The guidelines for practice of expressive arts therapy is informed by six principles: physical environment, emotional safety, non-interpretative approaches, role in assessment or diagnosis, media choices, and empathetic listening. Suitable physical environments are caring and safe places. Physical spaces are ones of privacy and comfort. Emotional safety is found in the rapport established between the therapist and client as well as ensuring that creative products will be treated confidentially. Non-interpretative…

adults, is looking at art therapies and its impact on improving cognition. There as been many empirical research studies that suggest that art therapies can improve memory capacity by decreasing anxieties for older adults. Another part of cognition that is important is to improve cognition by increasing creativity, by creating a physiological response. Defining art therapies is important first step and how it impact cognition, working memory and processing. Art therapy, is based on the idea…

Art Therapy How does Art Therapy help in maintaining a person's health or helping them get well from a sickness? Before finding the answer to this question it is necessary to understand the background, history, and importance of what Art Therapy is. First of all Art Therapy is a form of psychotherapy. In psychotherapy there is an exploration of feelings and concerns in nonverbal and verbal exercises that use simple visual art materials. Art therapy focuses on the creative process for…

What is art therapy and does it really work? When one thinks of a therapist and an artist you think of two vastly different people. With therapy being a scientific, analytical study and art a very free and creative one, but when the two are combined they create a strong outlet for a lot of youth. Physical and mental health are very serious matters and are both subjects that children may find hard to talk about. Traditional therapy in some cases can have good outcomes, but for children it…

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…

“Art therapy is a form of therapy in making of visual images (paintings, drawings, models etc.) in the presences of a qualified art therapist contributes towards externalization of thoughts and feelings which may otherwise remain unexpressed”(Walter & Gilory, 1992). My vision of Art Therapy was very vague. I always thought art therapy was a form of therapy for distressed or abused children trying to tell a story through pictures or drawings. The American Art Therapy Association defines art therapy…

What Is Art Therapy? Most forms of therapy are centered on verbal communication. Art therapy, however, breaks that mold and introduces a more creative means of both communicating ideas and learning to grow. The American Art Therapy Association defines art therapy as: 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…

According to the American Art Therapy Association (AATA), Art Therapy is defined as “the creative process of art making to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages” (2013). The creative process involved in art-making, as well as reflection on the product of the art-making, has generally been shown to help people increase self awareness, cope with stress and trauma, and promote the development of various skill sets including cognitive and interpersonal…

Before we can understand what expressive art therapy is, however, an understanding of terms, like imagination and creativity, is necessary. There is a lack of consensus about how imagination and creativity are defined and who is capable of it. In therapeutic contexts, the essence of imagination is the substance of dreams. Dreams, however, are not just images. In dreams, sounds, rhythms, acts, etc. can be perceived in a sensory or experiential way (Levine & Levine, 2004). Creativity springs from imagination…

a future career, both art therapy and graphic design are appealing and possible options for me, but which is the better? Art therapy is just what it sounds like, art combined with therapy. When stated like this it sounds easy and simple, however it is a quite complex and intricate occupation; like a professor trying to solve a complex equation, where the professor is the art therapist and he or she is trying to solve the problem the student is having. Specifically, an art therapist’s goal is to…