Can this be a creative way to heal?

Nowadays, we can see that art therapy is becoming very famous across the world. It is being perceived as a stress buster that helps people vent out their emotions and feelings. It is also being used in a variety of settings. This blog aims to explore various aspects of art therapy, including its benefits as well as ethical considerations.According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is considered a kind of service that aims to integrate both mental health and human services by using art-making, creative processes, applied psychological theory, and human experience.

To practice art therapy in India, one must complete a diploma course in expressive or creative arts therapy. Experts also recommend that one complete their bachelor’s and master's degrees in psychology before going on to attend the certificate course on art therapy. One can begin their career in art therapy by interning under an expert art therapist and observing different therapy sessions. This will help the students get an understanding of how art therapy can be performed. Art has been used by humans since time immemorial for communicating with each other about their ideas and to express themselves as well. Therapeutic visuals and art forms have been found in the drawings of Navajo tribes in North America as well as some African tribes.

 They were said to be the precursors to the understanding of art therapy. Intellectual and sociological developments of the 1940s have also found new ground for this profession. There were evolving ideas about psychology and the unconscious, and the growing acknowledgement of art as the expression of a human being made sure that art therapy became one of the most practiced therapies all over the world. Art therapy started in the UK in the 1940s, and it is relatively new in practice as well. 

Margaret Naumburg is said to be the mother of art therapy, as she believed that individuals are able to bring to light different unconscious processes of theirs through the process of creative art-making. The art that is created by the client themselves will enable them to know more about themselves and will reveal various things about them. The term art therapy was used in England in the 1930s, and the artist Adrian Hill also formally coined the term in 1942.

Although this is done under the supervision and guidance of an art therapist, what emerges should be the unfiltered responses of an individual. This can be used to promote mental health and well-being.Speaking of the well-being of an individual, there are a lot of benefits to art therapy. One of the main benefits is that it acts as a vent for the person to express themselves and their feelings and emotions in a free manner without any kind of constraint. It helps in reducing acute and chronic mental health conditions as well as managing them. It also helps in improving the cognition and sensorimotor functions of an individual, as well as their self-esteem and self-awareness. This therapeutic technique can also help in self-exploration and enables us to know more about ourselves, and individuals can gain insights about themselves. This therapy can also help in enhancing communication skills by helping an individual contribute their thoughts, feelings, and emotions, which otherwise can’t be passed on in a verbal manner. This can also help in increasing the amount of social interaction that a person can have with other individuals. After knowing about themselves, individuals can also embark on a journey of personal growth as well as self-reflection and self-awareness. 

There is also confidentiality, which talks about keeping the personal details of the client a secret and making sure that such information is not breached at all costs. The art therapists should conduct art therapy only if this therapy is within their areas of competence and training. There should be some levels of cultural sensitivity within the therapist, and they must respect the beliefs and backgrounds of the clients before they start working. During the art therapy session, there must be boundaries established between the therapist and the client.

Lastly, the termination of the therapy must be done in a more thoughtful and ethical manner, and there should be proper referral when the needs and demands of the clients go beyond the scope of the therapist or if the client is fine and is able to function themselves properly. Along with this, there are a lot of other ethical considerations that have to be considered.Overall, art therapy is something that is an emerging field and has the ability to cause something good in the lives of the people who are undergoing this therapeutic process.

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