Argumentative Essay On Art Therapy

According to Naumburg (1966), the process of art therapy is based on one’s fundamental thoughts and feelings that are obtained from the unconscious and often express in images rather than in words. Understanding the techniques of art therapy are based on every individual’s knowledge that whether trained or untrained in art, the individual all have a unconscious ability to project inner thoughts or conflicts into images. In other words, everyone does not have to be a skilled artist to do art therapy; any form of art is acceptable. For example: scribbling on a piece of paper can be art therapy because the act of scribbling transforms the unconscious thought into an image. (Naumburg, 1966).

Art therapy enables people with dementia to express their feelings when words cannot (AATA, 2015). Art therapy explores the client’s feelings, resolves emotional conflicts and fosters their self-awareness with the use of art media, the creative process and the resulting finished artwork as a therapeutic and healing process. Furthermore, art therapy helps manage client’s behavior, develop social skills, improves reality orientation, and reduces anxiety and increase self-esteem. Art therapy benefits people of all ages facing different challenges in life and is an effective treatment for people experiencing developmental, medical, educational and social or psychological impairment (AATA,

The consensus regarding art is art is for artists, or it’s merely a hobby. But, what if art could alleviate symptoms of depression, or help those with PTSD? All of us has had to deal with some form of psychological issues in our lives. Whether causation of the problem is stress from work, caring for children or parents, cognitive decline, illness, depression, death, trauma or violent crime, these issues have affected us all. “… art can engage the mind and emotions more effectively than other forms of therapy” (Habib & Ali, 9). Society should implement art therapy in conjunction with traditional treatments in the above mentioned psychological issues and instances of nonverbal or closed-off patients.

Art as a therapeutic method was my primary focus throughout the psychology program at Ryerson University. I am familiar with much research regarding art therapy for mental disorders such as depression

Art therapy is a Multi-Functional Psychological therapy that helps the mental mind in connecting things that are disconnected like a patient with alzheimer's where the patient's medial temporal lobe that’s the part of the brain that controls memory. The medial temporal lobe is vital in the brain because that is where the brain recollects the memories and stores them. When you get older the lobe gets weaker in which causes it to disconnect thus causing “memory loss” or dementia. In art therapy we like to cause a visual reconnection of that nerve so in which a patient then can remember more but in a visual stance as in some people like to look at photographs to visually which allows memories to reconnect. These programs are put into place to help anyone with mental issues they are put in place just to help.

When children are presented with Art Therapy, it may be geared towards creative style and imagination.

Art therapy is said to use “three levels of intervention.” These levels include engaging in the clients senses through the physical manipulation of art materials, using the client’s art as a “symbolic container of their traumatic memories, and “cognitive reflection” guided by the art therapist. The therapist helps to “guide” where the client’s focus lays in terms of their traumatic memories; the goal of the therapist is to help the client integrate elements of their experience, other than the extremely negative, into their

Patients without an art background must learn from some of the basic skills of art to fully embrace the role of art therapy (Qiu-Yue Wang, Dong Mei Li, 2016). Because these diseases are degenerative, the patients in an art therapy session can be in different stages of disease. The requirement to learn art can cause frustration and agitation in some patients, further increasing the burden on themselves as well as their caregivers. The success of non-pharmacological treatments could be affected by the cultural background of the person, since different people can have various responses to the same intervention program (Chen et al, 2014). In regards to the studies about art therapy interventions, the period, duration, and frequency of the interventions vary between studies (Qiu-Yue Wang, Dong Mei Li, 2016). It is therefore difficult to classify the risks and benefits of art therapy since the measurable quantities are limited. The ability to judge a patients progression of disease through art is a subjective evaluation that has little merit. The majority of studies investigated the care burden via interview, which may also be subjective; in future studies, it is necessary to use qualitative and quantitative methods to perform in-depth analyses of the benefits of art therapy (Qiu-Yue Wang, Dong Mei Li,

Fard, Farah Joan. "The expanding reach of art therapy: though it's a relatively new approach to mental health treatment, art therapy is gaining traction and making a difference in people's lives." Art Business News, Winter 2015, p. 34+. Fine Arts and Music Collection, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=PPFA&sw=w&u=hillsbor&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA436797590&it=r&asid=1bc151430b53c85d758e9329f6ecf46a. Accessed 22 Nov. 2017.

Like the case example of Bridget in the article, “Art Therapy: A Proposal for Inclusion in School Settings” where she was assessed by the school art therapist, Marie learned to also use art to process her inner physical and emotional pain in an environment where she felt safe. Since the beginning of Marie’s assessment and interaction with the art therapist she began showing baby steps and signs of progress. With that being said, Marie’s trauma was so severe and had been going on for years, therefore it became clear that her need for continued art therapy was necessary and

Art has been my passion since childhood. Spending three years within the teaching environment was where I thought I belonged. Before receiving my Bachelor of Fine Art in painting from Metropolitan State University of Denver a personal experience that connects to my reservation and adoption into the Clinical Mental Health program was one of tragic loss. On January 9, 2002, my son’s life abruptly ended and during the grieving process I started expressing myself through painting. In searching for serenity, individual counseling became enhance. Finding a therapist with a background in marriage and family/art therapy became a visual depiction, a self-portrait symbolizing my external realities and internal emotions immediately following his suicide. Driven to face an extremely irritating and stressful paradox to the best of my ability while trying to keep the constitutional need to endure my life as fully as possible.

The article “Art Therapy: Creativity That Heals” was written by Sherly Devore about the combination of the creative arts and psychology. Devore asks the readers to remember a time when they were feeling down and depressed and participated in a creative art activity and their mood completely shifted(“Art Therapy: Creativity that Heals,” 1989). She states that “Creative arts is playing a direct and important role in helping persons of all ages who have mental and physical disabilities (“Art Therapy: Creativity that Heals,” 1989, para. 1). She goes

Art therapy is a mental health profession in which clients, facilitated by the art therapist, use art media, the creative process, and the resulting artwork to explore their feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety, and increase self-esteem. A goal in art therapy is to improve or restore a client’s functioning and his or her sense of personal well-being.

Expressive arts therapy is the use of art modalities, creative process, and aesthetic experience in a therapeutic context. It is a therapy of the imagination (McNiff, 1992). Effective communication is an essential element in therapeutic relationships and, although verbal language is the most conventional means of conveying information, other forms can convey just as much as words. The arts are an alternative form of communication that has recently received recognition for their value in therapeutic settings. There is a long well-established connection between the arts and psychology. Expressive arts therapy builds on a natural, complimentary relationship between the two disciplines. As a formal therapy, this form is relatively new with its

Western traditions narrowly define art as a market-oriented specialized discipline (Levine & Levine, 2004). When art is used therapeutically, content and meaning take priority over mechanics and technicalities.