Scribble Your Worries into Joy with Expressive Arts Therapy

Sometimes, you feel stuck in your emotions, unable to put thoughts into words. Talking is not the only means of dealing with your pain or stress. Creativity is an outlet to let out bottled-up feelings and heal. Expressive arts therapy is a strong resource for converting feelings into movements, shapes, and colors.

This blog illuminates how this kind of therapy can assist you in unlocking emotions and relief within a safe and creative environment.

A Glimpse into Expressive Arts Therapy

This unique therapy technique merges psychology and creative forms to facilitate emotional healing and development. This intermodal and multi-art form of psychotherapy and counseling focuses on our innate need to create. 

Art can be an excellent medium for expression, especially for people who have difficulty describing what they feel. Expressive arts therapy takes a combination of different art forms and uses an intermodal approach to help patients access their feelings. Conversely, art therapy is typically centered around a single art form.

An expressive arts therapist is a mental health professional who has been specially trained in the application of art therapy. They know specific techniques to administer this type of therapy. These practitioners are adept in and familiar with multiple art forms to use them in their treatment strategies. 

They focus on four principal therapeutic modalities:

• Expression

• Imagination

• Active participation

• Mind-body connection

Human beings have employed expressive arts as therapeutic modalities since the earliest times. Expressive arts therapists support multimodal creative expression, occasionally in a single session, typically non-directly.

In such sessions, the therapist supplies the materials, equipment, and media needed to enable a client's creative expression during the therapy session. 

Duties of an Expressive Arts Therapist

These mental health professionals have received specific training on the efficacy and use of art therapy. They use appropriate techniques for carrying out this unique form of therapy. They utilize the following in their expressive art sessions. 

• Writing therapy

• Dance therapy

• Music therapy

• Painting, sketching and sculpting

• Theater and Drama

Expressive art therapists must be tranquil and empathetic. They should be able to help patients through the creative process and ensure active engagement during sessions. 

An expressive arts therapist also does the following:

• Conducting assessments on patients

• Creating personalized treatment plans for each patient

• Discussing patients' progress with other professionals

• Staying up to date on industry news and new creative arts techniques

What Can They Help With?

Expressive arts therapy is open to both adults and children. It can be useful for the following conditions or issues in many ways. 

• Anxiety

• ADHD

• Bereavement or grief

• Brain injuries

• Chronic medical conditions

• Depression

• Developmental disorders

• Eating disorders

• Emotional issues

• Interpersonal issues

• Low self-esteem 

• Post-traumatic stress disorder

• Stress

Key Takeaway 

Art can heal and transform emotions. Expressive arts therapy enables you to be in touch with your feelings, deal with life stress, and strengthen self-esteem. You need not be an artist for that. At the end of this session, you will understand how arts and creative processes can result in healing and improve wellness. Search for an expressive arts therapist in Litchfield Park for a life filled with happiness, peace, and authenticity. Let creativity lead you to healing and emotional balance.