of the person's healing journey.

What are the Benefits?

This therapy's kinder and more accessible approach helps various people with different concerns. Researchers have also found that the efficacy of the treatment across ages, cultures, and the severity of disorders remains unaltered. It can be in the form of group sessions or private practices. Each has its benefits; on the one hand, where a private session can help an individual to express themselves without any worry freely, group sessions enable them to participate in conversations and build self-confidence. But it all depends on the person seeking therapy, their concerns, and their comfort zone. Here are some of the benefits that come from this psychotherapy:

• It enables the person to self-express and conveys their emotions and sentiments vividly.
• In children, it allows them to navigate through life and difficult situations confidently.
• It enables individuals to build resilience against challenging emotions and negative thoughts.
• It encourages the person to view their life with a positive perspective.
• It facilitates a sense of liberty, self-reliance, and satisfaction with one's life.
• It offers a non-verbal way to communicate emotions that society might consider taboo or not have open conversations about.
• It builds a better sense of self-awareness and personal orientation.
• It imbues a person with productive strategies to become self-sufficient.
• It enables patients dealing with chronic illnesses to detach their personality from solely getting associated with their condition and suffering.
• It helps children establish a better attention span and develop interpersonal skills.
• It allows individuals to build or, in some cases (trauma recovery), redevelop fine and gross motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

These six principles represent that these techniques can significantly decrease symptoms without it being the core objective of the therapy type.

Common Techniques

Skilled Art Therapists draw from their knowledge and expertise and guide individuals to partake in an activity that can help them the best. No single person or case is the same as another. Hence, a professional uses various techniques to get the desired result from therapeutic interventions. With the help of psychological, spiritual, and artistic aspects of the therapy type and clinical approaches, a person can build coping strategies and communication skills.

There is a wide variety of techniques within the therapy type to help an individual effectively. A professional might implement different exercises and methods to attain a specific goal. Here are some standard techniques used:

• Drawing/Painting your emotions: Sometimes, the best way to deal with difficult emotions is to provide an outlet, and painting or drawing can be the best option. This exercise allows the person to invest all their attention and energy in how they are feeling.
• Finger painting: Getting hands-on (literally) with the process can provide great sensory relief. Creating textures by spreading paint without tools can help people connect with their emotions. And the activity isn't limited just to kids.
• Self Portrait: It is optional to possess artistic skills like Van Gogh's to create a self-portrait. The exercise focuses on allowing individuals to portray the perspective they have for themselves. A therapist can also guide a person to create an alternate version of themselves, such as a future or happier self.
• Photograph your day: Documenting miscellaneous things through photographs or creating a photobook of happy memories can help people change their perspective toward life.
• Painting a cherished memory: Sometimes, thinking about the past is difficult without focusing on the traumatic experiences. In that case, walking down memory lane to paint a happy or unforgettable memory can help people navigate difficult emotions.
• Doodling: Finding a rhythm and doodling can be a helpful exercise. Creating mandalas or repetitive line patterns has a calming effect on the mind.
• Scribbling: Sometimes scribbling can be a fun exercise that creates an outcome of your emotions. Scribbling is also a crafty exercise for children and adults dealing with anger.
• Sculpting: Participating in a tangible activity is always helpful, as it shifts the focus from the challenging emotions to the process of creating something. Molding wet clay to shape into a self-sculpture or an abstract of your feelings and ambition can be a great help.
• Carving: Where sculpting is the art of shaping a soft medium, carving requires making impressions into a hard surface, such as rock or wood. However, this exercise might need a professional's supervision as the art requires several sharp tools.
• Making cards: Greeting cards are not just for kids. Making a card for your past or future self can be a fun and meaningful activity. Your therapist might even ask you to make a card for someone you did not get to have a conversation with or someone who holds significant value in your life. Sometimes, both these cases can be for yourself too.
• Making collages: The art of creating something meaningful from mismatched textures, prints, pictures, and textures can reflect a person's thought pattern.

What Conditions Can it Help Treat?

Through a plethora of research and advancement, today, this therapeutic modality can help treat several psychological ailments. Some of the disorders that are significantly treated include:

• Anxiety Disorders
• Stress Disorder
• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Cancer
• Family or relationship issues
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Psychosocial issues
• PMAD (Perinatal Mood and Anxiety disorder)
• Substance use disorder

Advanced application of the therapy type include:

• Traumatic brain injury: Therapists implement this therapy to build coping mechanisms and redevelop skills in patients with traumatic brain injuries.
• Schizophrenia: For patients with schizophrenia, it offers a healthy diversion from their symptoms, like troubling thoughts or auditory hallucinations.
• Sexual abuse: The therapy provides a helpful way to channel emotional trauma and seek closure in sexual assault survivors.
• Epilepsy in children and adolescents: A valuable technique to help epilepsy patients, it offers a creative window to deal with the symptoms and even prevent seizures.
• Chronic pain/illnesses: Patients dealing with chronic diseases such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer's, etc., can get adequate help. It allows them to untangle their personality to get attached to their illness.

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