Art Therapy Addiction

Substance use disorder is a chronic disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use regardless of long term harmful repercussions and alterations in the brain functions. Addiction influence parts of the brain responsible in reward and motivation, learning and memory, and control over behavior. Studies have proven that prolonged drug intake leads in alterations in the brain that continue long after a person stops taking illicit drugs. The changes influenced by substance abuse in brain function can lead to numerous behavioral and physiological consequences, as well as the failure to regulate impulses distinctive of addiction. Virtually most drug dependents consider at the outset that they can end taking drugs on their own. While few

Particularly, expressive art therapy allows self-expression through different modalities as a fundamental part of the therapeutic development. Further, he stated that, by using the arts in counseling may possibly speed up the process of self-exploration and that expressive modalities permit individuals to experience themselves differently. Accordingly, therapists believe that the process of expressive therapy offers as much therapeutic value as verbal reflection about the product or experience. Art therapy is a creative, therapeutic engagement between therapist and client, largely focused on art making as a form of emotional expression. Moreover, individuals can experience cohesiveness with concepts they are already dealing with in their recovery program outside of the art therapy intervention. Further, the experience of art as therapy as being a meditative, inspiring, and spiritual practice, and that recovery, art, and spirituality share qualities that provide a supportive bond of treatment for addiction. (Feen-Calligan, 1995). Furthermore, a study performed by Hagens (2011) concluded that, art therapy addressed treatment goals such as increase self- esteem, anger management, decrease co-dependency, increase healthy relationships, increase communication and thought stopping, increase problem solving and coping skills and processing trauma. In addition, it is an

Marcus and Zgierska (2009) stated that mindfulness meditation limits experiential avoidance by stimulating nonjudgmental acceptance of moment-to-moment thoughts and by interrupting the tendency to respond using maladaptive behaviors such as substance use. According to the studies that have been reviewed by Marcus and Zgierska (2009) suggested that mindfulness therapy have projected reduction in stress anxiety, sobriety and positive affect. Aghayousefi et. al, (2013) conducted a study to examine the efficacy of mindfulness therapy in anxiety reduction, depression and stress of drug dependents. A quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest was utilized among all patients referred to Medical Council Clinic in Shahryar and Andishe Rahaee Addition Withdrawal Clinic, 60 patients were selected through convenience sampling method and divided in two groups of control and experimental. Patients’ level of anxiety, depression, and stress was primarily assessed. Afterwards, 8 two-hour sessions were administered on the experimental group and the control group received no intervention. After conducting the treatment program, participants’ level of anxiety, depression, and stress was measured again. The results of multivariate covariance analysis indicated that there was a significant difference between the results of pretest and posttest of the experimental