Essay On Art Therapy

Art Therapy as an Alternative for Prescription Drugs Imagine art being used for more than just a decoration in a home or store. In fact, art is used in a variety of ways in everyday life. Some pursue it as a hobby, others to express themselves, and a select few use it as a career. Interestingly, it can also be used as therapy to help people with mental health problems, reduce anxiety, and diminish the need for prescription drugs. Ultimately, creating art should be an enjoyable and relaxing experience. This is why art therapy is effective in addressing and improving mental health disorders, especially in those where traditional methods and drugs have failed. Art therapy is an integrative mental health profession that combines the knowledge and understanding of someone’s mental health. It also combines psychological theories and tactics together with visual art to create a unique approach towards the healing process (“About Us - American Art Therapy Association”). It is designed to help improve the mental health of a patient and allows the therapist …show more content…
Art therapy includes a variety of activities, including incident drawings, art work of emotions, stress painting, creating an art journal, and sculpting. Research has also stated that art therapy is especially useful for women, specifically for those that have suffered from sexual assault or abuse. (Aletraris et al). Just about anyone suffering from a emotional trauma can get the help they need from art therapy. It provides the opportunity to take an inner encounter and make it into an outer visualization, which helps the patient understand more thoroughly the illness they are going through, which helps them further progress in their treatment. There is evidence with artistic engagement, either observing or creating artwork, that it can enhance one’s moods, emotions, and psychological state (Aletraris et