Mental health articles

Art Therapy Group Ideas for Mental Health.ART THERAPY/ART PSYCHOTHERAPY

Art therapy today is strongly influenced by psychodynamic psychotherapy. A nondirective approach is emphasised. In an art therapy session, the client uses the time to work on a piece of art of their choosing: painting, drawing or model making, for example. This may be a new piece each session or something they develop

over time. The therapist and client may reflect together on the artwork, perhaps noticing the colours, textures and themes. If appropriate, interpretations are made

and connections drawn to the client’s feelings and problems. Seeing these visual expressions of their experience can help the client become more verbally articulate about them.

Images arise from the patient’s unconscious and contain conflict…the assumption is that once these conflicts are made concrete they can be more easily understood (by patient and therapist), which in turn would assist in their resolution. Sometimes, art therapy focuses purely on the art object as the container of emotions, and the therapist and client relate solely through the art. Transferences can be worked with indirectly through the art form. Groups may be ‘open studio’, where clients just work on their art as a form of expression, or more psychodynamic/analytical, where the time is divided between individual art making and talking together.

One advantage of art therapy is that interaction between therapist and client can be minimal, which can be more comfortable for some people. Another is that the

artwork is visible and tangible: it can be kept and looked at again; change and development can be seen.

Tags: art therapy, Health, mental, Mental health, therapy