Art Therapy

What is Art Therapy?

Art Therapy is a well-established and globally recognised form of expressive therapy that uses the creative process of art-making to improve and enhance a person’s mental, emotional and physical well-being. It also allows the gaining of a deeper understanding of oneself in the here and now. The main aim of Art Therapy is to enable and support personal development, using artistic expression as an alternative and uninhibited channel of communication that goes beyond the consciousness of verbal expression. 

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Why use Art Therapy?

Art can be a useful tool for self-expression, and a powerful resource for self-support. In Art Therapy we exteriorise thoughts and feelings tangibly, and then reflect upon them with or without words. Art mimics life in many ways – it is physical, sometimes messy, often unpredictable – and art-making is a form of play through which we seek to understand and elaborate our own processes. Art Therapy can be a great alternative to verbal therapy, as it enables deep emotional processing without getting caught up in the (sometimes unhelpful) verbal and cognitive realities we habitually live in.

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Art Therapy can:

• help with the processing of important life events

• reduce stress, increase confidence, and build positivity

• facilitate insight, empathy, and acceptance of life's challenges

• help the release and identification of suppressed emotional or physical tensions

• encourage the development of healthy coping strategies

• enhance social skills, reduce isolation, and create a sense of community (in group settings)

• help to foster integration, wholeness and coherence

• encourage reflection and self-knowledge

• promote self-expression and self-awareness

• strengthen creativity

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Who can use Art Therapy?

There is no need to be an artist to benefit from Art Therapy, and it can be tailored to children as well as adults. The emphasis is mostly on discovering what your imagination can offer to a situation by allowing spontaneous expression without the application or demands of conventional artistic criteria. Remember, most adults were spontaneously creative as children!

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How do sessions work?

Sessions can be held in individual or group settings, and usually last an hour or a little more. The structure of these sessions is very personalised, depending on whether the client comes in with a clear idea of an issue or subject that they wish to address, or whether they come with the intention of self-exploration through art. The participant must always be willing and open to the possibility that new aspects of themselves (or issues that are not those that they initially thought of) may arise - in my experience, these unexpected emergences always appear for a reason and are very rewarding to work on. Treatment may last for a few sessions to help during a crisis, or work to identify and activate a person’s resources for self-help through a long-term process.

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The role of the art therapist is to accompany and guide the client in the search for the underlying messages that are communicated through their (free or guided) artistic expression. Given that my training was humanistic and holistic, focus is placed on the personal meaning that the client finds in their artwork, as opposed to imposing my personal interpretations.

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I usually try to make available as many art-forms as possible, from the most simple pencil and paper, to wax crayons, paint, collage, play-dough, etc. Once again, there is absolutely no need to be an artist in order to be able to benefit from Art Therapy. Importance is given to the therapeutic process of art-making, not the final product. In fact, quite often even if the product is not generically aesthetically 'pleasing', the personal meaning that lies behind it is so strong that it becomes very special to its creator.

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Sessions are available in person (Madrid, Spain) or online. Contact me with any questions or for more information.