An Insight Into Art Therapy

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when i tell people i work as an art

therapist

the typical response that i get is what

is that

what do you do do you provide coloring

books activity

you must be familiar with coloring books

as you can easily find them in online

and offline bookstores

may i know who have ever used coloring

books

thank you for raising your hands okay

a lot of people use this but a lot of

people also mistaken this as the same as

art therapy

well what are coloring books actually

coloring books are pre-drawn images that

invite people to color in

with markers crayons color pencils

and the goals of coloring books are to

provide leisure activities

it can be therapeutic it can be fun for

some people but i would say that it’s

not for everyone

why would i say that well art therapists

believe that

people who are anxious

are not recommended to do coloring books

because of its

very rigid and structured activity

that you need to color inside the lines

that there is a certain boundary

and there is limit in creativity

so although some coloring books put art

therapy as part of the title

please be mindful that coloring books

are not

a therapy coloring books are fun

activity that you do just like when you

do sudoku

or crossword puzzle

and art therapies

also often get this misconception that

i can interpret or read

or judge someone’s artworks just by

looking at it

so some people expect that when they

show me

their art i can tell their personality

or the things that they’ve been through

but that’s not true

that’s not what a therapy is

so art therapy does not go like oh

your painting is in red

you must be in anger or

you only draw one person in your

painting

that must indicate that you’re a lonely

person

well no art therapist does not process

information that way

you’ve heard a phrase that a picture

tells a thousand words

and those words those stories

are not up for the therapies to tell

it’s the makers it’s the clients it’s

your privilege

to share your site of story

and art therapist is also not

psychologists

we are a distinct mental health

professionals

with master degree training so we are

not psychologists we are

different from them but we work together

with them with psychiatrists

and with other social workers

and the other misconception

art therapy has that it’s often uh

thought as the same as just art

education

that going to art therapies like going

to an art tuition

but that is also

not correct before being a therapist i

was also trained in fine arts

so i can tell the differences in fine

arts

in art education you are being taught

on how to develop artistic skills

how to make good composition how to make

portraits how to make landscapes

but in art therapy you do not even need

to have previous experience

in art to be involved in the therapy

because what matters is how the client

express himself how he makes sense of

his art

and how he finds connections between his

art

and his inner life and the goal

of the therapy the goal of art therapy

is to provide support is to give support

for people who has challenges

in meeting their developmental emotional

social behavioral in their everyday

lives

so what is art therapy exactly

art therapy combines two big disciplines

art and therapy art and psychology

we are familiar with psychotherapy

that uses verbal means

as as way to communicate between the

therapists and the client

you talk in the sessions but in art

therapy or art psychotherapy

the focuses is in the use of visual arts

as a means for expression and

communication

and we also look into the creative

process

and also the relationship that is built

between the therapists

the client and the artworks

so how does it work actually

so the clients are normally asked

to give their feelings and thoughts

and make them into forms so let’s try

this

if i were to ask you to give your

feelings

some forms how do they look like

how does your happiness look like how

does your anger look like

how does your fear look like

visual image making makes a good tool

because words can be hard to find words

can be hard to tell

even more when you have unpleasant

experience

or when you are traumatized by some

event

or when you are overwhelmed by grief for

example

when you can’t express your loss

in words or when a child

can’t talk about his parents divorce

or even understand what divorce means

how do they process all of these

complicated feelings they have inside

them

if they can’t find words to explain

they can illustrate it enjoying or in

painting

or when someone needs to release

his anger not by hurting people

not by destroying materials but through

colors and strokes

and art also gives

the client freedom to share stories

in their own way if it’s too scary

to talk about an abuser a bully at

school

or to talk about the sickness that they

are fighting with they can

illustrate them in forms of monsters

objects or animals that they can relate

to

and the use of these metaphors and

symbols really help them

to share their stories and many people

actually find

relief in the sessions that they can

choose to be quiet

but still able to channel their feelings

in a safe

and productive manner

when you express yourself there is a

good

release and in art form

you can see your problem you can touch

your

problem so you have the chance to

contemplate

reflect and find ways to cope with it

and growth and healing comes when the

clients uncover new coping skills

this bully this monster that has been

bugging me

i want to fight it i won’t let it

control me anymore because i’m important

too

or when she realizes that

she has been in a depression hole for

quite some time

she needs to get out of it and reconnect

with her loved ones

or when he finally he finally realizes

that

self-harming is not one way to cope

when we have problems when he finally

can

feel more self-worthy

and can love himself

and we can really see the client’s

investment in therapy

by looking at the way they put

effort into their artwork how they treat

their artworks

do they feel the need to keep on erasing

the works and have to do it over and

over and over again

do they feel dissatisfied with his own

creation

does he has this same feeling outside

therapy too

is this how he functions in everyday

lives

feeling hopeless feeling useless

or does this person when making his art

can feel the satisfaction feels proud

of his accomplishments so these are some

of the

things that art therapists

see in the sessions so art therapist

does not

interpret or judge we facilitate the

creative process

we give tools for expression

we provide unconditional listening

we give a safe environment and we give

guidance for reflection

so that change can happen

and other dancing the clients also work

very closely

with their support systems

and let’s not forget about them their

parents who feel frustrated

with their children they are siblings

who feel helpless or have to grown up

faster

because they have to take care of the

family

are there children who feel trapped by

their parents argument

so they are too invited in the sessions

so that they can work on their

relationship and to reconnect again

throughout our practice we see that

our clients base more than 60 percent

is children and they show most concerns

in developmental behavioral and

emotional problems

and many adolescents struggles

with depression self-harming having

suicidal thought

and in adults 21 years above

many suffers from mental illness such as

having

mood or personality disorders

from the data we can see that mental

health concern

can happen to anyone at any age

and perhaps there is still a stigma

that people who are involved in art in

play

in creative process is only children but

that’s wrong

art therapy can be done from toddler to

elderly

with various concerns ranging from

developmental

to medical condition

and it can be done in individually in

groups or in couple

and art therapy is one of the many

available therapies out there

our method may be different but our goal

is the same

to have a more fulfilling life

to have a good mental health

and a good mental health means that the

developmental

the emotional the social milestones are

being met

and that we know how to cope with

problems when we have them

and mentally good people can function

positively at home

at work at school and in the society

and there have been many campaigns if

you see outside

many campaigns many communities

many non-government organization that

aims to lift

awareness because the concern is real

that people often neglect

their mental health that it’s okay to

see a doctor

when we are physically unwell but it’s

seen as an embarrassment

to see mental health professionals when

we struggle in life

and having this misconception

can really stop people from getting the

help that they really need

and seeing people coming

to art therapy i see that them coming to

sessions are not signs

of sickness or weakness

but indicators of strengths and

survivals

and i can see that throughout time

despite whatever life throws at us

human beings are brave forgiving and

resilient

and everyone faces challenges every day

you me all of us and we all cope

differently

thus i would like to invite you to take

a second look at your mental health and

ask

yourself have i had enough

and good coping skills

how and who is my support system

what is my contribution to the community

have i done enough self-care

and one way

to gain personal insight is through

image making

and art making is not only for artistic

people

and definitely not only for children

making creation has been part of

human being and art has been around

since the caveman period

so doodle and explore draw someone you

love

visualize your dream make a sculpture

have fun exploring

and discovering yourself get in touch

with your inner self

and find out more about

who you are i hope that this sharing is

insightful

and that we all learn to take better

care of ourselves both physically and

mentally

thank you

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you