Art therapy is a highly successful method of mild or severe trauma treatment, and utilizes the expression of thoughts and feelings during the creative process of producing art as a vehicle for healing and fostering personal growth.
Art therapy has proven to be particularly helpful with addictions, pain, and trauma treatment strategies. Because artistic creations are reflections of an individual's personality, conditioning, development, interests, concerns, and conflicts, art therapy provides a way to connect with the inner self. Through artistic expression, reflection, and talking about the artwork with an art therapist, trauma treatment patients and others who are in pain are able to tap into their unconscious.
With a successful track record in trauma treatment and other psychological recovery programs, art therapy helps reconcile emotional or life conflicts, release deeply repressed emotions and processing through traumatic experiences, mental issues, anxiety, depression, and stress. The therapy can also enhance cognitive abilities, increase self-esteem, promote reality orientation, and foster self-awareness for patients seeking trauma treatment or basic emotional relief.
The benefits of art therapy for aiding psychological trauma treatment are many. Because art therapy is a three-way relationship between the client, the therapist and work of art, an emotional connection is created. Art therapists and other trauma treatment professionals are trained and educated in both psychotherapy and art who utilize their experience and knowledge of psychology, spirituality, human development, clinical practice, and multicultural artistic traditions to elicit the healing potential of art.
It is not about your artist skill level or the beauty of your creation—no experience of talent is required. Art therapy is about getting someone to freely, spontaneously express themselves and enjoy the pleasures of artistic creativity on their journey to recovery and wellness.