Art Therapy: Creative Arts Therapy or Expressive Art Therapy

Art therapy is a healthy alternative to treating many mental illnesses.

Not all therapies include the intake of numerous pills that leave the patients who consume them lethargic because there are therapies that use the artistic field as an instrument of cure; we talk about art.

Definition

Art therapy is a form of expressive therapy that uses the creative process of making art to improve the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of a person.

What does an art therapist do?

The creative process involved in the artistic expression of oneself can help people to solve problems, as well as develop and manage negative behaviors and feelings, as well as reduce stress and improve self-esteem.

You do not need to be talented or an artist to receive the benefits.

Some professionals can work with you to immerse yourself in the underlying messages that exist through your art, which will help in the healing process.

Art therapy can achieve different things for different people. It can be used for therapists’ advice, healing, treatment, rehabilitation, psychotherapy, and in the broadest sense of the term, it can be used to massage the inner self to provide the individual with a more understanding deep of self.

 

Additional definitions of Art Therapy

Art therapy, sometimes called creative arts therapy or expressive art therapy, encourages people to express and understand emotions through artistic expression through the creative process.

Thus, it is a form of expressive therapy that uses art materials, such as paints, chalk, and markers.

This therapy combines traditional psychotherapeutic theories and techniques with an understanding of the psychological aspects of the creative process, especially the affective properties of the different art materials.

Art therapy involves the creation of art to increase awareness of oneself and others. This, in turn, can promote personal development, increase coping skills and improve cognitive function.

It is based on theories of personality, human development, psychology, family systems, and artistic education; its therapists are trained in art and psychological therapy. But also the new medicine.

How could this profession be defined?

First of all, what must be clear is that art therapy is the use of art creation for therapeutic purposes, contributing to improving flaws in the fields in which the person develops, whether professional or personal.

Likewise, it applies to people who experience illness, traumas, or challenges in life or to those people who seek to increase their personal development. Through creating art and reflection on artistic products obtained and other processes, people can improve their awareness of themselves and others.

In this way, they manage to cope with the symptoms that afflict them, such as stress and traumatic experiences; but in the same way, to improve cognitive abilities or enjoy the pleasures that affirm life through making art.

Art therapists are professionals trained in art and therapy. They are well informed about human development, psychological theories, clinical practice, spiritual, multicultural, and artistic traditions, and the curative potential of art.

They use art in treatment, evaluation, research, and provide consultations to allied professionals. Art therapists work with people of all ages: individuals, couples, families, groups, and communities.

They provide services, individually and as part of clinical teams, in mental health, rehabilitation, medical and forensic institutions, community outreach programs; wellness centers; schools; nursing homes; corporate structures, open studios, and independent practices.

Who can go and practice art therapy?

For the most part, anyone can use art therapy. In a world where there are many ways of communicating and expressing oneself, the expressive arts treatment is one of many.

One of the main differences between art therapy and other forms of communication is that most other forms of communication provoke the use of words or language as a means of communication. However, humans are often unable to express themselves within this limited range.

One of the beauties of art as therapy is the ability of a person to express their feelings through any form of art. Although there are other types of expressive therapies (such as the performing arts), emotive art therapy, as discussed here, typically uses more traditional forms of art.

For example, plastic arts such as painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, or various types of expression of visual art, can be oriented for therapeutic purposes perfectly.

What does an art therapist do?

Art therapists train in therapy and art and have studied and mastered psychology and human development.

They have also received a master’s degree and studies of 3rd level of schooling. Thus, there are several requirements to become an art therapist, as well as certifications that mean that they are teachers trained in using art as an end to everything, from a general assessment of another person’s status to treatment to help serious illnesses.

Therapists who work with art can do so with people of all ages, sex, creed, religion, or social status. They can help an individual, a couple, a family, or groups of people, and depending on the situation; there can be numerous therapists working together as a clinical team.

These therapists are trained to grasp the nonverbal symbols and metaphors that are often expressed through art and the creative process, concepts that are generally difficult to communicate with words.

In short, they are therapists who know how to read your emotions through the objects with artistic pretensions that you create in that process of healing and introspection, focused on making aware the unconscious that weighs down your real possibilities as a subject.