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Art Therapy (Honors Project)

User Profile: onedirection1213
onedirection1213 April 16th, 2018

Into to art therapy

Art doesn't have to be pretty; it just has to be meaningful.

Making art is a way to help make a person's well being improve, emotionally, physically, and mentally. This is an effective method of therapy that uses creative process an is known as art therapy. There are a lot of different types of art such as painting, crayons, sculpting, sewing, drawing, photography, collaging, and clay. Painting is an image (artwork) created using pigments color on a surface such as paper or canvas. Another kind of art would be crayon art. Crayon or wax pastel is a stick of colored wax, charcoal, chalk or other material used for writing or drawing. Some other types of art would be sculpting is when you create something by carving, casting, or other shaping techniques. Some unique art would include sewing which is the act or process of using a needle and thread to make or repair something such as a piece of clothing. Another type of art would include drawing is a picture, image, etc., that is made by making lines on a surface. Another type of art would include photography is the art, process, or job of taking pictures with a camera. Some other type of art would be Collaging is a work of art that is made by attaching pieces of different materials (such as paper, cloth, or wood) to a flat surface. Clay, the sticky earth material, is extraordinary for molding into useful products such as pottery. Clay is also a fun thing to do, to play with, shape and mold. Art therapy can help with making you feel better and expressing yourself, it also relaxes you.

How art helps

Art therapy can help you with your social skills. It can also improve peoples mental, emotional, and even physical states. It can also help you express yourself and help you feel better when youre feeling down in the dumps, depressed, angry, or even happy; you can express any feeling/emotion your feeling. It also helps people with mental health issues like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, any mental health disorders. Art therapy also helps the artist to understand themselves and the purpose of their life, art is a language unto itself that does not need to be spoken, but only appreciated. Any one population of people can be in art therapy, such as children, the elderly, and disabled, or children. Even disabled people can be in art therapy like people with autism, ADHD, learning disabilities or even Speech disorders. It can also help people with cancer. Essentially,anyone can join.

who can do art therapy

Anyone can get involved with art therapy, people with master degrees, anyone can through organizations, groups, clubs, and schools/colleges. People can even get involved online. Art therapy works by giving a person a different way to express their thoughts and feelings – both through the image they create and the physical aspect of making the art. It also works by creating art with an art therapist who helps you express painful thoughts or memories art is considered a language. Studies have proven that the presence of art and art therapy do in fact have a healing effect.

Organizations who offer art therapy

www.artforlife.org/ Art for Life Foundation: Choosing to Make a Creative Difference. Art for Life Foundation: Choosing to Make a Creative Difference, helps more than 20,000 children and their families. Its programs help kids who are undergoing physical, emotional or mental crisis and empowers them from an early age to embrace art art as a way of expressing how they feel during what is a very scary and difficult time for them (Anthony knutson, 2009)People in this organization can help children with healing through art. To make sure the children in this organization are safe and are healing, and they can also help with the children in the hospitals; in the treatment area.

Nobel, Jeremy. The Foundation for Art and Healing. 11 Sept. 2001, www.artandhealing.org/ Art and Healing Foundation demonstrates that creative expression also contributes to better health and wellbeing. People from all walks of life and every corner of the planet are expressing themselves through the arts—musical, performance, visual, writing, culinary—and Finding how it might help the emotional and physical implications linked with different lifestyles and overall health.

Our mission is to expand awareness of the important relationship between creative arts expression and health, to bring forward through research and related explorations critical knowledge about these vital and enduring humanistic concerns and to make effective arts-based health enhancing opportunities increasingly available and accessible at the individual and community level. (Dr. Nobel, 2001) Together, we can make art powerful medicine. People in this organization can help all people walks through her life and every corner of the planet are expressing themselves through the arts- such as musical, performance, visual, writing, culinary; discovering how it reduces the physical and emotional heavy load connected with different types of health conditions and life conditions.

https://www.theartstation.org/ The Art Station is a nonprofit organization offering individual and group art therapy and community programs to children and adults. Their mission is to provide a safe and encouraging environment where art making can be used to promote personal growth, uplift our hearts and help heal our minds and bodies. People in this organization can help people build confidence and self-esteem, develop self-awareness, practice problem solving skills, learn to express feelings, reduce stress, fear, and anxiety, cope with traumatic experiences, and foster creativity.

Conclusion

Art therapy is a good way to deal with a lot of your problems whether it be things like painting, using crayons, sculpting, drawing or even photography. Art therapy helps you mentally or even when you feel down, or depressed. Believe it or not but art therapy actually helps the artist find themselves out and their purpose in life. Young or old, anyone can do art therapy.

Discussion questions!

1- How do you think art therapy helps you or would help you?

2- Have you ever done Art therapy?

3- Would you be interested in art therapy? What are your experiences with forms of art and anxiety?

Works Cited

Art Therapy to Treat Depression. The Ranch, 10 Feb. 2016, www.recoveryranch.com/articles/art-therapy-to-treat-depression/.

Why Art Therapy Is Great for Senior Citizens. Home Care Atlanta - Top Health Services Provider, 4 Jan. 2016, ahandtohold.com/why-art-therapy-is-great-for-senior-citizens/.

