About Art Therapy

Art therapy is defined as a human service profession that uses art media, images, the creative process, and client responses to the created products as reflections of an individual's development, abilities, personality, interests, concerns, and conflicts.

According to The American Art Therapy Association, (ATTA) “Art therapy is an established mental health profession that uses the creative process of art making to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages. It is based on the belief that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and self-awareness, and achieve insight.” www.arttherapy.org

The power and speed of personal growth is dramatically increased when you engage images from the unconscious. As you step aside and let your images come through, the images themselves become the agents of transformation. Through creativity, the soul instinctively heals itself.

Art making can be a safe way to express strong and sometimes sensitive or destructive feelings. It can be used for stress and anxiety management and to enhance communication between individuals, groups or professional teams. It is used to explore change. Art Therapy can be used to instill confidence and promote life enhancing change.

“The task of all art is to depict what is true and genuine about life. All art has an existential quality. The intent of art, and art therapy is to get beneath the surface of things.” Bruce Moon, The Dynamics of Art as Therapy with Adolescents, 1998, p. 229