Art therapy isn't new. According to Art Therapy Journal, it has been around since 1969, but it took fifty years for the idea that art could be used as medicine to get the WHO's attention.
After year and year, researchers have looked at art as a way to keep people physically and mentally healthy. It's also been shown that art really does influence mental and physical health. The best part? Anyone, regardless of their age and social strata, can benefit from art therapy, but it's especially useful for those who might find it difficult to process their emotions in words.
Art Therapy in All Its Splendour
Art therapy, although it implies a creative and totally unharmful process, is done under the guidance of a trained professional. Contrary to most inexperienced beliefs, art therapy is more than just relaxing or practicing self-care by being creative.
While it can be creative and carry upon all kinds of benefits when done individually, art therapy is a specialized discipline that delivers vast psychological benefits combined with a mental health specialist to help you reach your goals and overall better well-being.
It takes place in individual or better, in group sessions, in any sort of setting, from a school to a clinic.
Does Art Therapy Really Worth?
Research shows that therapy and art together can help people with a wide range of conditions and is effective with an array of patient populations, from everyday people facing challenges to prison inmates to cancer patients.
In today's ongoing uncertainty, almost everyone would gain from a few art therapy sessions. It enables many people to enter into their subconscious thought patterns in ways that even relatively healthy people can benefit from.
It's not only a tool for those unable to express themselves verbally but a tool for those over-thinkers who know just what to say to a counselor.
Art therapy is currently used to treat those with a range of mental and physical health conditions like:
- Substance abuse
- Psychological health conditions like trauma or PTSD.
- Dementia
- Parkinson and other neurological disorders
- Anxiety, depression, and stress
- Cancer
Art Therapy – Does Just Good
Studies have shown many benefits to art therapy. Generally speaking, making art will boost your dopamine levels, the brain's feel-good chemical. Currently, psychologists are accessing transcription services to ensure remote workers, who now struggle with burnout and anxiety, are accessing therapy sessions and guidelines in all formats possible.
A 2018 report found that art therapy can reduce anxiety and stress and also lead to:
- Reduced burnout, anxiety, and people for people coping with everyday challenges
- Improved emotional health and reduced symptoms in cancer patients
- Reduced stress for individuals battling medical conditions like AID/HIV
- Improved emotional state and less depression for elderly and patients with dementia
Kids, in particular, have exhibited significant behavioral and emotional changes during and after therapy sessions. In some cases, art therapy has shown "significant effects "on kids and families with trauma.
Many benefits from art people stream from allowing individuals to express themselves without words. The thing is that art therapy interventions aren't always about creating something "sensational," but rather the process of creating and discovering what emerges when we censor ourselves.