What is "therapeutic" about art?
I would like to hear about what people think is "therapeutic" about art.
What sort of things do you do to communicate your feelings. How do people use colrs, textures and styles to "get the message out? What sort of tools do they find most "expressive"?
amy
What sort of things do you do to communicate your feelings. How do people use colrs, textures and styles to "get the message out? What sort of tools do they find most "expressive"?
amy
Replies to This Post
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Permalink Reply by Cyndie Westrich on -
Hi Amy! As a board certified art therapist, I have used art making for therapy with my clients for over twenty years. Art can be very therapeutic when it allows one to express feelings especially when it is difficult for one to find the words he/she is searching for and/or if one has experienced severe trauma. Without concern to technique and with more of an emphasis on art process for self-expression instead of art product for exhibition, simple shapes, symbols, use of metaphors, textures, and colors can all be used to convey strong emotions. A variety of art materials can be used to help access feelings--art media, which is more fluid in content such as clay and water colors, may allow for more expression when one may be more resistive or need to relax, and likewise art media, which is more structured in content such as pencil, collage etc., may give more containment to highly charged emotions. Art therapists, found around the globe, are trained in post-graduate educational master degree programs to learn how to serve the needs of a variety of clients across the life span with the art process. I enjoy studying how people in a variety of cultures use traditional folk art to express feelings and emotions. My thesis focused on how different cultures use art to deal with death. On a personal note, I find painting with watercolors relaxing as well as working with clay. My work may be realistic and other times it may be abstract depending on my mood. I especially enjoy visual journaling as this has become a very authentic form of expression for me--casually blending narrative words with images in a meaningful way. I teach classes and workshops on this as well as use of folk art in healing. I am also curious to learn more about how artists in other countries use visual art for personal healing.
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Permalink Reply by Amy Goldsmith Charmatz on -
Cyncie,
I am very interested in art therapy from a very personal viewpoint: I very much believe it saved my life! After several brain operations, I almost immediately went into a long clinical depression: absolutely the worst thing that ever happened to me! Met with an art therapist briefly, and that was the way out for me! It is definitely a way for me to channel my energies and I find that just the act of setting something in paint, clay, etc gives me a sense of accomplishment and raises my self-esteem.
I also am always interested in how emotions and feelings are reflected in artistic interpretation. Kudos to your choice of a profession!
ac
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Permalink Reply by Cyndie Westrich on
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Hi Amy! Thank you for sharing your story. It is wonderful how your art making continues to heal long after the experience of art therapy. Art offers both the benefit of self-expression in the art making process as well as having the opportunity to have feelings validated through the art product: While words may be fleeting and intangible, the art "freezes" the emotion(s) in physical form and thereby can mirror the emotions back to the creator. We call this "mirroring emotions." I say it is literally "seeing how you feel." Many times people are in therapy because they need to be listened to, reflect on their feelings, get self-direction, and have feelings honored. Art making can allow for all of these experiences. Art therapy is truly a rewarding profession and it is a privilege to work with others on their life journey.
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Permalink Reply by Amy Goldsmith Charmatz on
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Cydie, I agree with you totally. Someone does have to be willing to "invest" in the artistic process, but the changes are almost immediate and the more time exposed, the greater the benefit. I was initially very resistant, until I found the right medium and method
amy
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Permalink Reply by Amy Goldsmith Charmatz on
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Cyndie,
Went back and reread your letter and was really amazed at the similarities between what you said and my own experiences. I had an additional piece, though: my mother, an abstract artist, sat in the sessions with me and was able to keep recreating the situation - both manually and using the same positive feedback. So I really got a "double-whammy" that created a self-replicating response!
I wonder if a family member or friend is generally included, so the "creative experience" can be similarly repeated?
Art therapy, done well, is an amazing process and I will always be very grateful that Jannika, who I saw only a couple of times, was able to help me so much! My point is that the " creative experience', once set in motion, so to speak, can be designed to last a lot longer than the original contact!
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Permalink Reply by Cyndie Westrich on
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Even when an art therapy session has ended, the art piece carries a transcendence well beyond the session unlike a regular counseling session where words may be fleeting. Words are linear and art is non-linear: An art work/product is rich and fertile possibly possessing multiple meanings and can continue to convey such personal messages for further self-reflection after the session. Likewise, the art making/process can continue beyond the session as well for self-care and art work made between sessions can be brought back to the session for continued dialogue/sharing/witnessing/validating. The art making becomes a "way of knowing self" that once learned in art therapy can continue to allow the healing process and self-discovery to continue even after the therapeutic relationship has been appropriately terminated. Both visual journaling and process painting, which focus on self-discovery and healing through art making, have become very popular over the years with numerous books written on such ideas.
