The benefits of art therapy as a means of symbolic expression
Art therapy is a form of therapy that draws on both clinical practice and creative processes, using artistic expression as its primary means of communication. The effects of art on the mind, emotions, and human physiology have been known since antiquity. However, it wasn't until the mid-20th century that art therapy emerged, coinciding with the development of psychoanalysis and contemporary artistic movements. It represents a different way of understanding therapy, thanks to the collaborative efforts of professionals from diverse disciplines such as art, education, medicine, and psychiatry. Currently, this therapy is compatible with many other therapeutic interventions.
Art therapy is a form of psychotherapeutic intervention that uses the plastic arts as a means of communication and expression to recover or improve the mental health and emotional and social well-being of people.
It forms part of other expressive therapies such as music therapy, dance therapy, or drama therapy. Although, generally speaking, art therapy is understood as the use of plastic materials, it can also incorporate musical, dramatic, literary, or dance techniques.
Francesc de Diego Fuertes
Which groups can be used for art therapy?
The versatility of art therapy allows for important work to be carried out in diverse care settings. It can be used with people of all ages and with different population groups: in nursing homes, with groups facing social challenges, in correctional facilities, hospitals, schools, health centres, and community centres, among others. In these spaces, art therapists, trained in both artistic and psychotherapeutic fields, can develop art therapy interventions tailored to the needs and abilities of each group.
It is not necessary for the people who participate in the activity to have artistic training or skills, but they do need the willingness to create a work of art based on their resources and abilities (emotions, feelings, dreams).
What art therapy is and what it is not
Currently we can find many artistic interventions that are directed by different types of profiles, from artists, teachers, psychotherapists, art therapists or social education professionals.
In general, we can distinguish between different approaches to art:
- Art education. The artist or teacher teaches art and encourages the learning of artistic skills.
- Social education. Art is used as a means of educational intervention.
In the therapeutic field we make a distinction between:
- Art as therapy - It is assumed that activities have therapeutic qualities in themselves and that these are mobilised when the person is encouraged and stimulated to make an object in a space, and with the optimal materials, so that they can improve their well-being, learn specific techniques and feel satisfied with their creations.
- Art in therapy - The therapist uses the artistic object to illustrate verbal content or to facilitate the expression of this content through words.
- Art therapy - It works with people's symbolic production and takes into account a triple relationship:
- Between the person and the work, at the moment of creating it and observing it.
- Between the person and the art therapist, based on the work created and its associations connecting with their personal history.
- Between the therapeutic art and the artwork, incorporating the therapist's response to the person's artwork.
The type of relationship can be strengthened, or another type can be chosen, depending on the stage of the process at which it is found.
Why do we need art?
The main objectives of an art therapy activity are:
- To enhance and stimulate creative abilities.
- To enhance the creation of images and their meaning within a relational framework.
- To express experiences and emotions when words fail or are insufficient.
- To improve self-esteem by promoting the recognition of strengths and abilities.
- To encourage group dialogue about the works to help connect with personal aspects.
- To increase functional capabilities by improving interpersonal communication.
- To promote listening and respect, respecting other points of view.
- To help contain, tolerate, and differentiate feelings.
How is an art therapy activity carried out?
The person is accompanied in the creation of an artistic piece of work in a space where a creative process is stimulated that facilitates the creation of something different from what already exists (templates or models are not used), creating from the experiences and lives of the participating people.
The central interest lies in the creative process each person follows to access internal images and in the way they create or express those images through the materials. For this to be possible, it is necessary to have suitable materials and a quiet space that feels safe and welcoming, where each person's pace is respected.
Each person enters into a dialogue with the work, exploring and experimenting with the materials and techniques, seeking their own visual language that will give them the possibility of representing whatever they wish.
In some cases, skill and knowledge of certain artistic techniques make it easier for people to express themselves. The art therapist, who is both observer and participant, should not interfere with or explain artistic techniques that might distract the person from their own creative process. Instead, they should accompany and facilitate the development of this process.
The resulting artistic creation may be laden with cognitive, emotional, or cultural aspects that will enable the person to observe themselves through artistic means.
Through art, conflicts and difficulties can be addressed in a less threatening way because they are not confronted directly, but rather translated into a symbolic framework. Creating something is considered a process of opening up and, gradually, images with more personal and emotional content will be created.
In art therapy, the artwork is used as a central part of the therapy, but the psychotherapeutic aspect of using art goes beyond artistic language and the completion of the creations. Describing the work allows for an interpretation of both the experiences lived during the creative process and the resulting object. It is not simply about creating the artwork, but about how it was made and how what has been represented is explained.
In the comments, the work leads to the word and the word leads back to the work, accepting, at the same time, that all the content embodied in the creation cannot be translated into a verbal language.
Sharing with the therapist, in the case of an individual session, or with the other participants in the case of a group session, allows for different narratives of each creation represented, enriching each participant according to their level of involvement.
Tips for carrying out an art therapy activity
To be considered art therapy, an art therapist must be present in the activity, but the creativity of each person can be encouraged through expression and experimentation, from freedom and the enjoyment of creating.
- Choose a comfortable and quiet space, free from distractions, to facilitate concentration.
- It is not necessary to start from an initial idea; the first brushstrokes should encourage the following ones so that all the work is creative, not just the beginning.
- You can use the materials however you like; there's no right or wrong way. Everyone should find their own way to express themselves.
- When you finish the project, you can write something about your experience or the final result. You can share your experience with someone else or keep it to yourself.
Some creative proposals
Creating from stains and "accidents"
The idea is to learn how to creatively use random shapes, unexpected stains that allow us to build something new. Observe the shape, the colour, the texture, the space you have available, and make it grow, unfold—see what comes out!
Make a collage
In a collage, it's important to choose the objects you want to use. These can be family photos, selfies, letters, drawings, newspaper clippings, or magazines from a particular era or theme, for example. It can be a two-dimensional collage (width and length), but it's also very interesting to make it three-dimensional, achieving depth, texture, and perspective.
Drawing with your eyes closed
It allows us to be more connected to our inner selves, to our emotions and sensations. Without visual references, the contact with the materials, the movement of the hand and arm, become important. You can use any material or venture to experiment with one you're unfamiliar with.
