Expressive Art Therapy
- Nov 24, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 24, 2020
Posted by: Autumn Yang
If you have ever felt like you were drowning in your emotions but couldn't find the words to describe them, then maybe expressive art therapy is for you! Tag along with me as we venture into the therapeutic experience of expressive art therapy!
"Art can permeate the very deepest part of us, where no words exist." - Eileen Miller
The use of expressive art therapy, or visual arts therapy in some cases, has been applied to those who find it difficult to express how they feel into words. According to the Manage Stress textbook, art therapy can help an individual with improving their self-communication skills. Which would result in a person learning how to self-heal more comfortably and allow them to adopt a healthy way to cope with their stress.
Background
The method of using art as a way to express ones feelings, can be dated back to thousands of years ago. There were drawings in caves found in France, that might not even be the earliest discovered. Margaret Naumburg was one of the first to discover that using art as a way to nonverbally express oneself, was beneficial to the children she was implementing it with. She realized that art expression was proving to be psychotherapeutic. With the assistance of Dr. Nolan Lewis, they wanted to see if adding in a therapist to their theories could provide insight on whether this method could be applied as a way to treat patients. Around 1960, art therapy became its own "discipline" where training specialists to better implement this method became more prominent. In 1969, art therapy was used mainly as a clinical tool for therapists and psychologists to detect any developmental personality disorders, or to get a better understanding of their patients' self-expression. However, it wasn't until the late 1970's that art therapy became a coping strategy for those who had difficulty expressing their emotions through verbal communication.
Benefits of Expressive Art Therapy:
Helps reduce symptoms of depression
Helps reduce symptoms of anxiety
Improves communication skills
Provides an outlet to self-express
Helps reduce stress symptoms
Provide positive distractions
Increases productivity
Helps to identify past traumas
Proper Use Expressive Art Therapy
Art therapy can be used to help patients that struggle with (but not limited to):
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Depression
Severe stress disorders
Anxiety disorders
Learning disabilities
Brain injuries
Abusive relationships
Medical conditions
Just like how there are many different forms of art, there's many ways to practice expressive art therapy. Any art mediums can be applied to this coping strategy, such as, painting, drawing, sculpting, arts and crafts, etc.
One of the more popular ways to introduce art therapy to someone is by giving them a prompt to draw. Most times, there is a list of prompts for a person to pick from, that they believe will best allow them to fully express themselves.
The example of a prompt below, is taken from the Manage Stress textbook workbook pages from Chapter 12:
1. Draw an expression of how you feel when you are either angry or afraid.
2. Draw a sketch of yourself (how you see yourself).
3. Closing your eyes, draw a line on the paper. Then open your eyes and slowly rotate the paper around until an image appears from which to continue and finish the sketch.
4. In the theme of healing, draw an actual or representational illustration of a part of your body that is not whole (e.g., because of disease or illness). Then, draw a second image in which healing has occurred. (It’s very important to do this second image.)
5. Draw a mandala (a circular personal coat of arms with four quadrants depicting four aspects of your life that are important to you).
6. Draw your favorite animal.
7. Draw an image from a recent (or vivid) dream or recurring dream.
8. Draw a significant event in your life.
9. Draw a house (either one you live in or perhaps wish to live in).
10. Draw whatever you wish!
Typically, the act of even drawing something can bring therapeutic relief to the person engaged. Art therapists will allow their patient to create a safe space by giving them free-range in how they choose to express themselves. A lot of times, colors can be used to explain the emotions the patient is feeling because of the subtle meanings associated with them.
These colors often convey what the unspoken mind represents (Manage Stress, 2018):
Red: Passionate emotional peaks (from pleasure to pain). It can represent either compassion or anger.
Orange: Suggests a life change (big or small, often more positive than negative).
Yellow: Represents energy (usually a positive message).
Green and blue: Suggest happiness and joy (blue may even mean creativity).
These colors also suggest a strong sense or desire of groundedness and stability in your environment.
Purple or violet: Suggests a highly spiritual nature, unconditional love.
Brown (and earth-tone colors): A sense of groundedness and stability.
Black: Can either represent grief, despair, fear, or a sense of personal empowerment.
White: Can either mean fear, avoidance, cover-up, or hope.
Gray: Typically represents a sense of ambiguity or uncertainty about some issue on which you are working.
For more information about expressive art therapy and how it works, please check out the links below!
References
Cherry, K. (2020, May 11). How Art Therapy Is Used to Help Heal People. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-art-therapy-2795755
Maldonado, M. (2020, June 5). Benefits of Art Therapy. Elevation Behavioral Health. https://elevationbehavioralhealth.com/9-benefits-art-therapy/
Seaward, B. L. (2018). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and welt-being. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. pp. 255-257
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