The Pros And Cons Of Art Therapy

When veterans serve and return from fighting for their country, they can be largely affected mentally and physically. The use of art therapy can be a healing tool to help them forget the bad experiences that they witnessed. When they are in combat, they can develop mental or behavioral issues. One of the most common forms of this that several veterans have accumulated is post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. This disorder results when an individual is greatly affected by a traumatic event. Some symptoms of this disorder include flashbacks of the event, dreams of the event that causes the individual more stress, and physical reactions to things that reminds them of that event. The patient's mood turns very negative and he or she can be easily scared of certain things.

The National Endowment for the Arts and Department of Defense apply art, dance and music therapy for returning deployed soldiers. This program came about to help military service members suffering from PTSD. The art therapy started in 2004, but didn’t pick up pace until 2011 when it partnered with the NEA (National Education Association). Soldiers suffering from PTSD are sometimes unable to express themselves verbally. The art program allows them to express their feelings through any form of art.

Art therapy for dementia is typically provided by art therapists, artists, or facilitators to small groups of patients in a clinical or care setting. Art therapy has traditionally emphasized qualitative over quantitative evidence. Observationally, art therapy engages attention, provides pleasure, and improves behaviour and affect in patients with dementia. Other benefits include enhanced self-esteem and improved communication and reduced anxiety, agitation, and depression.

Art heals the soul. The shared emotional experience of creating art together provides a sense of closeness and purpose for those involved. The bond between the patient and therapist grows with each stroke of the brush, line on paper, clay on wheel or chisel to stone. The potential for truly impacting the lives of others in a meaningful way is empowering. The people that could be helped by art therapy walk all streets of life – traumatized youth, new mothers, inmates, dementia patients and special needs

Childhood trauma appears to be a critical factor with association to serious disorders in childhood and adulthood. The DSM-V TR primarily categorizes most traumatic experiences under the development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Knowledge about, the cause, development, and effects of, traumatic stress aids in the beginning steps of the assessment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the appropriate treatments for recovery. Art Therapy, used within the groundwork of Herman’s Three Stage Model for Recovery, can serve as an effective treatment method to aid the recovery of those who have suffered from PTSD.

As a trainee art therapist, I feel a shift within me, from the position of a self-loathing artist to a purposeful explorer wanting to steadfastly immerse in every learning opportunity that finds me. Reflecting back, I concur it is the experiential process of witnessing the group communally support HB and CF to process distressing emotions, that subconsciously informed me of the group’s non-judgemental ability and the substantial capacity to hold, which in turn sparked this shift (Haynes, 2012; Learmonth, 1994). Gaining inspiration from Brooker’s (2010) reading, I sent out subconscious invitations for objects to find me. I felt intrigued by the connections I made with my found object; my pup’s hair shedding’s and the subsequent art response that emerged (Figure 5). I know hair shedding’s are often considered repulsive in most cultures, however these shedding’s felt special as connecting with my pup’s fur symbolically represented “finding unconditional love and acceptance”. Reflecting back I concur the art response served as a tangible object that provided evidence of my internal shift. It was also in this session, through JZ’s powerful found object art response (figure 6), I was able to resonate with the “sense of loss and grief” that I had to deal with when sorting my father’s belongings after his death.

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.

Knowledge and application of art therapy approaches, material choices and directives are beneficial to treat clients. In Approaches to Art Therapy, Theory and Technique by Judith Rubin, we explore the many different approaches used within Art Therapy. Prior art education helps to manipulate material choices and creatively guiding the directives is key to successful art therapy. Clients are unique and to approach their circumstances focusing on their needs art therapists need to be flexible with their methodologies.

