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Mindfulness and Guided Imagery_ Art Ther

Self-

Expression

  • Bibiotherapy

  • Drawing & Painting

  • Collage & Assemblage

Developing a sense of self is a lifelong journey that begins at a young age. As a child and adolescent, art can be a used as a tool to experiment with new ideas, build up self-esteem, and gain the admiration of friends, family, and pears. As we get older, it is essential that we continue to have creative opportunities and outlets to express feelings, reduce stress, and resolve fears. ​

Self-Expression Through Art

The art object serves several different purposes and often represents a metaphor for something transpiring in the client's life. It is a means to ventilate feelings, a catharsis which becomes concrete in the artistic product. Escaping its inner confinement onto the two or three dimensional plane, it becomes miniaturized and manageable.

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Art becomes a vessel for self-awareness and a tool to communicate, enabling the Art Therapist to discover attributes of the client through their own art creation. Self-Expression through art helps to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, increase self-awareness and achieve insight.

The following are examples of Art Directives that can be used by the Art Therapist to accomplish a client's goals:

Bibliotherapy
The use of literature to expand emotion identification, creativity, and communication skills aids in creating artwork that can assist a client to visually represent what is happening in their life. Literature is carefully chosen by the Art Therapist based on the clients needs and goals. Read Lynn's Blogs about Bibliotherapy here.
Drawing & Painting
The client uses this art form a tool to communicate emotions through fantasy imagery and imagination, focusing on family, community, dreams, fears, wishes and more. The Art Therapist assists in resolving inner conflicts represented in the clients art that may be too raw and too personal to state outright.
Collage & Assemblage
Art has a continuum of more controlled materials (pencils/markers) to less controlled materials (paint/clay). This continuum allows for experimentation in ways to cope with adversity. Using collage and assemblage as an Art Directive for a client helps to release uncomfortable emotions while gaining perspective. Learn more about Collage here.
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