Painting What We See Within: A Look at the Insides of Art Therapy

Painting What We See Within: A Look at the Insides of Art Therapy

One of the most memorable experiences I had last summer was visiting the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. (3)At this museum, professional artists had created none of the works hanging on the walls. Visionary art is an individualized expression by people with little or no formal training; the rules of art as a school did not apply here. While I was there, I learned that for many years, the artwork created by patients of mental institutions, hospitals, and nursing homes were disregarded and destroyed by their caretakers. After seeing what powerful and telling work came from many people in these situations, I found this information to be very distressing. Fortunately, the development of art as a form of therapy has changed the medical attitude toward art created by the healing in the past fifty years. While the work created through this therapy is rarely showcased as at the American Visionary, it is aiding therapists and their clients in reaching a new awareness.

Art therapy uses media and the creative process in healing, the key word here being process. We all know how revealing the artwork of children can be of their emotions. Art therapy applies this concept across the spectrum in a multitude of situations. It functions in many of the same settings as conversational therapy: mental health or rehabilitation facilities, wellness centers, educational institutions, nursing homes, in private practices or in a client's home. An art therapist may work with an individual or group, in families or couples. While most therapy is based on conversation between the therapist and his or here client/s, art therapy integrates visual communication into th...

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.... Personally, I don't see why the developments in the study of art therapy shouldn't change our attitudes toward creative arts in general. When was the last time you sat down with crayons and drew a picture, or put on your favorite song and danced just for the heck of it? Sure, if you are creatively talented you might study art or music, but through as we get older we take even our most creative work too seriously. We try to make it good according to external standards rather than doing it for our own good. In the broader sense of things, I don't think art therapy is just for the healing. I believe our lives would be brighter and less stressful if we got into the habit of being just a little creative every day.

Internet Sources:

1)http://www.arttherapy.org/

2)http://www.avam.org/

3)http://www.artsintherapy.com/

4)http://www.creativeresponse.org.uk/