Art Therapy

Art Therapy is one of the preferred methods of working with children to help them to resolve emotional and behavioral problems.  Art has been used throughout all ages and cultures as a form of communication because through the use of symbols and imagery, feelings can be expressed and stories can be told, without the need to use words.  Often children are not able to express their feelings and thoughts in words, either because they are not old enough to think abstractly, or because their feelings are confusing, or overwhelming. Children often have conflicting feelings about parts of their lives, and they don’t know how to begin to express this kind of complexity.

Through the use of artistic expression children feel much safer to express all of their feelings.  Children express difficult or conflicting things without even intending to, and open a door of communication with the therapist through the symbols and content of the  artwork. With art expression, children are better able to express what is most important to them. Because art expression is direct, and not governed by rational thought, children are able to express themselves very successfully, building their self-confidence. This builds a sense of competence, and comfort, with the process of therapy.

In addition, the use of non-verbal expression helps the child to feel understood and accepted for who they are.  I enter the world of the child’s feelings by using the vocabulary created by the child in their own artwork, and can communicate with the child using the child’s own visual language. Feelings can be talked about symbolically, using the symbols created by the child, thereby, lessening the child’s anxiety. For example, talking about a house and a tree is much less difficult than talking about relationships with real people. Yet the emotions are being expressed and worked through, symbolically.

Symbols can help to heal, and to create options, for the child.  There is a decreased sense of pressure to communicate in a certain way.  Just as fairy tales help children to think about their fears through the detachment of a story, their own art expression can provide a safe place to reveal themselves and to share their feelings with another person. The child feels special and unique because their fullest self is being expressed and understood.

Different media provide alternate vehicles of expression, be it the control of a pencil line, the richness of color in crayons, the movement of watercolor, or the tactile texture of clay. Children delight in the opportunity to play and think in visual terms.

Through Art Therapy, the child can discover confidence, self-acceptance, options for behavior, and bond with the therapist through a shared experience.  Behavior change is then much easier to accomplish, as children feel motivated by a new sense of themselves, as experienced through the sharing of their unique vision.