Expressive therapies
However, each modality of the creative arts therapies has its own national association that regulates professional credentials, establishes educational standards and hosts annual conferences for the purpose of exchanging new ideas and research.
[6] Margaret Namburg, Edith Kramer, Hanna Kwiatkowska and Elinor Ulman have been credited with being the pioneers of the field of sensory art therapy.
In the United States, there are a fair number of colleges that offer approved programs in compliance with the national associations' credentialing requirements.
[15] The creative process as well as the created art piece serves as a foundation for self-exploration, understanding, acceptance and eventually healing and personal growth.
[17] Assisting in those with depression, breast cancer, and asthma, art therapy can be done at any age and does not require and skill set.
[18] Art Therapy has undergone extensive research which revealed that it decreases anxiety, increases self-concept and quality of life, and reduces negative thoughts.
[22] Drama Therapy, as a hybrid of both disciplines, uses theater techniques to treat individuals with mental health, cognitive, and developmental disorders.
[23] Through the art of play and pretend, patients gain perspective in therapy to their life experiences, which in the field is referred to as "aesthetic distance".
A holistic practice, music therapy can address emotional/psychological, cognitive, communication, motor, sensory, pain, social, behavioral, end of life, and even spiritual needs.
Music therapy helps patients "communicate, process difficult experiences, and improve motor or cognitive functioning" (Jenni Rook, MT-BC, LCPC, 2016).
[26] Townsend's study in the "Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines"[27] has shown that 1 in 5 children who lost their parent are most likely to develop a psychiatric disorder.
Songwriting allows individual to process the trauma they experience in their life in three ways: By telling stories that have been passed down to them; by connecting their songs to cultural traditions; and by sharing their feelings with each other and their community.
Deroo's research focuses on the Black teenage girl, Noriah, who wrote the song named "Air I Breathe" in remembrance of her passing mother and sister.
Through Noriah's story, Deroo tries to find the answer to how can youths tackle the nuanced implications of loss using creative expression.
[34] Evidence has shown that people who have used Music Therapy in the past have improved in several aspects of life that do not concern just those suffering from mental illness.
[35] For instance, To, The Bravest Person I Know is one of the classic illustrations of how to use poetry to overcome anxiety, depression (mood), and other sorts of insecurity.
He developed a clear three phase structure (warm up, action, sharing) to his therapy as well as multiple intervention-methods that are still used by psychodrama therapists today.
[40] In this study, 41 girls or young women who had been sexually abused were given structured group art therapy for eight weeks, and were measured before treatment using the Briere's Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC).
The men attended eight sessions of group art therapy, and were tested before and after the treatment using the Beck Depression Inventory Short Form.
A study on intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors demonstrated that online writing sessions in a structured environment significantly reduced trauma symptoms, providing a safe and accessible space for emotional processing.
