Application of Personal Experience in Art Therapy

Introduction

Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses art as it’s primary technique for expression and communication in order to improve the emotional and mental well being of its patients. It combines different areas of human development and visual art such as drawing, sculpture painting and other artistic processes alongside counselling and psychotherapy. The British association of art therapists defines that the “art is not used as diagnostic tool but as a medium to address emotional issues which may be confusing and distressing”. Although influenced by psychoanalysis, art therapy is also inspired attachment based psychotherapy and a broad range of client-centred approaches such as psycho-educational, mindfulness and mentalization, compassion-focussed and cognitive analytic therapies, as well as socially engaged practice.

For this essay I will be looking at art therapy practices and how treatment is adjusted for different patience, the text will be broken down into three major groups concentrating on children, young people and the elderly. I have always been heavily interested in art therapy as a form of psychotherapy, as most forms of therapy are centred on verbal communication whereas this breaks that mould and introduces a more creative means of communicating ideas, exploring feelings and experiences, and learning to develop from these. Margaret Naumburg defines art therapy by claiming it “bases its methods on releasing the unconscious by means of spontaneous art expression”. My aim is to not only understand the art therapy practice more as a whole but to gain an insight into the specific areas in which I would like to specialise in during my college and career route.

Art therapy can be used by therapists to reconcile emotional conflicts, manage behaviours or addictions, develop social skills and self-awareness, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety, and increase self-esteem among other things. This paper will concentrate on the phycological benefits and methods within my three age groups, including regression therapy, sensory stimulation and group therapy whilst working with dementia, post traumatic stress disorder, grief and self harm. I hope to provide some answers but also, importantly, to ask questions that I trust will be of interest to anybody who wishes to gain insight into art therapy practices, how they are implemented and the beneficial outcomes. I will be drawing on my personal experience with my own mental health therapy’s throughout the years and volunteering with dementia patients for arts for health , as well as researching the medical facts and scientific research behind the methods.

Section 1

Art therapy and children

Art therapy is a newer form of psychotherapy used with children that is often underestimated by parents with them thinking that it is just drawing, there is so much more to it but in its simplest definition it is a form of non-verbal communication for children who may not be able to articulate their thoughts, emotions or perceptions, it is a way to convey what they may find difficult to express with words. For those who have experienced abuse, it can also be a way to tell without talking when they are unable or afraid to speak about specific events that have happened or are happening. It is a sensory based approach that allows the children to experience for themselves and communicate on multiple levels. In particular, certain sensory characteristics of creating art are effective in improving mood, sensory integration, and calming the body and mind, especially with children who have experienced traumatic events. Children need special attention when it comes to dealing with traumas that they may not even understand fully. Art therapy has been proven to benefit the increasing number of children dealing with post traumatic stress disorder or other trauma related disorders. These traumas create fear and anxiety in children and art therapy’s informal nature of expression has the ability to express complexities outside of the child’s language, it allows certain emotions to come out which they would otherwise have been unable to express with limited language. Art therapist Tamara Herl feels “the greatest value of art therapy with children who have been abused or neglected is that it provides an opportunity to give voice to their pain. The images they create provide tangible proof of progress that has been made and this can be especially helpful on days when children feel discouraged about their progress”. Art therapy can provide a necessary alternative which allows children dealing with PTSD to cope with the stress of their experiences rather than just discuss them. This is particularly true from my own experience of therapy with CAMHS during my childhood, I was given talking therapy with two separate therapists over five years, which I found scarily formal and under pressure to answer lots of questions a stark contrast to art therapy which felt fun and relaxed. As I child I never felt like it was therapy, although it was the first time I was able to feel safe and at ease away from my own home and I did see improvements in my anxiety levels both during the sessions and afterwards. As Albrecht Durer said “ through drawing, you are made visible” this was very true for me as I had selective mutism which meant I couldn’t speak to many people and I spent a good portion of my life silent and unheard.

Art is known to help express your emotion and elevate the mindset of the artist. There is medical evidence which supports this showing increased serotonin levels, which impacts mood and anxiety, while the individual is being creative. This can help calm the patient and remove them from their highly anxious, fearful and worried state, at least while they create the art, which allows them to more openly process the therapy.

Art therapy is currently used in a variety of practices dealing with assessment and treatments, studies have shown that PTSD often stores representative images within the mind of patients. The international society for the study of trauma and dissociation explains “ traumatic memory is not encoded in an explicit or linear manner, an approach that does not rely on words alone can be extremely useful. Art and other expressive therapies provide direct access to implicitly stored traumatic memories”. Neuroscience has also shown that trauma is a sensory experience, not a cognitive experience because of this sensory activities are very beneficial within therapy’s. There is also evidence that trauma is experienced in the mid or lower brain, the parts responsible for emotions and survival instincts. Art therapy is proven to be an approach that meets these needs.