What is art therapy anyway?

Ever wondered what art therapy actually is — beyond the stereotypes? In this honest and relatable reflection, I share a real conversation that captures the confusion (and curiosity) many people have.

A conversation I’ve had more than once…

Male human: “So you’re an art teacher?” Me: “No, I’m an art therapist.”

Male human: “So, you get paid to paint pretty pictures with people who are sad?”

Me: “Well, sometimes, if that’s what they need. But basically, I teach people how to use image making to express their emotions and find patterns of thoughts and behaviours so that they can make more conscious choices in their lives.”

He gave me that look – the one that says, “u huh – woo woo”. His girlfriend started trying to soften his response, but I already had begun the process of becoming … angry.

Frustrated

Ego had started yelling at me to ‘woman up’ and tell this guy some science, but Inner Child had already grabbed the wheel of my Bus of Life and took a sharp left onto the familiar road to ‘Fawning Land’ where I laughed along with this guy and said, ‘no, it’s ok’ to his girlfriend who, relieved, started recounting a story from earlier in the week.

Unfortunately this is not an unusual story. But luckily I know a lot of image related tools to help me process all of those emotions, and now I can tell the story without a big emotional reaction. A lot of people don’t know what art therapy is. And that’s not their fault.

Talking therapy as an accessible, non-stigmatised concept at all, is only relatively new in Australia, let alone music therapy, play therapy, art therapy and arts therapy! But lucky for you, I am here to break it down (someone get me my MC Hammer pants!).

What is art therapy anyway?

Get your preferred bevvy, maybe a bikkie, and settle in for WHAT IS ART THERAPY ANYWAY?! Like I said to the annoying male-human that evening, art therapy is basically the idea of taking an intangible energy (emotion) and making it visible. By using the senses, our brains get information. In the case of emotions, they are being created by thoughts you have about yourself, triggered by an image that is tucked away in your brain. But it all happens so fast, you don’t even register the initial image, it just feels like you have an emotion out of nowhere.

The intensity and frequency of the emotions will determine the kind of art therapy you might benefit from. All of them have the potential to find patterns of thought and behaviour that might be tripping you up and stopping you from living as healthy a life as possible.

So, what kinds of art therapies are there?

I liken the different versions of art therapy to something that most people have something of a grasp on: massage. So without any further adue, here are the massage equivalents to art therapy.

A ‘nice’ massage = Therapeutic Art Therapy:

In the same way that sometimes you just feel like a little time for you, and you go in and get someone to give you a lovely, relaxing massage, and you walk out of said massage feeling better than you did when you went in (not that there was much going on physically when you went in), so too can you have some ‘just relaxing’ art therapy.

Sometimes life is exhaustipating and constant and there is no time to breathe let alone be creative (something our brains thrive on). At this time, someone might book in some art therapy sessions to simply get some time in a quiet studio, with someone who cares, where they can sip tea and paint and their painting can dry and be safe, away from the bustle of life. Perhaps they are dealing with some heavy stuff, and it is a sanctuary where, even just for an hour or so, they can feel lighter. They walk away once a week or once a fortnight, feeling like they have had some ‘them time’ to create, uninterrupted. This is the therapeutic art therapy session.

Mmmmm. Sounds nice!

A sports massage = Pointed Art Therapy:

You are generally fit and work out regularly, and your body has become tight (because of all your mooskles!). You need a professional masseur who understands the body, to get in there with their bony fingers and poke around. They might make you cry a little bit. You leave feeling tired but better in the long run. You might come back in a month, two months, six months. Basically, you’ll come back again when you need to, but generally you’ve got this.

Thumbs up!

To parallel that with the art therapy world, this would look like Pointed Art Therapy. You have a problem. You know what it is (or you’re pretty sure you do). You have feelings about this problem, and those feelings are becoming disruptive in your life. Like tight muscles, they are causing discomfort and making life harder than it needs to be. So, you book yourself into art therapy. The therapist listens, gives you a specific image creating activity to do. You might cry a little bit. You might come back in a month, two months, six months. Basically, you’ll come back again when you need to, but generally you’ve got this.

Thumbs up!

Empowering! Supportive! Yes ….

Physiotherapy/rehabilitation massage = Long Term, Gentle Art Therapy:

You have been active in your life, one way or another, and you have pulled a muscle, perhaps twinged something badly. But you have ignored it and now it is extremely painful. Or perhaps you’ve been in a terrible accident and you are quite broken. You need someone who deeply understands the physical body, who can work with doctors to reach your best outcome.

 This would be equivalent to the long term, gentle art therapy approach (where one might paint the sadness, for as long as it needs to be painted, with the extra support of a psychologist – not necessarily at the same time). Art therapists can work with psychologists to help you process some very painful experiences and emotions.

This often takes time. Time for the art but also time for the trust. People in this situation might see an art therapist for 5-10 years before they feel strong enough to stop.

Whatever the ‘version’ of art therapy you might be after, it’s nice to know that the art therapist is qualified to do all of these. They will know (or they should!) when to let the art do the work, when to let the artist choose the direction or when to gently take the lead.

I hope that has cleared some things up!

There is science behind the idea of using the image part of the brain, to help process emotion (google it!). The part of the brain we are mostly working with in art therapy is the hypothalamus and the amygdala (google it!).

What art therapy would suit you best, do you think?