“I think everything in life is art. What you do. How you dress. The way you love someone, and how you talk. Your smile and your personality. What you believe in, and all your dreams. The way you drink your tea. How you decorate your home. Or party. Your grocery list. The food you make. How your writing looks. And the way you feel. Life is art.”
What is Expressive Arts Therapy?
Expressive Arts Therapy is inclusive of all modalities of art in a therapeutic context for deepening connection, healing, self-awareness, and growth. Modalities of art include visual art (drawing, painting, collage, clay and sculpture, etc.), music and sound, dance/movement, drama, poetry, and many more. The arts offer a new lens with which to view one’s life, relationships, challenges and triumphs and can bring forth insight and meaning that may not come as easily from traditional talk therapy. Expressive Arts Therapy can provide helpful tools to aid in increased understanding, adaptive communication, as well as enhance coping and self-care. The arts are a vehicle for client and therapist to explore and express what cannot otherwise be said.
Expressive Arts Therapy is appropriate for people of all ages and populations. Expressive Arts practices can be used in individual, couples, family, and group counseling and can additionally be adapted to school and community-based settings.
Additional Resources:
International Expressive Arts Therapy Association
Trauma-Informed Expressive Arts Therapy
Helpful Articles:
Art Enhances Brain Function and Well-Being
Using Improv Theatre Makes it Easier for Kids to Talk About Mental Health
Music and Dance Therapy Should be Offered to Dementia Patients, Research Shows
Benefits of Expressive Art Therapy for Children
Drawing Can change Your Brain in These 7 Ways, According to Science
More articles on use of the arts to treat trauma
Imagination and Expressive Arts as Antidotes to Adversity
Ballet For Seniors: Dancing Without An Age Limit
Women Prisoners Heal Trauma with Dance