Rose, Lisa La. Art & Healing: How Art Therapy Can Help Heal Emotional Trauma. Theravive, Theravive.com, 26 Nov. 2014, www.theravive.com/today/post/art-healing-how-art-therapy-can-help-heal-emotional-trauma-0001650.aspx.

knutson, Anthony. Art for Life Foundation: Choosing to Make a Creative Difference. Art for

Life Foundation: Choosing to Make a Creative Difference, www.artforlife.org/.

Nobel, Jeremy. The Foundation for Art and Healing. 11 Sept. 2001, www.artandhealing.org/

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User Profile: specialEyes53
specialEyes53 April 16th, 2018

@onedirection1213

This is an interesting one, Jacie heart Great job! ^.^

1-How do you think art therapy helps you or would help you?

I think art therapy can help us deal with mental illnesses :3

2- Have you ever done Art therapy?

No, not yet haha :") But sounds nice :3

3- Would you be interested in art therapy? What are your experiences with forms of art and anxiety?

Yes of course! No experience surprise

User Profile: energeticPenny8
energeticPenny8 April 16th, 2018

@onedirection1213 oh wow, nice this is a post very close to my heart , I've been trying to explore options.

1- How do you think art therapy helps you or would help you?

It helps channel my emotions or just clear out my head some days

2- Have you ever done Art therapy?

not guided , but my own variation of it , an artist by profession, I haven't been able to pick up my brush for years ( unresolved pain of trauma ) I've recently started sketching some days it's just copying art other days I let my hand interpret my mind ( if that makes sense )

Would you be interested in art therapy? What are your experiences with forms of art and anxiety?

yes definitely would love to try it out . I don't have much experience, but I do know from the time I was a little child it was my source of escape.

User Profile: onedirection1213
onedirection1213 OP April 16th, 2018

@specialEyes53 and @energeticPenny8, thanks, im glad you like it!

User Profile: peppermintlove
peppermintlove April 17th, 2018

Wow jacie, what an amazing post. Art therapy is something I'd like to know more about, and your post has helped me understand it more :) I think it sounds very effective and I would like to try it out sometime.<3

User Profile: butterflyPessimist
butterflyPessimist April 18th, 2018

@onedirection1213

Absolutely love this! Great job Jacie <3

1). Could help me calm down and focus

2). No, but I will definitely try it out!

3). Yes! From what I've heard, art has definitely been able to help people

User Profile: AutumnBreeze92
AutumnBreeze92 April 18th, 2018

@onedirection1213

This is a very helpful post & a nice project smileyheartyes

1- How do you think art therapy helps you or would help you?

Yes, Art therapy is really helped me to reduce stress and depression.

2- Have you ever done Art therapy?

Yes.

3- Would you be interested in art therapy? What are your experiences with forms of art and anxiety?

Yes, Interesting. I never tried art therapy for anxiety.

User Profile: cocoafp191
cocoafp191 April 18th, 2018

1- How do you think art therapy helps you or would help you?

Art therapy would probably decrease the stress in my life.

2- Have you ever done Art therapy?

No, but it sounds cool.

3- Would you be interested in art therapy? What are your experiences with forms of art and anxiety?

If I have enough time to do it, I would. I draw in a sketchbook when I get bored. The subject matter varies, but it's all song lyrics. It helps me.

User Profile: politeSkies6536
politeSkies6536 April 19th, 2018

@onedirection1213

Discussion questions!

1- How do you think art therapy helps you or would help you?

It helps me calm down, and remember to breathe. Not everything in life has to go fast.

2- Have you ever done Art therapy?

Yes.

3- Would you be interested in art therapy? What are your experiences with forms of art and anxiety?

I find it very calming, and helpful for managing anxiety!

User Profile: astuteScorpius
astuteScorpius April 19th, 2018

1- How do you think art therapy helps you or would help you?

Art therapy gives me something to focus on other than the face of the person talking to me. When I talk to my counselor, not having to see her face eases anxiety and lessens shame or embarassment that I feel as I have something else to focus on. I draw bright, happy things and it helps ease the tension and hurt when it comes to talking about heavy things.

2- Have you ever done Art therapy?

I have! Just about every therapy session

3- Would you be interested in art therapy? What are your experiences with forms of art and anxiety?

Music is a big piece for helping me with my emotions, as is doing little doodles/absentminded drawings. I don't draw very well so the images are usually bright colored or simple. It gives me something to focus on other than the feelings knotted in my chest.

Art does have the capacity to cause anxiety sometimes, where I do crafts and jewelry making sometimes I worry that it'll never be good enough to sell or that I'm causing an unnecessary amount of clutter in the house.

User Profile: WolfieSparks
WolfieSparks April 20th, 2018

@onedirection1213

1- How do you think art therapy helps you or would help you: Art already calms me, so this would likely help me stay calm under pressure. A doodle, a sketch, that's all it takes for me to feel better.

2- Have you ever done Art therapy?: Kinda, just it's never been called art therapy.

3- Would you be interested in art therapy?: Yes, it'd definetly help me based off past experience with that kind of thing. What are your experiences with forms of art and anxiety?: It does help you calm down, and sometimes even find a solution you didn't or couldn't have seen earlier!