Art therapy opens new pathways to healing.
what is art
therapy?
Art therapy is an evidence-based approach to therapy that combines psychological theory, clinical experience, creative expression, and the experience of being human. The therapeutic relationship acts as a container to hold the exploration of negative beliefs, traumas, attachment styles, and the like, through art.
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Being human is a dynamic, beautiful, brutal, beautiful experience, and there are times when words simply fall short. How can you accurately describe the feeling of falling in love? Or losing a loved one? Sometimes, the words just don’t deliver, and that is where the expression through art becomes our lifeline back to ourselves.
why is it
helpful?
Through the process of externalization, we are able to take seemingly abstract concepts and interact with them in tangible and concrete ways. We are also able to change, adjust, and manipulate the art so that it supports and mirrors the changes you are working on generating in therapy.
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The art making process creates space for you to relate to yourself in a new way, and also provides you with an opportunity to change and adjust your inner patterns in meaningful ways.
how it works
Art therapy is a gateway to a balanced life.
Our brain is split up into two hemispheres, the right and the left, and both hemispheres need to be working together in order to lead a balanced, creative, and fulfilling life. The left hemisphere is responsible for our language processing, reasoning skills, logic, critical thinking, and numerical processing. It’s the left hemisphere of the brain that helps us problem solve, make decisions, communicate, and cope with conventions and norms.
The right hemisphere on the other hand, is responsible for our ability to feel and express emotions, creativity, intuition, imagination, and the ability to read non-verbal signals. It’s this part of the brain that lets us appreciate and marvel at the colors of a cotton candy sky, as well as the side of the brain that is responsible for the pain we feel when we experience rejection or loss.
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The use of art and creativity within a therapeutic context integrates both the left and the right hemisphere of the brain.
While the use of creative expression activates the right hemisphere, verbally processing the imagery activates the left which helps achieve neural integration of the brain.
who is it for?
Art therapy is for everyone.
There is absolutely no experience required to engage with the process, simply an open mind and a willingness to explore your inner world through a non-verbal lens.
how is it different?
Art therapy differs from talk therapy in a variety of ways.
The art-making process allows you to bring your unconscious material to the surface and allows us to work experientially with these themes. The process itself is an effective tool for cultivating mindfulness, releasing stress, and integrating the right and left hemispheres of the brain.
