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Art Therapy: How Creative
Expression Can Heal
by Barbara Williams Cosentino RN, CSW,
Military One Source
For more articles like this
visit
https://www.bridges4kids.org.
Art therapy can be a way for people with physical or emotional
pain to heal.
Janette is six years old, her brown eyes weary with the haunted
wisdom of a child who has seen more than any six-year-old should
ever see. She witnessed her father, in the frenzy of an
alcoholic rage, kick her pregnant mother in the stomach and saw
the police come and drag her father out of the room, and she was
there when her bruised and tearful mother returned from the
hospital and told her that she wasn't going to have a baby
sister after all.
It can be difficult for a six-year-old or 60-year-old, for that
matter to find the words to articulate the pain of these
memories. But children and adults who've been exposed to
unspeakable trauma, as well as those suffering from depression,
anxiety or other serious mental or physical illnesses, can reap
enormous benefits from the healing process of art therapy a
therapy which uses paint and paper, glue and scissors, images
and colors to symbolically express the depth and intensity of
emotional pain.
Art as a Gateway to the Subconscious
The American Art Therapy Association, Inc. (AATA) defines art
therapy as "a human service profession that utilizes art media,
images, the creative art process and patient/client responses to
the created products as reflections of an individual's
development, abilities, personality, interests, concerns and
conflicts."
Although human beings have used art as a mode of expression for
thousands of years, art therapy was not recognized as a distinct
profession until the late 1930s. That's when Margaret Naumberg,
who is considered the "mother of art therapy," advocated using
art as a gateway to the subconscious in conjunction with free
association and psychoanalytic interpretation.
But artist Adrian Hill took credit for inventing the term "art
therapy" in 1942. While recovering from tuberculosis in a
sanitarium, he felt that his own foray into art led to his
emotional recovery. Introducing painting to his fellow patients,
he found that they used artistic expression not only for
enjoyment but also as a vehicle for expressing fears and
emotions.
Recognizing that artwork could be useful in helping patients
express internal conflicts, the psychiatric staff at the
Menninger Clinic in Kansas began to employ art as therapy. The
first journal in the field, The Bulletin of Art Therapy, was
published in 1961, and the AATA a national professional
organization that regulates educational, professional and
ethical standards for art therapists was established in 1969.
Where Art Therapy Can be Useful
According to the AATA, art therapy is based on knowledge of
human developmental and psychological theories and is an
effective treatment for people with developmental, medical,
educational, social or psychological problems. Art therapists
must possess a minimum of a master's degree and undergo a
supervised practicum and postgraduate internship. They are
registered (the credential "ATR") and/or board certified ("BC")
and practice in a variety of settings, including:
Community mental health centers and psychiatric clinics
Hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and hospices
Correctional and forensic facilities
Nursing homes and senior centers
Schools and early intervention programs
Disaster relief centers and homeless shelters
Drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs
Art therapists can practice solo or may be part of a treatment
team that includes physicians, psychologists, nurses, social
workers, counselors and teachers. Art therapy, done in
individual or group sessions, can be used with patients of all
ages, races and ethnic backgrounds who have any one of a number
of physical and emotional disorders, including:
Schizophrenia, depression and other mental illnesses
Post-traumatic stress disorder caused by natural disasters,
upsetting events, or abuse
Eating disorders
Substance abuse
Chronic pain, medical problems, or terminal illness
Family issues
"Beginning with scribbles and lines, children express their
feelings and needs through art even before verbal language is
learned," says Noah Hass-Cohen, MA, ATR-BC, MFCC, of the Los
Angeles Institute for Art Therapy. "Art therapy provides a
nonthreatening place to release feelings and pent up emotions
and may be especially useful for children and adolescents in
times of family and individual crisis and/or change."
Inside Art Therapy
The two different poles of art therapy are termed "art
psychotherapy" and "art as therapy."
Proponents of "art as therapy" suggest that the process of
creating art itself is curative and that verbal reflection,
discussions or interpretations about the art itself is not
necessary. According to Cathy A. Malchiodi, author of The Art
Therapy Sourcebook, creative activity increases brain levels of
serotonin, a hormone associated with feelings of well-being, and
gives rise to the alpha brain wave patterns typically seen
during periods of relaxed alertness.
Advocates of "art psychotherapy" believe that artwork is most
useful when used as a tool to elicit feelings, fears and
fantasies, which can then be worked through in traditional talk
therapy.
Regardless of their orientation, most contemporary art
therapists integrate a variety of approaches, individualizing
the treatment to best meet the needs of a specific client.
Different Techniques for Different Issues
Special techniques are often particularly useful in helping
patients express their feelings, develop social skills, solve
problems, reduce anxiety or resolve emotional conflicts. In the
unstructured approach, patients might select from a variety of
materials and media (paint, pastels, clay) and use them however
they choose, allowing unconscious material to rise to the
surface. Then the therapist might ask the client to draw a
family picture, which can help elicit complex family dynamics
such as unhealthy patterns of relating or poor communication
skills.
Groups of people struggling with similar issues, such as cancer
survivors, might work together to create a collage or mural that
can then be used to stimulate discussion of coping strategies.
Ava Charney-Danysh, ATR-BC, finds art therapy very useful in her
work with children and adults who have eating disorders.
"Obsessions with food and weight are often attempts to cope with
unresolved emotional issues such as depression, rage,
powerlessness and loss," she explains. "Art therapy is a special
tool that can help provide access to those hidden feelings that
contain the key to our struggles."
New York City art therapist Sandy Izhakoff works with
neurologically impaired adults in nursing homes and in senior
citizen centers. She uses art therapy techniques such as
free-drawing, mask-making and finger-painting to help even
nonverbal patients perform life review, express regrets, resolve
unresolved losses, and come to terms with issues such as aging,
grief and fear of death.
How It Might Work
The theory behind art therapy is based partially on the fact
that creativity and healing may come from the same place.
"At the deepest level, the creative process and the healing
process arise from a single source," says Rachel Naomi Remen,
MD, assistant clinical professor of family medicine at the
University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine.
According to the experts, art therapy is not merely "arts and
crafts," or purely recreational. It is multi-sensory and teaches
people to use objects purposefully and to communicate their pain
with the outside world.
RESOURCES:
American Art Therapy Association, Inc.
http://www.arttherapy.org
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