Art Therapy

By Ravin Galvan
Mind/Body-2015

What is it??
a form of psychotherapy involving the
encouragement of free self-expression
through painting, drawing, or
modeling, used as a remedial activity
or an aid to diagnosis.

Who is it for??

e
n
o
y
r
e
v
E
!
H
U
D

But mostly used for

who?
It is used in a lot of cases of:
Abused children**
Cancer/HIV patients
Autism
Disaster victims

Whats its uses?

Telling stories
Engaging senses
Trauma victims use to tell stories in ways that maybe cannot be
explained using words.
Self soothing
Art is connected with nuerology (deals with the anatomy,
functions, and organic disorders of nerves and the nervous
system.) Creative arts and play are essential to being able to heal
and cure trauma.
Feel good experiences; health, joy, comfort, positivity, stress
relief.
Reduces stress and depression
Improves thinking

How art therapy

changes lives
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Rhw4spxVqN0

Myths
There are a lot of myths about art therapy, that may sway
people one way or another.
1.

It is for sick and disturbed artists? No, everyone has their

own battles they are fighting. You dont need any art
experience to use it as an outlet to express your feelings.

2.

Art therapists can tell you exactly what your painting

means? No, but art therapist are trained to open show you
how to open your mind to what it may mean to YOU.

3.

Helps bad paintings look better? The point of it is not to

make you a better artist, but to freely express things you
may not be able to in other ways. Like.. Speaking, talking,
writing etc.

Some Interesting
facts

 Some doctors have found that some cancer patients

who used Art Therapy used less pain meds and felt
better overall afterward.
Within 8 weeks kids with asthma had decreased
anxiety and used inhaler less.
Dimentia patients had improved cognative skills,
thinking and memory.
Creativity itself keeps the brain flexable and active
into old age.

Initially children with PTSD when drawing would draw

pictures with little to no helping figures such as police,
firefighters, ambulance. Symboling that they felt
nobody could help them. After 3-6 weeks of art
therapy they were asked to draw the same picture and
there were more figures of authority and help. (Adults,
police, ambulance, firefighters, etc.)

Steps
Breathe
Assess the problem sometimes they
cannot assess the issue it is found later
threw therapy.
Can you put this issue into a drawing,
collage, or painting?
Drawing stimulates the person to see for
themselves the problem.
Art process in itself is healing and
repairative on many levels.

Whats in your
head project.
Sefl portrait
with images of
what your
thinking.

Zentangle or Mandala

Draw someone else saying

what you feel. If your afraid to
say something yourself.

There are so many options for activities. To name

a few
For emotion: Art journals
Relaxation: Paint to music, mandala or zentangle.
Happiness: Draw something related to favorite quote, paint a spiritual
experience.
Portraits: to see how you see yourself draw a picture of yourself and have
someone else draw you.) See the difference), Giuseppe Arcimboldoobjects you like and make a self portrait.
Trauma and Happiness: Draw safe place, Draw illness into something
beautiful, Emphemaral Art (draw bad memory and then destroy it after).
Strength: Draw yourself as an animal, paint or make a collage of different
sides of yourself.
Mind: Dream catcher, draw/paint your dreams, Paint a window of what you
want to see outside of it.

Researched from.
Ted talks (youtube)
Nursingschools.net
Square the circle (activity books)
Soul Pancake (youtube)