What Is Art Therapy?
I believe we all have the distinct human need to create, whether it is music or a poem, a meal, a home, a business, or a family. Creating is a way of connecting our internal experiences with the world around us and seeing a part of ourselves manifest in something tangible and meaningful. Art, specifically, is one of the ways that I make sense of the world around me, and I am passionate about supporting others in their quest to create, regardless of mode.
Art therapy is not about making a pretty picture you want to hang on your living room wall. It is not about artistic ability or “doing it right”. It is not even about learning to “do it right”. It is about expressing yourself in a safe and non-judgemental space to convey your emotions and ideas, to release tension, and to gain insight into your inner world through color, image, and the physical act of creating. My role as an art therapist, when you are making art, is twofold: 1) to support and free up your own process, and 2) to help you describe and find meaning in your creation and to relate it to your larger therapy process.
You do not need to be an "artist" or have any art experience whatsoever to derive meaning and pleasure from using art in a therapy session. It is a resource that we can, or don't have to, use. Making art may be something that you come to therapy ready to try, or it may be something that I suggest at various points when I think it may be useful to our process.
Art therapy is not about making a pretty picture you want to hang on your living room wall. It is not about artistic ability or “doing it right”. It is not even about learning to “do it right”. It is about expressing yourself in a safe and non-judgemental space to convey your emotions and ideas, to release tension, and to gain insight into your inner world through color, image, and the physical act of creating. My role as an art therapist, when you are making art, is twofold: 1) to support and free up your own process, and 2) to help you describe and find meaning in your creation and to relate it to your larger therapy process.
You do not need to be an "artist" or have any art experience whatsoever to derive meaning and pleasure from using art in a therapy session. It is a resource that we can, or don't have to, use. Making art may be something that you come to therapy ready to try, or it may be something that I suggest at various points when I think it may be useful to our process.
