In reality, a good art therapist doesn't do just that. Sure, I do some form of art every session. But we also talk about what I'm thinking and feeling while I paint that picture, or cut out that picture from a magazine. We also discuss everything about my life-just as one might in any other form of therapy. My therapist has many techniques in her arsenal-we use CBT, DBT, play therapy, and EMDR techniques. We figure out where I need more help, where I can use some new skills, and of course, how far I've come.
So yeah, I'll take the magazines, scissors and glue, the pastels, paints, and brushes. I'm making art to grow.
Wow, great paintings.
ReplyDeleteI took a college class on music therapy and while I can't say I'm fully in touch with it, I could definitely see how it could be used as a technique. Same can be said for art therapy.
If I were to go to therapy, I'd really like to try art therapy. Oh, and I can tell you, it is hard to paint, draw, cut and paste; I got points taken off from an exam for not being able to draw a function on a graph properly :-/ I'm completely hopeless with anything that involves art.
The cool thing about art, though, is that there is no "properly" as there may be on a function on a graph. Most likely, I would lose points for the same thing on an exam, because I don't work in perfection, I work in expression. What I draw or paint doesn't have to be perfect or fit into anyone else's idea of "shoulds"--it just has to be, however it is.
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