Art therapy
[2] Art therapy can be used to help people improve cognitive and sensory motor function, self-esteem, self-awareness, and emotional resilience.
Current art therapy includes a vast number of other approaches such as person-centered, cognitive, behavior, Gestalt, narrative, Adlerian, and family.
The tenets of art therapy involve humanism, creativity, reconciling emotional conflicts, fostering self-awareness, and personal growth.
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.
In order 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.
[9] Other early proponents of art therapy in Britain include E. M. Lyddiatt, Michael Edwards, Diana Raphael-Halliday and Rita Simons.
"[12] Other early proponents of art therapy in the United States include Elinor Ulman, Robert "Bob" Ault, and Judith Rubin.
[13] 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.
"[20][21] 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,[22] applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship.
"[23] The website Psychology.org defines art therapy as: "a tool therapists use to help patients interpret, express, and resolve their emotions and thoughts.
[25] Art therapists must have a master's degree that includes training in the creative process, psychological development, and group therapy, and they must complete a clinical internship.
[27] Other professionals, such as Clinical mental health counseling, social workers, psychologists, and play therapists, optionally combine artmaking with basic psychotherapeutic modalities in their treatment.
[28] While there is still little consistent research about art therapy, preliminary surveys and studies have suggested its efficacy in relieving symptoms and improving quality of life.
[31] In addition, either looking at or creating art in hospitals helped stabilize vital signs, speed up the healing process, and increase optimism in patients.
They found that art therapy can improve the process of psychological readjustment to the change, loss, and uncertainty associated with surviving cancer.
Furthermore, art therapy improved motivation levels, ability to discuss emotional and physical health, general well-being, and increased quality of life in cancer patients.
Art therapy has been observed to have positive effects on patients with dementia,[34] with tentative evidence supports benefits with respect to quality of life.
[39] D.W. Zaidel, a researcher and therapist at VAGA, claims that engagement with art can stimulate specific areas of the brain involved in language processing and visuo-spatial perception, two cognitive functions which decline significantly in dementia patients.
[4] Art therapy may address core symptoms of autism spectrum disorders by promoting sensory regulation, supporting psychomotor development, and facilitating communication.
[41] Art therapy is also thought to promote emotional and mental growth by allowing self-expression, visual communication, and creativity.
[42] Most importantly, studies have found that painting, drawing, or music therapies may allow people with autism to communicate in a manner more comfortable for them than speech.
[43] In Egypt, the Egyptian Autism Society implemented Art Therapy as a way to grow self esteem and quality of life in children.
While studies concluded that art therapy did not improve Clinical Global Impression or Global Assessment of Functioning, they showed that the use of haptic art materials to express one's emotions, cognitions, and perceptions in a group setting lowered depressing themes and may improve self-esteem, enforce creativity, and facilitate the integrative therapeutic process for people with schizophrenia.
[50] Art therapy may be an effective way to access and process traumatic memories that were encoded visually in clients.
[48] Repetition of directives reduces anxiety, and visually creating narratives helps clients build coping skills and balanced nervous system responses.
[29] "Depression is considered a mood disorder characterized by distorted or inconsistent emotional states that interfere with an individual’s ability to function".
[49] Group art therapy may also be beneficial in helping children with trauma regain trust and social self-esteem.
[64] Healthy individuals without mental or physical illnesses are also treated with art therapy; these patients often have ongoing challenges such as high-intensity jobs, financial constraints, and other non-traumatic personal issues.
Findings revealed that art therapy reduces levels of stress and burnout related to patients' professions.
This test is based on the beliefs of Joan Kellogg, who sees a correlation between the images, pattern and shapes in the mandalas that people draw and the personalities of the artists.
