Art therapy
Art therapy is a distinct discipline that incorporates creative methods of expression through visual art media. Art therapy, as a creative arts therapy profession, originated in the fields of art and psychotherapy and may vary in definition. Art therapy encourages creative expression through painting, drawing, or modeling. It may work by providing persons with a safe space to express their feelings and allow them to feel more in control over their lives.
There are three main ways that art therapy is employed. The first one is called analytic art therapy. Analytic art therapy is based on the theories that come from analytical psychology, and in more cases, psychoanalysis. Analytic art therapy focuses on the client, the therapist, and the ideas that are transferred between both of them through art. Another way that art therapy is used in art psychotherapy. This approach focuses more on the psychotherapists and their analyses of their clients' artwork verbally. The last way art therapy is looked at is through the lens of art as therapy. Some art therapists practicing art as therapy believe that analyzing the client's artwork verbally is not essential, therefore they stress the creation process of the art instead. In all approaches to art therapy, the art therapist's client utilizes paint, paper and pen, clay, sand, fabric, or other media to understand and express their emotions.
Art therapy can be used to help people improve cognitive and sensory motor function, self-esteem, self-awareness, and emotional resilience. It may also aide in resolving conflicts and reduce distress.
The tenets of art therapy involve humanism, creativity, reconciling emotional conflicts, fostering self-awareness, and personal growth.
Art therapy improves positive psychology by helping people find well-being through different unique pathways that add meaning to one's life to help improve positivity.
In November 2023, the National Council of the National Order of Nurses in France concluded that the approximately forty existing meta-analyses, encompassing more than 2,500 studies conducted on art therapy, found no evidence regarding its actual effectiveness on patients' health.
History
In the history of mental health treatment, art therapy is still a relatively new field. This type of unconventional therapy is used to cultivate self-esteem and awareness, improve cognitive and motor abilities, resolve conflicts or stress, and inspire resilience in patients. It invites sensory, kinesthetic, perceptual, and sensory symbolization to address issues that verbal psychotherapy cannot reach. Although art therapy is a relatively young therapeutic discipline, its roots lie in the use of the arts in the 'moral treatment' of psychiatric patients in the late 18th century.Art therapy as a profession began in the mid-20th century, arising independently in English-speaking and European countries. Art had been used at the time for various reasons: communication, inducing creativity in children, and in religious contexts. The early art therapists who published accounts of their work acknowledged the influence of aesthetics, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, rehabilitation, early childhood education, and art education, to varying degrees, on their practices.
British artist Adrian Hill coined the term "art therapy" in 1942. Hill, recovering from tuberculosis in a sanatorium, discovered the therapeutic benefits of drawing and painting while convalescing. He wrote that the value of art therapy lay in "completely engrossing the mind …releasing the creative energy of the frequently inhibited patient", which enabled the patient to "build up a strong defense against his misfortunes". He suggested artistic work to his fellow patients. That began his art therapy work, which was documented in 1945 in his book, Art Versus Illness.
Artist Edward Adamson, demobilized after World War II, joined Adrian Hill to extend Hill's work to the British long-stay mental hospitals. Adamson studied connections between one's artistic expression and one's release of emotions. One way in which Adamson practiced art therapy was through the depiction of patients' emotions in the art they created. To gain a deeper understanding of how the mind is affected by mental illness, Adamson's collection started as a way to create an environment where patients felt comfortable expressing themselves through art. Mental health professionals would then analyze the art. Other early proponents of art therapy in Britain include E. M. Lyddiatt, Michael Edwards, Diana Raphael-Halliday and Rita Simons. The British Association of Art Therapists was founded in 1964.
U.S. art therapy pioneers Margaret Naumburg and Edith Kramer began practicing at around the same time as Hill. Naumburg, an educator, asserted, "art therapy is psychoanalytically oriented" and that free art expression "becomes a form of symbolic speech which ... leads to an increase in verbalization in the course of therapy." Edith Kramer, an artist, pointed out the importance of the creative process, psychological defenses, and artistic quality, writing that "sublimation is attained when forms are created that successfully contain ... anger, anxiety, or pain." Other early proponents of art therapy in the United States include Elinor Ulman, Robert "Bob" Ault, and Judith Rubin. The American Art Therapy Association was founded in 1969.
