Art therapy has demonstrated the potential for a clinical effect on a variety of disorders, including dementia, personality disorders, depression, anxiety attacks, and post-traumatic stress syndrome. Art Therapy helps patients to develop their self-esteem by eliminating feelings of inferiority or by allowing them to express feelings that they have been unable to verbalize before. It also provides a safe space where emotions can be expressed freely and spontaneously.
The foundation of art therapy is the belief that the creative process of creating art is therapeutic, enriching and a way to express thoughts and feelings in a nonverbal way. The foundation of art therapy is the idea that early trauma or developmental conflict may not be accessible through conventional verbal language but may instead be stored in the unconscious as pre-verbal forms of sensory, kinaesthetic, or imaginative cognitions and associated emotional experiences represented in symbolic language. The creation of an intentional therapeutic connection or holding environment in which the therapist attunes to, participates with, and reflects the client's pre-verbal awareness is necessary for accessing these pre-verbal methods of knowing and experiencing. The art therapist chooses appropriate art methods to reflect the client's emotional and relational condition and, as a result, nurtures the formation of metaphoric and symbolic language that re-constructs the client's personal story. Long-term individual art therapy proved beneficial in boosting cognitive and emotional development, fostering connections, and reducing harmful behaviors in both adults and children, according to outcome studies.
According to the British Association of Art Therapists, art therapy is a type of psychotherapy that makes use of artistic mediums as its main means of expression and communication. Clients do not necessarily have to be skilled or experienced in the arts in order to be referred to an art therapist. Making an aesthetic or diagnostic evaluation of the client's appearance is not the primary goal of the art therapist. According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is "an integrative mental health and human services profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psycho-therapeutic relationship." The overall goal of its practitioners is to enable clients to change and grow on a personal level through the use of artistic materials in a safe and convenient environment. It has steadily gained popularity as a kind of supplemental therapy and spiritual assistance. Art therapists can use a variety of different art materials as media during therapy (i.e., visual art, painting, drawing, music, dance, drama, and writing). Drawings and paintings are among them, and within psychiatric and psychological specializations, they have historically been acknowledged as the most beneficial component of therapeutic procedures (British Association of Art Therapists, 2015).
Two models of art therapy are art in therapy of Margaret Naumburg and art as therapy of Edith Kramer that discussed below.
Art in the Therapy of Margaret Naumburg − Margaret Naumburg was principally responsible for integrating Freudian thought on the mechanics of unconscious communication with its facilitation through the pictures and symbols of art. In the Walden School, which she founded in 1915, Naumburg (1928) advised all of her instructors to do an analysis. She also promoted the kids' "spontaneous, unfettered art expression," which resulted in "unique and magnificent visuals" that appeared to be "formed from their unconscious." As a result, Naumburg (1928) came to the conclusion that "such spontaneous art expression was also fundamental to psychotherapy treatment" and that "such free art expression in children was a symbolic type of communication necessary to all education."
Naumburg (1958), who actually believed in creating art therapy, based her "art psychotherapy" theoretical framework and methods on allowing patients to express themselves freely through art. This approach has its roots in the transference relationship between patient and therapist as well as in the promotion of free association. Naumburg provided clients with a visual representation of their issues via art. The significance of therapeutic art, according to Naumburg (1958), "is founded on the awareness that man's most basic thoughts and feelings, drawn from the unconscious, attain expression in images rather than words" (p. 511). Naumburg borrowed the free association approach from psychoanalysis, although he disagreed with Freud's emphasis on verbalizing subjective experiences. While in psychoanalysis "such inner visual experiences must be retranslated from an imagined into a verbal communication," Naumburg said that in art therapy "the patient's unconscious imaged experience is transformed straight into a real pictured image." The formulation of Margaret Naumburg was obviously more concerned with the therapeutic side than the artistic one.
Art as Therapy of Edith Kramer − The phrase "art as therapy" was coined by Edith Kramer. Her argument was that the creative process itself gave the client the chance to recapture early memories and emotions, giving them the chance to "re-experience, resolve, and integrate conflict."
Kramer's theoretical framework placed more emphasis on using art for treatment than Naumburg did. Although Kramer based her approach to art therapy on psychoanalytic theory, she made no bones about the difference between the roles of the art therapist and the psychotherapist. She referred to her clients as "students" and said that the role of the art therapist required training as an artist, teacher, and therapist: "The art therapist... interacts with his students through the students' paintings and this communication has therapeutic significance... However, he is not a psychologist, and it is not his job to explain to his students what is deeply unconscious. The primary goal of an art therapist is to help troubled people experience the joys and fulfillment that only artistic endeavors can provide.
Kramer issued a warning, saying that an art therapist "will not, as a rule, directly interpret unconscious meaning, but... will utilize his understanding to assist the kid to develop artwork that incorporates and conveys emotionally complex content." Kramer's main emphasis is on the use of art to increase sublimation, which was characterized by Freud as a defensive mechanism of the ego in which basic asocial influence is turned into a socially constructive deed. Kramer does not advocate disclosing problems or assaulting defenses. Kramer stressed the artistic creation process.
It includes −
Non-verbal Communication − Our most fundamental form of communication is nonverbal, and this is how a caregiver and newborn first establish a connection during the early years of life. Art therapy is very helpful in helping people convey their tales that may not be easily available through words since thoughts and feelings are not simply linguistic and are not restricted to storage as spoken language in the brain. Some people can endure telling a reminiscence or a narrative through an artistic medium better than verbalization.
Metaphor as Therapeutic Means −According to Moon, "all artworks are metaphoric representations of the individuals who produce them." Clients and therapists may get psychological insights via metaphoric images that transcend logical reasoning. I frequently write stories or poems on the metaphors that my clients use, and I advise them to do the same. With a lot of the freedom of dreaming, the client may communicate symbolism, metaphor, and emotion via art. Along with their artistic endeavors, they switch between their arsenal of psychological and practical abilities, all of which are necessary for an aware, developing person.
Relationships Oriented − Humans are sociable creatures by nature. To survive and grow, we rely on and require our interactions with others. Interpersonal connections are the cornerstone and central topic of human existence, and they constitute the setting for the majority of human conduct. According to psychologists, a person's ubiquitous social milieu has a significant impact on both his or her behavior and development over the course of a lifetime.
A human services profession called art therapy uses art supplies, the creative process, and a finished artwork as therapeutic interactional tools. Regardless of the art therapy methodology used, patients or clients will engage with art supplies and learn something about themselves via the process of employing these materials on purpose. This will lead to personal awareness and progress. Numerous traits of art therapy include relational focus, metaphoric meaning, and nonverbal communication.
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