What is Art Therapy?

Art Therapy is a mental health modality which integrates elements of psychotherapy with the creative process of art making to facilitate dialogue, relieve stress, explore emotions, modify behavior, reconcile emotional and interpersonal conflict, increase self esteem and bring overall well-being. Art therapy is very effective in expressing elements of our lives and ourselves which are not easily formulated with words (i.e. falling in love, emotional pain, loneliness, sadness, feeling empty, trauma, etc.) An art therapist has knowledge of visual arts including drawing, painting, sculpting, etc and comprehension of human behavior, psychology and counseling techniques. An art therapy session is an integration of psychotherapy (“talk therapy”) with art making, therefore, utilizes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectic Behavioral Therapy. I myself am an artist so have had training in art making.  For more information on Art Therapy, please visit the American Art Therapy Association: http://www.arttherapy.org/