Being Creative With Art Can be Just as Therapeutic as Talking About it
Now this is something that I’ve not only heard about whenever it appears as a news item on TV or after I have read about in articles but I genuinely admit that it is something that has long since interested me and has only grabbed my attention again when it was mentioned as part of a news item on TV. First and foremost using art as a means of therapy was something that I would never have considered if you had asked me this a decade ago, mainly as I wouldn’t have seen the point of it. That and I wouldn’t have even remotely understood how it would have worked.
Back then I did actually ask myself just how in the heck picking up a paint brush and going bash bash bosh would have been helpful to anyone looking to use the medium as a means of expression. I suppose in some way. But this was where I was being somewhat ignorant. Because in my mind, I looked at this and thought just how it is supposed to be even therapeutic? How does even help person who is doing this get out of it?
It’s only now I look back at it with a more mature and educated mindset. That I read yesterday a large people to understand and express their thoughts. The irony being is that they say that action speak louder than words. So in some ways, this is what it enables them to do. If they can’t talk about it vocally then painting allow them to express it in a different way.
Whilst the medium of art therapy may seem quite new to some people. It’s roots goes back to the late 18th century and was used by psychiatric patients as a form of moral treatment. It wasn’t until the mid 20th century that it began being used professionally.
The term art therapy was first coins by a British artist called Adrian Hill who first used it when recovering from tuberculosis. It was during his recovery he first began using art, it was the process of drawing and painting which he began to find very therapeutic.
Since them it has been used for abuse victims, people with mental health issues and even uniform services veterans as a form of therapy, to help them understand traumatic events and so on and so forth. Even I have used it, and no before you ask I’ve not suffered any form of abuse, I just do art because I genuinely enjoy it. Yes, I find it expressive, yes I find it therapeutic and yes it helps me to relax. But that’s because I just allow my imagination to run wild and see where it takes me.
When I was delving a bit further into this and other people who use this I was pleasantly surprised to see what individuals who are on the disability spectrum and/or suffer the mental health issues use this. For them it can be used as a form of communication, basically a more artistic version of the Makaton system. Rather than using faces, symbols and words to express how they feel they can just paint it.
Well they do say that an image can say a 1000 words so you can imagine just how much of a lifeline in communication that can be to someone who has problems doing so. Even more so for all the individuals out those who literally don’t have the ability to do it vocally
Before the era know as the Covid era I volunteered at a local art group in my home region. I openly admit that though I originally got involved entirely for different reasons I decided at best to give it a shot and see what it was all about. And I have to say that I was quite intrigued by what I saw.
The art group was called Art Core and was based in Derby, also it was nice to get involved with something outside of work. The people who attended this group were the sort who had various problems, both mentally and neurological. Now whilst I had no real idea of what their troubles in their own lives what I did see was that just being part of an artistic community allowed them to express themselves in a more positive way.
For example in one session I volunteered at I saw one individual arrive at the workshop somewhat withdrawn but when they got stuck into creating their own craft work pieces they practically changed as a person. I saw someone change from being withdrawn to becoming engaged with everyone around them. And that was just from them being given a paintbrush, paint and a canvas, space and means to emerge from their shell
Was I impressed, you bet. If you can express things through art, why not do it?
