The Benefits Of Art Therapy

What is art therapy? According to the American Art Therapy Association, Art Therapy is an integrative mental health and human services profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship (1). Art Therapy can happen in a variety of places and provide great benefits to anyone that participates, both physically and mentally. Art Therapy is also important because it can help some find who they really are as a person without the use of words.
Art Therapy can help improve those suffering from mental illnesses like Depression, trauma like PTSD, Anxiety, and much more. Instead of talk therapy

Unlike the usual talk therapy where the person has to talk to a therapist, a child could be overwhelmed by fear and have difficulties expressing themselves in that uptight environment, answering questions directly. Art Therapy comes into play to help those children express their issues since they are naturally more creative and it is, overall, easier for them to do compared to counseling. Art Therapy can help children relieve stress, increase awareness of self, and develop healthy and effective coping skills (Art Therapy Journal 1). Art Therapy can help children with all sorts of problems they could be dealing with including: Childhood trauma, a death of a loved one, learning disabilities, mental disorders, and much more. Children of all ages, nationalities, races and cultures can benefit from art therapy. Programs are developed around a child’s strengths and abilities, so the kid can use the medium even if he or she has never picked up a crayon before (Art Therapy Journal 1). Even though every child is different, Art Therapy is proven to be very effective for the majority of the time. Some children may pour their hearts and mind into an art piece while others could be more timid about it and would need space. How Art Therapy works according to the Art Therapy Journal is that Art therapists provide kids with age-appropriate art supplies and set them free to express themselves. More often than not, the therapist will give the child a prompt to get them started. For example, he may ask the child to draw a house or favorite food. After the pictures have been completed, the therapist will begin to question the child about various aspects of the artwork in an effort to understand what the thoughts or feelings it represents. The therapist will then use that feedback to develop an effective treatment program that will help the child move forward