“Art is for art sake” is an old age concept. It has many unspoken words that lie within itself. It is a form of expression not with a spoken word rather with colours. It’s a form of relief and a way of expressing inner thought of yourself through art.
What is art therapy?
Art therapy can happen in many forms – with individual, in groups, with couples, with family and with a whole community. Art therapy in its simplest definition is expressing yourself through art, for our physical, mental and emotional well-being. In art therapy, there are three main elements: The artist or art maker, the artwork and the art therapist. The art therapist provides purposefully chosen and curated art material. Supporting the art maker and helping them work towards therapeutic goals.
How does art therapy work?
Art therapy works on many different levels and let’s just explain how it works on the body mind and soul. In terms of our body art therapy involves our senses like our sight, our sense of touch., hearing and even smell. Art therapy is a Multisensory function. Art therapy has advantages over our verbal therapy because the art-making process involves interacting with materials, with tools, and it involves physical activity.
The body is involved in creating and that’s a powerful phenomenon. That is why it can feel very warm when we make art and we become more in tune with the present moment. It helps an individual to become more calm and mindful. It helps an individual in reliving past and future and make us able to realise the importance of the present. The act of coordinated movement, seeing and feeling with our senses during art-making help regulate our heartbeat, our breath and our muscle tone.
In terms of mind art therapy works in many different ways. In art therapy, we can communicate non verbally through images. This can be easier to do compared to using words. Images in art therapy help us; feel safe to express and access memories that affect the course of life. It’s easier and safer to use images than word and most of our memories that are stored in images so art therapy paves a way to access those past events. When you are doing art therapy you are activating both sides of the mind integrating both the left and right hemisphere. This helps us have more balance in our mental states and our experiences and it helps in reducing stress and anxiety. Art therapy combines the process of both healing through bodily experience and thinking.
two kinds of therapy or healing method
1. Mind Based – It was more like talk therapy. It is basically about the mind and how it functions.
2. Body-Based – It was more like float therapy or exercise. It was more about bodily expression or bodily stress.
Art therapy is a combination of both at the same time. Both mind and body-based which makes it even more powerful. It can help us tap into emotions underneath the conscious mind and gives us a tool to express them.
On the soul level, Or therapy is a spiritual practice as well because it helps us connect with our soul and higher being. It also allows us to become more self-aware and connect to what is intangible and what is bigger than us. Also, Astor therapy helps us in making meaning out of our life and the thought and feeling we experience. It empowers you to see pain, transform it and create your meaning out of it. It gives a sense of direction and ultimately clears the purpose of our life.
Four Major Career Path In Art Therapy
1. Employee path – More specifically full time or part-time employee path. If you want to go on this kind of path that you are most likely going to work in hospitals, community centres, NGOs, Clinics, Prisons, Nursing Homes, Schools and treatment centre.
2. Business Path – The second and most likely to go path in an art therapy career is running your business centre where you can either manage the other art therapist or client or else give the self-service to the client without working under anyone.
3. Online Entrepreneur Path – If you want to reach out to more people and want to provide art therapy service to more clients then you go for this path.
4. Freelancer Path – If you are a beginner and want to develop a career path or just want to help people with your training and knowledge then you can go for a freelancing path service.
By: Simran Bhati
Also Read: A Guide To Different Types Of Therapy
