meaning and applicability of art therapy in understanding and treating psychological disorders

 meaning and applicability of art therapy in understanding and treating psychological disorders

The primary goal of psychotherapy is to help clients heal psychologically following an episode or a series of incidents of psychological disturbance. The psychotherapist must always focus on building a stable relationship with the client to establish trust and confidentiality. It is only through the established confidentiality that the client can freely discuss their psychological problems to facilitate care. There are five common types of psychotherapy approaches, including cognitive therapy, behaviour therapy, psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, and integrative therapy. The underlying factor in all these approaches is the use of appropriate and effective communication strategies to understand the client to come up with the right intervention. The psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapy approach relies on the establishment of close client-therapist relationships to uncover the unconscious meanings and drivers of psychological problems. Art therapy is a common psychodynamic approach in psychotherapy. This paper reflective analyses the meaning and applicability of art therapy in understanding and treating psychological disorders by understanding the connections between psychic processes and previously repressed, unconscious material.

Art therapy is the use of various artistic techniques to express and examine thoughts and emotions of a client. The creative techniques used in art therapy include collaging, drawing, colouring, sculpting, and painting. This therapeutic approach is rooted in the fact that art is an effective channel that many people use to communicate their deep inner feelings and emotions non-verbally. Art therapy compensates for the inability of some clients to effectively express themselves verbally. Also, art entails active psychomotor coordination, thus enabling people to communicate their deep feelings and thoughts which cannot be effectively explored through verbal communication. The use of art for self-expression and psychological healing can be traced to thousands of years back. However, the use of art therapy as a formal therapeutic approach began in the early 1940s when doctors observed that many mentally ill patients used art to communicate. These observations led to the inception of art therapy as a therapeutic approach in mental health care.

Once a client creates a piece of art, the art therapist works collaboratively with the client to decode the messages portrayed by the art. Decoding of these non-verbal messages leads to and understanding of the emotional and behavioural motivators of the art. Consequently, the deeper understanding of underlying emotions and thoughts through art lead to the tailoring of suitable interventions to address the psychological issues from their deep underlying causes. It is worth noting that artistic talent is not a necessity for the success of art therapy. This is because the therapy appends no emphasis on the artistic value of the works, but on connections between the art and deep unconscious mind.

Art therapy is applicable to patients of all ages, and is used to intervene for many forms of psychological problems. This therapeutic approach is used for individuals, families, and groups. There are two major approaches to art therapy; active art therapy and passive art therapy. Active art therapy involves the client creating the pieces of art which are used by the therapist to collaboratively unearth their underlying thoughts and emotions. Passive art therapy entails the client viewing various works of art depicting various known emotions and thoughts. The client’s interaction with the various artworks is used to decipher their emotional orientations. However, passive art therapy is less effective than active therapy.

So, what aspects of the psychological problem does art therapy reveal? First, we must appreciate art as one of the most accurate expressions of thought and emotions. In this light, art therapy reveals the causes of psychological problems, the client’s reactions and perceptions of these mental crises, as well as the psycho-emotional impacts of these crises. Note that prior to embarking on the creation of artwork, therapists talk to the patient concerning the patient’s crisis. This enables the therapist get preliminary insights into the crisis. During the creation of the artwork, the therapist simply observes without interfering or making judgements. The therapist may also ask questions regarding the client’s feeling towards the art. In interpreting the artistic pieces by clients, art therapists pay close attention to any previous verbal messages from the client. Connecting these words to images and symbols enhance understanding of the art. Also, the therapist should closely monitor the emotions displayed by the client during the process of art creation. By the exploration of the art, the therapist and the client can identify themes and conflicts that compound their psychological problems. This helps come up with strategies to boost mental health and foster coping with psychosocial crises.

To boost the efficacy of healing and intervention, art therapy is normally used together with other psychotherapy approaches such as cognitive behavioural therapy. This integrative approach boosts healing by incorporating more aspects of the psychological crisis thus fostering holistic coping. Alongside use as a therapeutic strategy to heal psychological illnesses, art therapy can be used by individuals to gain a deeper understanding of their personality. Research has elicited mixed findings on the efficacy of art therapy. Despite the mixed findings, art therapy remains a beneficial therapeutic approach in mental health care