HEALING WITH ARTS : ARTS THERAPY

There’s something magical about healing with arts , its just not about colors and strokes its about sharing who you truly are. Art is an expression.

Roald Dahl said “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it” Believe in the artist inside you, because magic lies within you.

 Ever heard of Art Therapy?

Art therapy is a form of therapy that uses art as the primary form of therapeutic expression. Therapists in this field can help their clients interpret and understand their feelings and emotions through the art that they create. The actual process of creating art is therapeutic in and of itself. It’s about the process and not the end product. It’s not about making “good” art or “happy” art. This is art from the inside and it’s not always going to look “pretty”.

How Art therapy Works?

Through integrative methods, healing with art therapy engages the mind, body, and spirit in ways that are distinct from verbal articulation alone. Kinesthetic, sensory, perceptual, and symbolic opportunities invite alternative modes of receptive and expressive communication, which can circumvent the limitations of language. Visual and symbolic expression gives voice to experience and empowers individual, communal, and societal transformation.

   Uses

Healing with arts therapy can be used to treat a wide range of mental disorders and psychological distress. In many cases, healing with arts- it might be used in conjunction with other psychotherapy techniques such as group therapy or cognitive-behavioral therapy. Some situations in which art therapy might be utilized include:

• Adults experiencing severe stress4
• Children suffering from behavioral or social problems at school or at home
• Children or adults who have experienced a traumatic event
• Children with learning disabilities
• Individuals suffering from a brain injury
• People experiencing mental health problems
• Some conditions that art therapy may be used to treat include:
• Aging-related issues
• Anxiety
• Cancer
• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Emotional difficulties
• Family or relationship problems
• Medical conditions
• Psychological symptoms associated with other medical issues
• PTSD
• Psychosocial issues
• Stress

ART THERAPY EXERCISES TO MAKE YOUR HEART SING

Paint your emotions: In this exercise, you’ll focus entirely on painting what you’re feeling.

Make a stress painting. Choose colors that represent your stress and jab, scribble and paint your problems away.

Finger paint. Finger painting isn’t just fun for kids– adults can enjoy it as well. Get your hands messy and really have fun spreading paint around.

Make a mandala. Whether you use the traditional sand or draw one on your own, this meditative symbol can easily help you to loosen up.

Choose the people who matter most to you in life and create unique art for each. This is a great way to acknowledge what really matters to you and express your gratitude.

Paint a loss in your life. If you’ve lost someone you love or something, paint it. This will help you to remember but also to recover.

Draw your dreams. You can learn a lot from what goes on in your dreams, so keep a dream journal and use it for inspiration to draw or paint.

One of the oldest modes of communication “Cave Paintings” where people expressed themselves through art because the only mode of communication for them was through art. Healing with Arts has always been used to tell a story. If we aren’t aware of our feelings and emotions they will show themselves in the form of artistic creations. As many people find it easier to express through it rather than spoken communication. Anyone can be an individual artist themselves with their own expression which brings out the true Artist in them.

To me healing is not always about doctors, mediations and therapies, but even better than before for what is learned through journey. Art is a way where an individual themselves can feel free to went out their feelings and easily express it through art. Spilling paints on paper to painting an individual learns to accept their pain and becomes an artist.

Art Therapist Cathy Malchiodi’s philosophy is simple and poignant – Art has the potential to transform lives and often in profound ways. When words are not enough, we turn to images and symbols to tell our stories. And in telling our stories through art, we can find a path to healing, recovery, and transformation”.

HEALING WITH ARTS

• There was a time when i was angry, i was depressed and nothing seems to make any sense with me. My body felt heavy and my senses dull. I felt my life to be falling apart. And from that moment i started making pictures, i started putting colors on papers and i had no idea what i was doing at that time. And then as i got worse, my pain got worse. I thought of putting my pain onto paper through painting. So went to the store I bought brushes, i bought tubes and paper. And i said to myself “I’m going to paint”.

 She’s broken, she’s hurt and everything seems so dull and that’s exactly how i felt. And i expressed these through my paintings. And that’s how i captured my pain through art.

Someone who is in difficult pain or suffering from a disease, distraction, rejected, trauma, emotional distress finds a ray of hope or relief while using his mind, body and soul onto painting. Art helps you grow as a human in this busy crazy going world where it’s not easy to express yourself verbally. 

Every single one of us has a wellspring of creativity that’s infinite and boundless and positive and negative and fun and hard and all kinds of things that express itself in all kinds of ways. This is the beginning of you on honoring your own artistic expression. You are an Artist.

References:

• https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/art-therapy
• https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/therapy-types/art-therapy
• https://arttherapy.org/about-art-therapy
• https://www.fellowshiphall.com/2018/11/100-art-therapy-exercises-to-make-your-mind-body-and-spirit-sing/

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