Saturday, June 14, 2014

Why Using An Art Therapist Can Be Beneficial

By Ina Hunt


For centuries people have known about the benefits of art. The best pieces can allow people to calm themselves or alternatively express inner anguish. In recent times people have learned to specifically train in order to use art for therapeutic purposes and an art therapist is someone who is qualified to do this.

It has been known for some time that people suffering from mental, social or emotional problems often expressed themselves through drawing or other forms of art. Indeed a lot of people rightly or wrongly associate creativity with a different kind of mental perspective. It was only until the mid twentieth century that mental health professionals began to develop a formal frame work that would come to be defined as art therapy.

Over time therapists began to use this to their advantage, using the creativity of the patient to get a deeper understanding. However it was not until the middle of the twentieth century that art therapy began to be recognised as a treatment in and of itself. More recently people have begun to realise the benefits of getting patients to express themselves.

A good example is if a child or an adult has suffered from a severe trauma. They become withdrawn and unwilling to talk. In other cases they may be defensive and in the most severe cases even be aggressive and lash out at the people trying to help them, something that can often cause distress for friends, family and carers.

In order to be qualified to do this kind of therapy the therapist needs to have the same level of qualification in art as well as being qualified to treat a patient. This will mean they are sufficiently qualified to supervise the art as well as provide the therapeutic interpretation of that art.

It is important to emphasise that the end product is not the issue. Anyone making something does not necessarily need to be a brilliant artist in order to produce an artwork that a therapist can interpret. However the therapist will need to have sufficient art qualifications in order to ensure the work is properly supervised.

The process can benefit a wide array of clients. It can often be useful to encourage children or adults with learning disabilities, both in terms of expressing themselves and as a means of improving their self confidence. It can also be an effective method for children or adults who have suffered a severe trauma and may otherwise find it hard to verbally discuss events that cause them a lot of stress.

There are numerous organisations you can find online to help you find therapists who specialise in this field. They may not necessarily just use painting, sculpture and so forth with many also using drama, role play and other forms of expressive exercises to help people. Look online for more information as well as feedback from people who have used this kind of therapy in the past.




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