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Permalink Reply by Cindy Wang on
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Hi dear Amy and Cindie,
I'm Cindy. And I find your discussion so interesting. Can't we just make a forum on art therapy.
I met many artists from around the world. and some of them are telling me that art is a therapy for them or through art they are trying to pass positive energy and heal people.
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Permalink Reply by Amy Goldsmith Charmatz on
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Cindy, would love to paticipate in a discussion, but think "art therapy" might be too narrow a term for this ongoing process. What do think would be more positive?
amy
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Permalink Reply by Cindy Wang on
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Dear Amy, as I said there are some artists that use art as therapy for themselves.
And There's art professors that question: "what is a good artist" it is someone that has a moral responsibility to pass positive thinking or energy. Each one of them expresses it differently.
Kamin Lertchaiprasert has been through a difficult path. He lost his mother in a terrible car accident. It took years to heal and now his everyday life is his art.
Another Chinese artist paints maternal love, He first to 10 years to paint the Nanking Massacre and now he paints Love, flower, happiness.
Both teach their students to express positive energy and thinking.
Another friend had a Near Death Experience, and since then, through his photos and his music coming from Nature he tries to pass positive energy.
We don't need to talk about something weird or completely spiritual. Let's talk about music for example. There are music like Rock or Trance that makes people excited, but classical music or new age can make relax our mood.
This is the same for all our senses. And all our senses give us emotions.
Art is touching our senses. Creating a right environment, eating right food that create positive emotions, positive thinkings.
Personnally I'm into visual art, but around me I have people that are practicing musical therapy. And it really works. It alleviates pain to terminally ill patients. These patients can reduce significantly their morphine intake.
For my son, I had a difficult childbirth, he came out from the feet. And I noticed that if I stay quiet and try to relax, it helped a lot. Breathing is a physical way to realx, but if in your head you can tell your body to relax, in fact your mind relaxes and your body and breathing will follow.
watching a beautiful scenery, having a good meal, laughing, love all these are positive energy that can heal.
Human are not eternal, and facing death, accepting it is a positive thing: a good friend of mine has cancer for 4 years already. I met her last month. She knows her situation is not getting better. Last year she had a family reunion, letting her brother and sisters know her last wills. She accepted the facts. She told me she knows she's not going to last long, but she is happy, she is enjoying every second of her life. When you see her, you believe it. She is happy.
All these are positive.
Art is Life and Life is Art
Through Art, through Life giving ourself and others positive thinking, positive energy.
I hope it doesn't sound too philosophical.
Cindy
JFA Living Art
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Permalink Reply by Amy Goldsmith Charmatz on
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Cindy, I agree with you 100%! "Different strokes for different folks"- Art is expression and that's what gets"the motors churning"! The medium is not as important, right?
amy -
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Permalink Reply by Lyean Inocencio on -
See my artworks and let it speak for themselves... It gives you positive energy and it relaxes you mind... Inner peace, love for nature and its a sign of hope... Feel the power within... Its Nature@Work!
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Permalink Reply by Cynthia Winton-Henry on -
I am the cofounder of a process called InterPlay: an active creative approach to unlocking the wisdom of the body. InterPlayers learn to improvise with movement, voice, story, stillness and contact. The power of creating and play is phenomenal. People begin by playing with brief experiences- a one hand dance, thirty second "tellings," hand to hand contact dances. In a brief time people of all kinds are entering into synchronous art exchanges. Performance occurs, dances become prayer, truths are shared, people "exform" --move out energy, people find their voices. Visual art and writing are invited into these processes.
The interesting thing is that by NOT focusing directly on healing, the body seems to offer healing. Play is an indirect, non surgical, non-intervention approach. I think of it more as experientail homeopathy. Create a place that feels secure and people and bodies nautrally move toward health... InterPlay is all over the world. I have several books written about it including What the Body Wants. This summer we held our first Arts and Social Change for Next Gen Leaders Training. We are excited to devekop partnerships with leading accessibility/disability organizations.
Thrilled to be part of a whole world wide movement of people remembering the power of the arts for healing and social change!
Cynthia at www.interplay.org
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