Disadvantages For Art Therapists

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.

To conduct therapy through art you must have an education behind it considering it is a profession in mental

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.

CENTRAL IDEA: Art Therapy is not a common career choice when looking at popular jobs in the workforce; however, it is both a very interesting psychological and artistic career.

My passion behind wanting to become an Art Therapist for troubled adolescents, stems from my own personal trials and tribulations that I had as a child growing up. I was in and out of juvenile detention centers, foster homes, Boys and Girls Aid Society, and even a home/program for troubled teenage girls, that lasted an entire year. In the midst of all of the chaos, I was assigned an Art Therapist. Having been the rebellious teenager that I was, I was not exactly fond of the idea. However, after a few sessions with my art therapist, I came to admire her, and the way that she was attempting to work with me through my troubles, anxieties, and fears. It wasn’t in the same fashion I had falsely created in my mind. Instead, she had me communicate

I would get a occupation for three things money, to help others, and to make the world a better place. If I was to have to choose one job it would be an Art Therapist. That gives you money, you get to help others and I helps make the world a better place. This would be my ideal occupation because I enjoy art. Not only that but people will be helped by me.

From my perspective, my impression of what art therapy stood for, was very vague. When I used to think about art therapy, I thought about it as a form of communication for distressed or abused children trying to tell a story through pictures or drawings, and although art therapy is a form of therapy in which creating visual images (paintings, drawings, models, etc.) in the presences of a skilled art therapist, can contribute to the externalization of thoughts and feelings which may otherwise remain unexpressed, art therapy is much more than

Art therapy includes diverse components, such as artistic activity, relationship between client and therapist, and emotionally safe space, which assist clients in growing internally and influences their inner world in many ways. In a single art therapy session, the artistic activity might be the fundamental tenet that is most influential. For those who are hospitalized and have emotional distress, creating art can be a mood regulation strategy that helps patients to better deal with the stressful life event.

The theory behind it is that visualizing his or her feelings will help him or her to get beyond masking them through language. Imagine describing a dream. It is never quite possible to communicate effectively the images we are left by our subconscious. Art therapy allows the client or patient to relay these images in a raw and powerful way. (1) During the therapy, a client's artistic ability is irrelevant. While the session is not just a relaxing diversionary activity, it is also not an art class. Most sessions are structured to help get the client started on a project, and oriented toward helping him or her reach specific goals. The idea is for the patient to be able to work at his or here own pace as the therapist helps them to explore the work's significance. The therapist is not an interpreter of the client's art but rather a facilitator to his or her inner discovery. (5)

In Cathy Malchiodi’s book, The Art Therapy Sourcebook, she, rather humorously, explains how many people have asked her what art therapy actually is. For example, one man asked her if art therapy was fixing bad art pieces, as

The question of “Is Art Therapeutic?” came into my mind after reading the book “Art as Therapy” by Alain De Botton. Alain suggested that every piece of art has a purpose, and he had classified the artwork in to seven categories by their purpose to the audience: Remembering, Hope, Sorrow, Rebalancing, Growth and Appreciation. Whilst taking this in mind, I questioned about if the existence in art therapy under psychotherapy that “Is Art Therapeutic?” Thus, with the recent trend in adult coloring book had brought my attention in questioning “Why are adult coloring book so popular?” “Do they really de-stress you?” “If so, why? How?” which initially I started to research into art therapy and the aspect of questioning “Is Art therapeutic?”

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.

Adaptive art education incorporates art therapy into the classroom environment. Most teachers that have attempted this adaptive teaching method have been trained in art therapy. This gives these teachers an advantage since they are well-versed in two different areas. By incorporating the therapeutic aspects of art therapy, art educators are able to meet children with a wider array of knowledge. Research by Karamanol and Salley (2005) supports