What the heck is art therapy?
Ah, the million-dollar question!
Think of art therapy as a creative mashup of art and psychology. Art materials? Oh, yeah we’ve got those! But keep in mind, it’s all about the journey, not the outcome. We are not looking for perfection. And if we encounter that, a desire for perfectionism along the way, well that might be a place to explore too!
Making art can be a great way to release emotions or just communicate something you can’t quite put into words. In an art therapy session, you’ll be invited to make art and talk about your what you’ve made and the process of creating. This can become a springboard to more conversations.
Art versus Art Therapy
How are they different?
Here’s the scoop: in many spaces an art product is judged as “good” or “bad”. In art therapy, the process is what is important. It’s not all about how it turns out, it’s also what happens along the way.
Participants of art therapy sessions are encouraged to consider what they expected to happen, their own judgments, fears or judgment by others, or other memories that may be brought into a session. There may be patterns, literal or metaphoric, we come to the front in the process of creating that extend into other areas of life.