How Art Therapy is Healing and Improving People’s Life?

‘If you want to find a poet’s true self, read his poetries.’ 

This line perfectly goes with the Art Therapy for Healing. Often, it is seen that words alone are not enough to make a person recover from their past traumas. Some incidents are so strong that they do not leave your mind forever. They are there, deep inside the layers of your mind. The patient is not able to verbalise that, and even more, they don’t even realise its existence in them. 

The mind is a very complicated place. Often, people get lost in the mixed responses of the brain. For example, you can be at the worst of your life and still be peaceful; you are happy and still want to be alone. These feelings go beyond the limitation of words. 

Art therapy opens up ways to dig up those hidden feelings. The patient discovers their feelings often pain & complications, through the colours, sketches, writings, dancing, singing, and many more. Healing Energy through Art may sound bogus, but it’s not. 

What is Art Therapy? How is it Important?

Art Therapy, as the name implies, uses art forms to discover one’s mental state and complexities. The therapy naturally deals with one’s deep emotions buried in the heart of the patient. It helps them to flow out. A professional art healer then accumulates all of those and helps the patient to overcome his issues.  Often, we have heard that all artists carry pain. This is to some extent true in its nature. Art Therapy follows this only. Point to note that art therapy does not limit itself to drawing and painting. It can be any form of art. Only the patient must find themselves to be connected. However, paper art is the most common one. 

The American Art Therapy Association tells us that art can reshape our whole mind, bringing light to the deep, complex feelings of a person. Integrated with human services, art therapy plays a vital role in creating a channel of flow for emotions. One can go alone or with a group for an art therapy session. 

Art Therapy is special because it has no set rules. Creativity breaks down all barriers that the world has set for it. You are not asked to color within the borders. You can sketch whatever you want. Even a simple circle can express feelings. Art therapy destroys a very wrong perception of boundaries & limitations means maturity. Most people who show up in an Art Therapy session go like this. “I am bad at art.” And suddenly they develop a deep connection with music, art, writing, & even solving equations. 

Art Therapy offers you recovery. It heals the in-depth wounds of a person. Sadly, art as a healing form is still not very popular. People find it irregular and don’t trust it much. But scientists, as well as the experts in the field, know that art can be the master healer of all time. 

Art Therapy for Healing and What Science Says

Art Therapy is not fiction or some fairy tale, as some people have their opinions about it. It is by far one of the best ways to let your emotions flow. The scientists claim the real psychological benefits of Art Therapy for healing. The therapist goes through an intense training program to deal with people and their various expressions. An art therapist must follow the highest ethical standards of treatment. 

Art forms trigger the sensory places of the human brain. As a result, it improves the thinking process and develops new ideas in the brain. It develops new ways of thinking, boosts self-esteem, and helps you gain peace in your present situation. Also, art forms don’t fade away. It lives with the people for the rest of their lives. 

Scientists have claimed that art therapy helps to deal with many different mental disorders. It benefits people dealing with depression, anxiety, PTSD, hypertension, and more. Some claim that it can even help to fight non-curable diseases like cancer. It helps people in strengthening their memories, especially elderly people. It refreshes the happy memories and brings them to paper. 

Art Healing Therapy makes it easier for a person to open up about their emotions. Some people don’t even know what they have locked inside. It reduces the resistance a person has to their emotions. It helps to fight against their past and their mental situation at best. 

Benefits of Art Therapy:

Art therapy creatively works with the brain. It triggers the hidden, buried emotions and deals with them. Often, people kill their emotions. They show their back to them and allow no one to touch or ask anything about those feelings. 

Art Therapy digs into those moments of pain, sadness, and complexity. It may even feel hard at the beginning of sessions. You still have the easier way- to run from the centre and leave everything as it was. But leaving those feelings as they were will still give you pain in the long term. Through this therapy, the expert accesses people’s minds who have guarded their unprocessed emotions. They help people to accept all that they have and live peacefully in their present. The hard reality of today’s world is people don’t know how to heal themselves. Art Therapy gives people a way to express their feelings and heal themselves. There are no fixed rules of healing, and people can use whatever they want. Although the guidance will take them to intense deep levels of art therapy and process to regulate their unresolved feelings. 

How to Start Art Therapy?

One can start having Art Therapy by starting with the simplest art form. It can even be a single circle. Most people say that they are not good at art. Later on, they find themselves indulging heavily in the art forms. The truth is, there is no ‘bad’ in this field of creativity. 

A professional therapist will offer you the right materials such as paintbrush, glitter, sketches, shapers & erasers. You can have music alongside it. All you need to do is start expressing what is inside you. For attending art therapy, you need not be talented. All it asks from you is a continuous flow of emotions through art forms.

Where Does Art Therapy Take Place?

An art therapy session can be held at any place where people can peacefully express their feelings. It can be done alone or in a group. Art Therapy works with all individuals from every culture. Hence, there must not be any limitation to it. 

Below is a list of some places where you can find art therapy. 

– Neuroscience Centres. 

– Community Centres

– Senior Centres

– Schools, Colleges, and Universities. 

– Centres specializing in mental disorders like PTSD

– Hospitals

– Private Therapy Offices

– Groups Homes

– Art Studios

Who Can Attend Art Therapies?

Art Therapy is not limited to a special category of people. It works with the same efficiency for all people regardless of their gender, age, and place of origin. However, children find it easier to express themselves through art. They have fewer complexions and are more drawn to them. Their creative process has no boundaries. They generally don’t have self-doubt. This method works brilliantly on children as they don’t have the maturity to express their feelings in words, and it makes them better candidates. 

Teenagers and adults go through several stages in their lives. They see hard times, up & down, slowly becoming a closed person. They don’t allow others to know their struggles. For them, Art Therapy is a perfect way to express the emotional changes they feel.  Elderly people who are facing memory loss in their old age can gain benefits from art therapy. Also, similar to other age groups, it can help them to resolve all their complex emotions. 

Conclusion:

Art Therapy is a modern-day mental therapy backed by scientific evidence and various testimonies. It is easy, effective, and has no side effects. It only asks you to express what is locked inside your heart.