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