How can painting or coloring really provide insight into your mental health? Is a drawing you created actually representative of your mental state? Is sculpting truly a form of self-expression? If you have ever asked yourself any of these questions or simply wondered if art therapy is for you, continue reading this blog for more information!
Art is merely more than an outlet for your creativity. At its core, it is a channel for self-expression and understanding. In art therapy, your licensed art therapist will teach you how to unveil your artwork to discover deeper messages and symbols. By examining the psychological method behind your creations, an art therapist near you assists you in identifying your concealed feelings. Contrary to the belief of some people, art therapy is a proven, effective method for mental health issues and it can help you reveal different aspects of your own identity.
Anchor Therapy is a counseling center in Hoboken, NJ with mental health therapists specialized in helping children, teens, adults, and couples with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, trauma, life transitions, and more. Anchor Therapy is accepting new clients and is now providing in-person sessions and teletherapy sessions to residents of New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Utah.
First, what exactly is art therapy?
Art therapy is a therapeutic technique rooted in the concept that creative expression can help you heal and enhance your mental well-being. Many forms of art are used to improve the condition of your mental health.
For thousands of years, people have been relying on the arts to express their personality. Art therapy is similar just with the addition of a licensed art therapist who can properly guide you through your emotions!
It has been suggested by many medical professionals that people who struggle with their mental health find comfort in expressing themselves in drawings and other artistic strategies which ultimately results in their healing. Art has become an extremely important part of the world of therapy, being employed in assessment and treatment techniques.
What are some art therapy techniques?
The primary objective of art therapy is to use the creative process to one’s advantage. In other words, you are using creativity to explore yourself and how you express your personality. By doing so, you gain insight into your personal identity which can help you learn what healthy coping skills work for you and your lifestyle.
The creation and examination of art can help you:
Explore your emotions
Cope with stress (If you are interested in learning stress management techniques or attending stress management counseling, read our blog: “Everything You Need to Know About Stress Management Therapy”)
Develop self-awareness
Work on social skills (If you struggle with social anxiety, check out our blog “6 Helpful Tips for Living with Social Anxiety”)
Boost your self-esteem
Some examples of art therapy include:
Creating collages
Drawing
Doodling and scribbling
Painting
Finger painting
Photography
Coloring
Sculpting
Working with clay
And more!
As you create art, your art therapist will help you examine your pieces. In addition to acknowledging how creating the art made you feel, your art therapy counselor will help you inspect your art piece for themes and/or conflicts.
An example of finding themes/conflicts in art therapy
For instance, let us say that a child is undergoing a mixture of play therapy and art therapy due to their parents going through a divorce. This child repeatedly draws pictures showing sad family members and two different homes. From this piece, it can be inferred that the child feels unhappy and sad about their parents’ current situation. From there, the art therapist will examine how this situation is affecting the child’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
What can art therapy help with?
Art therapy is used in the treatment of a wide range of mental health disorders. In many cases, art therapy can even be used in conjunction with other forms of therapy, like group therapy or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT is a form of psychological treatment that is effective at treating many mental health issues. CBT treatment involves making an active effort to alter your thinking patterns. It helps you understand the connection between your thoughts and feelings, and how those thoughts and feelings influence your behavior. If you want to learn more about CBT therapy, read our previous blog: “What is CBT?”
Some conditions that art therapy can be used to treat include:
Emotional difficulties
General life transitions (e.g., moving, new job, coping with life after a baby)
Family problems (If you are interested in bringing your family in for family therapy, check out our helpful blog “How to Decide if Family Counseling is the Right Fit for You”)
Relationship issues
Medical conditions
Psychological symptoms that may result from other medical issues
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) If you struggle with PTSD and are interested in PTSD treatment, read our recent blog: “Everything You Need to Know About CBT for PTSD”
Stress
What are the benefits of art therapy?
There are many benefits to art therapy! It is estimated that a mere hour of creative activity can significantly reduce your stress and have a positive impact on your mental health.
As previously mentioned, an art therapist can use a variety of methods in art counseling, from drawing and coloring to creating collages and making sculptures.
Clients who have experienced the following tend to especially benefit from art therapy as a form of self-expression:
Domestic abuse
Physical violence
Other psychological issues
Some popular situations where art therapy is commonly used encompass the following:
Children showcasing behavioral and/or social problems at home or at school
Children or adults who have gone through a traumatic event (e.g., natural disaster, hospitalization, car accident, sudden death of a loved one, etc.)
Children with learning disabilities
Adults undergoing severe stress
People generally experiencing mental health issues
A few things to consider before starting art therapy:
If you or a loved one are thinking of doing art therapy, there are some things you should know.
Art therapy is not an art class
Some people may come into art therapy thinking that their art therapist will teach them how to create thoughtful art pieces. Art therapists are licensed to help you through your mental health complications, not teach you how to make art. Art class is focused on teaching a technique or instructing you on how to create an art piece with the idea of a specific end goal in mind. On the other hand, art therapy focuses on your inner experiences.