Starting in 1974, Paolo Knill, Shaun McNiff, and Norma Canner developed "Expressive Arts Therapy" at Lesley University in Cambridge, USA, by establishing a master's program in "Creative Arts Therapy." This approach is an intermodal and intermedial form of artistic therapy, encompassing multiple art forms.
National professional associations of art therapy exist in many countries, including Brazil, Canada, Finland, Lebanon, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Romania, South Korea, Sweden, and Egypt. International networking contributes to the establishment of standards for education and practice.
Diverse perspectives exist on history of art therapy, which complement those that focus on the institutionalization of art therapy as a profession in Britain and the United States.
Definitions
Various definitions exist for the term "art therapy".The British Association of Art Therapists defines art therapy as: "a form of psychotherapy that uses art media as its primary mode of expression and communication." They also add that "clients who are referred to an art therapist need not have previous experience in art, the art therapist is not primarily concerned with making an aesthetic or diagnostic assessment of the client's image."
The American Art Therapy Association defines art therapy as: "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 psychotherapeutic relationship."
The website Psychology.org defines art therapy as: "a tool therapists use to help patients interpret, express, and resolve their emotions and thoughts. Patients work with an art therapist to explore their emotions, understand conflicts or feelings that are causing them distress, and use art to help them find resolutions to those issues."
Uses
As a regulated mental health profession, art therapy is employed in many clinical and other settings with diverse populations. It is increasingly recognized as a valid form of therapy. Art therapy can also be found in nonclinical settings, as well, such as in art studios and creativity development workshops. Licensing for art therapists can vary from state to state, with some recognizing art therapy as a separate license and some licensing under a related field such a professional counseling or mental health counseling. Some of the states that are licensed are Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Utah, and the District of Columbia. Art therapists must have a master's degree that includes training in the creative process, psychological development, and group therapy, and must complete a clinical internship. Depending on the state, province, or country, the term "art therapist" may be reserved for those who are professionals trained in both art and therapy and hold a master's or doctoral degree in art therapy or certification in art therapy obtained after a graduate degree in a related field. Other professionals, such as clinical mental health counseling, social workers, psychologists, and play therapists, optionally combine art making with basic psychotherapeutic modalities in their treatment. Therapists may better understand a client's absorption of information after assessing elements of their artwork.An article published by the American Art Therapy Association says that there is a 'small' body of evidence—essentially two quantitative studies—that could support the idea of an efficacy of art therapy.
Acute illness
A review of the literature has shown the influence of art therapy on patient care and found that participants in art therapy programs have less difficulty sleeping, among other benefits. Additionally, clinical studies have uncovered that patients in units with art therapy exhibited better vital signs, reduced stress-related cortisol levels, and required less medication to induce sleep. Other studies have found that merely observing a landscape photograph in a hospital room had reduced need for narcotic pain relievers and less time in recovery at the hospital. In addition, either looking at or creating art in hospitals helped stabilize vital signs, speed up the healing process, and increase optimism in patients.Cancer
Many studies have been conducted on the benefits of art therapy on cancer patients. It has been found useful for supporting patients during the stress of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy treatment.In a study involving women facing cancer-related difficulties such as fear, pain, and altered social relationships found: Another study showed those who participated in these types of activities were discharged earlier than those who did not participate. Even relatively short-term art therapy interventions may significantly improve patients' emotional states and symptoms.
A review of 12 studies investigated the use of art therapy in cancer patients by investigating the symptoms of emotional, social, physical, and spiritual concerns of cancer patients. They found that art therapy can improve the process of psychological readjustment to the change, loss, and uncertainty associated with surviving cancer. Art therapy was suggested as providing a sense of "meaning-making" through the physical act of creating the art. Giving five individual sessions of art therapy once per week was shown to be useful for personal empowerment by helping the cancer patients understand their own boundaries in relation to the needs of other people. In turn, those who had art therapy treatment felt more connected to others and found social interaction more enjoyable than individuals who did not receive the treatment. Furthermore, art therapy improved motivation levels, ability to discuss emotional and physical health, general well-being, and increased quality of life in cancer patients.
Additionally, recent research has shown that creative expression during hospital stays can lower anxiety and pain perception and enhance physiological stability. In one clinical study, art therapy led to a statistically significant reduction in cancer-related symptoms, such as fatigue and emotional distress.