Forging a New Therapeutic Path: What Makes Art Therapy Stand Out

When was the last time you made art, joyfully? Can you remember your childhood creativity, the way it seemed to flow without effort because drawing or painting was simply fun? In an art therapy session, this is the feeling we are hoping to recreate, one of free expression without worry or concern about the end product. In our modern and relentless world, we strive to carve out an hour of time to breathe and be expansive; to feel safe, warm and deeply connected to your own innate drive to make something. It is an hour to be yourself.

Art Therapy is not a new modality, and in fact rose up alongside Freudian talk therapies and analysis. What differentiates an art therapy session from a traditional therapy session is the inclusion of art materials in a setting made to facilitate art-making. That is to say, it is more than drawing while speaking to a clinician; rather, we as art therapists are trained clinically and artistically, and we thoughtfully arrange mediums to support our clients’ needs. For some clients this means a directive, in which the therapist offers a prompt tailored to their treatment goals or current area of need. A good example of this would be a watercolor painting of a Safe Place, real or imagined, that the client is invited to depict on the page. When done, they are encouraged but not required to share about the piece itself or about the process. An art therapist will never force a client to speak about their work; rather, we work to earn trust, to establish that we are here to listen. Other clients prefer less structure, and arrive to an art therapy studio intent to follow their own mood, to direct their own art process. Incidentally, in my work with young teens and tweens, this act of self-direction is the one that usually proves to be the most healing and affirming, and I am always glad to provide the space for my clients to thrive.

We are often asked in initial calls or by curious acquaintances: what can a person reasonably expect from art therapy as treatment? What could one hope to gain from this experience, over time? There may be endless answers to these queries, and each would lend itself to the clinician providing the response, as every art therapist has their own vision and expertise. I like to say that art therapy will offer clients a way to back to themselves, if they are adults, and a means of expression that is wholly their own, if they are children. I like to say that art therapy may be right for someone who feels tired of talking or being talked at, and may be a salve to folks seeking a disruption of their own unceasing inner monologue.  Art therapy sessions are tailored to fit the needs of each unique client, and never a preconceived vision of the therapist. This is a freedom afforded to us as art therapists that is a privilege of the trade, and one that we truly love to share with our communities.

Written By Megan Fradley-Smith, MS, ATR