It is amazing how the combination of art and the brain can be understood and benefit Neuro art therapy. therefore, as it stated in the book, How the brain functions and how it influences emotions, cognition, and behavior are important in the treatment of most problems people bring to therapy, including mood disorders, posttraumatic stress, addictions, and physical illness. Overall, Art therapy uses pure art concepts, art making allows one’s mind to reframe experiences and reorganize thoughts. Art therapy has gained popularity throughout many years because it combines free artistic expression with the potential for significant therapeutic intervention. Therefore, Neuroscience and art therapy gives us a tremendous alternative option for engaging

However, art therapy is typically the most in psychiatric wards, either individually or in groups. It is currently emerging is family art therapy, and used a lot in the education system, focusing on children who are learning disabled, mentally challenged, emotionally disturbed, socially disadvantaged. According to the AATA, art therapy is practiced in mental health, rehabilitation, medical, educational, forensic, wellness, private practice and community settings. Within these settings, art therapy can be applied to an extremely diverse client population in individual, couples, family, and group therapy formats. Art therapy is an effective treatment for people experiencing developmental, medical, educational, and social or psychological impairment. Other individuals who benefit from art therapy include those who have survived trauma resulting from combat, abuse, and natural disaster, along with individuals who have adverse physical health conditions such as cancer, traumatic brain injury, and other health disability, and finally individuals with autism, dementia, depression, and other disorders. Art therapy helps people resolve conflicts, improve interpersonal skills, manage maladaptive behaviors, reduce negative stress, and achieve personal insight. (AATA, 2013) No matter how it is used, all good art therapy leads to both education and growth. It can be beneficial

Art therapy is a mental health profession in which clients 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. Art therapy is an active treatment for people experiencing developmental, medical, educational, social or psychological impairments, those who have survived trauma resulting from combat, abuse, natural disasters, people with adverse physical health conditions such as; cancer traumatic brain injury and other health disability, people with autism, dementia, depression and other disorders. Art therapy also helps manage problematic behaviors, reduce negative stress, and achieve personal insight. Art therapy provides also the affirming pleasures of actually making art. An objective in Art Therapy treatment is to enhance a client’s functioning and his or her feeling of individual opulence self-worth. Art therapy practice requires knowledge of visual art like; drawing, painting, sculpture, and other art forms, and the creative process. AS well as of human development, psychological, and counseling theories and techniques. It took me about one year in college to change my plans for my degree. Out of high school I had decided that I would pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and my specialty was going to be clinical. I wanted to work in state hospitals or

Art therapy is a form of expressive therapy that uses art materials, such as paints, chalk and markers. It 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 (Kramer). The creative process which is involved in this style of artistic self-expression helps people work on conflicts and problems that are in their everyday lives. Art therapy helps them develop interpersonal skills, help reduce stress, and increase self-esteem and self-awareness. Art therapists work with children, adolescents, and adults. These therapist provide services to individuals, couples, families, groups, and communities (Belliveau).

The practicing of art therapy has risen noticeably in the last ten years. The number of therapists

According to Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, art therapy, sometimes called expressive art or art psychology, encourages self-discovery and emotional growth. It is a two part process, involving both the creation of art and the discovery of its meaning. Rooted in Freud and Jung 's theories of the subconscious and unconscious, art therapy is based on the assumption that visual symbols and images are the most accessible and natural form of communication to the human experience. Patients are encouraged to visualize, and then create, the thoughts and emotions that they cannot talk about. The resulting artwork is then reviewed and its meaning interpreted by the patient. The "analysis" of

The definition of Art Therapy adapted by the American Therapy Association: Art Therapy is a human service profession that utilizes art media, images, the creative art process and patient client responses to the created products as reflections of an individual’s development, abilities, personality interests, concerns and conflicts. Art therapy practice is based on knowledge of human developmental and physiological theories which are implemental in the full spectrum of models of assessment and treatment including educational, psychodynamic, cognitive, transpersonal, and other therapeutic means of reconciling emotional conflicts, fostering self-awareness, developing social skills, managing behaviour, solving problems, reducing anxiety, aiding reality orientation, and increasing self-esteem.(American Art Therapy Association, 2013 ).