When you create art, you focus on your own perspectives, imagination, and emotions. You are encouraged by your art therapist to create art that showcases your deepest feelings. You are showcasing your inner world instead of creating something for visual comfort for the outer world.
2. Art therapy is not for everyone
Art therapy does not work for everyone, and that is perfectly okay! Our art counselors at Anchor Therapy know that one specific type of therapy does not work for everyone. Our therapists are trained to specialize plans and a therapeutic approach to suit your needs.
If you believe that you are not creative or are generally skeptical about the efficiency of art therapy, you may choose to skip art therapy for something more “practical”, like a form of talk therapy.
3. You do not have to be artistic to do art therapy
Not everyone who does art therapy is Pablo Picasso. Your art therapist will always meet you where you are in every sense of the way. You do not need to have specific artistic abilities or special talents to work with an art therapy counselor. People of all ages can benefit from art therapy, whether you are a child, teen, or adult.
How does art therapy work at Anchor Therapy?
At Anchor Therapy, our art therapists believe that self-expression through artistic creativity has a true therapeutic value, whether you are looking to understand yourself more, gain control over your actions, or need help in the management of a mental health disorder. Our art therapy counselors are trained to understand how the different aspects of art therapy, like colors, textures, and other art forms, can play a role in the therapeutic process. They understand how this can reveal more information about your thoughts, feelings, and overall mental disposition.
Art therapy at Anchor Therapy mixes artistic expression with evidence-based therapy approaches. Typically, art therapy is used in conjunction with other therapy approaches. So, that is to say, our counselors may use a form of psychotherapy alongside a type of visual arts that you gravitate towards as a stand-alone form of therapy.
Some benefits of art therapy include:
Understand your perception of yourself and the world around you - Creating art can help you focus on the present moment while pinpointing your emotional responses and connecting your general body awareness to your emotions
Comprehension - Being able to verbalize your emotions and unique experiences
Emotion and impulse regulation - Enhance your ability to regulate and manage your emotions which will translate to your actions and behaviors
Personal integration - By creating art that shows off your deeper emotions, you strengthen your self-image and identity as a whole
Behavior modification - The self-directed essence of making art pieces translates to learning lessons on how to alter behavioral responses to yourself and other people
What can I expect from art therapy?
Like any other form of art therapy, your first session is an intake session. During the intake session, you and your art therapist will discuss what brings you to art counseling and learn more about your art therapist’s approach. You and your art therapy counselor will also create goals for yourself. This treatment plan will involve some form of art therapy.
Once you begin creating work, your art therapist may simply observe your pieces. When your art work is completed, or perhaps in the middle of you creating art, your art therapy counselor will ask you how you feel about the artistic process. They may ask you questions like “What was easy or difficult about creating this work of art?” and “What thoughts or memories arose in you while you were creating this piece of art?”. Your art therapist is always focused on your experience and feelings.
Each art therapist is unique, so they may use different forms of intervention during your sessions. Typically, each art counselor tailors their skills to each individual client, and they infuse creativity and innovation into their approaches. Art therapists use distinct mediums and modalities. For example, one art therapist may encourage you to create a photo collage to tell a story and another art counselor may guide you to draw each of your family members.
During an ongoing session with your art counselor, your art therapist will actively work towards helping you understand exactly what is bringing distress to your life. After doing so, your art therapist will guide you in creating art works that address your given issue.
Throughout the course of your therapy sessions, your art counselor will:
Detail the goals of art therapy
Explain that you do not have to identify as “artistic” or “creative” to engage in art counseling and benefit from the service
Help you choose an artistic medium to express yourself, like drawing, sculpting, coloring, making a collage, or painting
Guide you through the process of creating art (this typically comes in the form of asking questions)
Have a conversation with you about the results of your art pieces and what you felt
Plan for your next session or give you “homework assignments” to do things on your own until your next session with your art therapist
What should I look for in an art therapist?
You should look for a therapist who specializes in art counseling. Not every therapist has the skills necessary to successfully accomplish art counseling.
As with any counselor, it is important to work with an art counselor who you feel comfortable with. During the intake session with your art therapist, you can ask them a few questions if you feel like it is necessary or would help you feel more comfortable.
Some questions you can ask your art therapist at the intake session may be one or several of the following:
How can you help me with [insert your concern]?
Do they have experience in dealing with [insert your concern]?
What type of art therapy techniques do you offer?
What is their art therapy process?
What does their timeline look like when treating [insert your concern] with art therapy techniques?
Overall, art therapy is an amazing form of therapy! It helps you to reap all of the benefits of traditional talk therapy while incorporating a fun artistic element. Your art therapist will help you reveal different aspects of your own identity, and assist you in creating art pieces to showcase your deepest emotions.
Victoria Scala
is the Social Media Manager and Intake Coordinator at Anchor Therapy in Hoboken, New Jersey. She is a graduate of the Honors College of Rutgers University-Newark, planning to study Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the graduate level. As a Social Media Manager at Anchor Therapy, Victoria is committed to producing content for and managing the office’s social media presence and blog.
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