Art therapy
Art-therapy, what is it?
Art therapy is a type of treatment that uses artistic creation to highlight unconscious problems and cause transformations. Through painting, theater, dance, writing, music, the patient is able to express suffering and contradictions, otherwise than in words.
It is not necessary to be a good designer or a great artist, you do not care about the appearance of the work, but let yourself be carried away by imagination, intuition and emotions to create. Through these creations some aspects of oneself are revealed. This technique is therefore comparable to a psychotherapy that uses tools other than verbal language and that allows, in addition to an awareness, an outlet.
For who?
Art-therapy is suitable for those who do not wish - or cannot - follow traditional psychotherapy or psychoanalysis. It is useful with all those patients who find it difficult to express themselves in words, such as children and adolescents. within the methods of treating psychosomatic disorders, addictions and psychoses.
Art therapy is also aimed at all those who want to embark on a path of personal growth and increase self-confidence.
How does a session take place?
An art therapy session takes place individually or in a group. Before starting, the therapist meets the patient to identify the reasons that lead him to him. Then he encourages him to express himself as spontaneously as possible: for example, if the medium is painting, visually representing what he wants to work on. The therapist must help the patient to let go. At first this work may seem difficult due to our tendency to analyze. But the aim is to be able to express oneself more freely.
After that, the therapist must not interpret what has been created. It is up to the patient to reconstruct, thanks to his creation, a forgotten fact, a repressed emotion, an association of ideas. At the end of the session, he can talk about what he feels. The therapist assumes a listening function at this time.
Phrases about smiling: quotes that celebrate the act of smiling
What method to choose?
Plastic arts such as painting or modeling help bring out deep doubts.
The puppets allow you to let the unconscious express, to remove some inhibitions.
Theater and dance allow to exorcise internal conflicts, anguish and frustrations.
Music allows you to regain possession of your body. In this case we speak of music therapy.
Poetry and writing are renowned for their therapeutic virtues.
How many sessions does it take to get results?
The duration of a therapy can vary greatly from individual to individual.
Calculate around 50-70 euros per session.
Who to contact?
There are no diplomas for art-therapy, so you must be well informed about the person you are consulting. In general, art-therapy is carried out by specialized psychotherapists. If the therapist is not part of a professional association of art-therapy, make sure of his skills in psychotherapy. Since you can be a great artist but a bad psychotherapist.
To know
The use of art for therapeutic purposes is not recent. Already primitive societies and ancient Greece used artistic elements to heal. But it was only in 1950 that the technique called art-therapy was actually born.
