Understanding Expressive Therapy: Healing Creatively

Introduction

It can be challenging for those dealing with mental health issues to understand or articulate their feelings. In a therapeutic setting, the use of expressive arts may assist individuals in discovering more about themselves and sharing their feelings. To help individuals achieve personal growth, expressive arts therapy is an integrated, multimodal approach that uses various techniques, such as writing, music, visual arts, theater, and dance. Expressive therapists think individuals may explore their bodies, feelings, emotions, and mental processes via artistic expression and imaginative play.

What Is Expressive Therapy?

It might be difficult to express the feelings if the person is dealing with a mental health issue like depression, anxiety, or trauma recovery. The creative arts therapies use imagery, storytelling, dance, music, drama, poetry, movement, horticulture, dreamwork, and visual arts in an integrated manner to promote human growth, development, and healing, according to the National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH). It has been described as a process of self-discovery that uses creative self-expression to help people release their emotions.

This kind of therapy is characterized by focusing on the creative process, employing various materials, and experimenting with various approaches as part of a therapeutic intervention.

What Are the Types of Expressive Therapy?

An overview of some of the most popular forms of expressive therapy is provided below:

• Art Therapy: Visual arts such as collage, painting, sculpture, and sketching are used in art therapy to help patients express themselves and develop self-awareness. It can be useful for unwinding, controlling feelings, and improving problem-solving abilities.

• Music Therapy: A therapist addresses emotional, cognitive, and physical needs through music-making, listening, or movement activities. Enhancing communication skills, lowering tension and anxiety, and promoting relaxation are all possible with music therapy.

• Dance or Movement Treatment: This type of treatment uses dance and movement to improve coordination, increase body awareness, and convey emotions. It may be effective for fostering healthy coping strategies, emotional release, and self-esteem.

• Drama Therapy: This explores individual narratives using storytelling, improvisation, and theatrical components. Through role-playing and theatrical exercises, clients may enhance their social skills, build coping strategies, and gain insight into their thoughts and feelings.

• Writing Therapy: This approach helps clients process their feelings, memories, and experiences via writing tasks such as journaling, poetry, or storytelling. Writing therapy can enhance one's self-discovery, problem-solving, and communication capacity.

• Poetry Therapy: It is comparable to writing therapy but focuses on the vocabulary and structures used in poetry. It can assist patients in developing more profound emotional awareness, exploring metaphors and symbolism, and finding creative ways to express themselves.

How Does Expressive Therapy Work?

This treatment uses creative exercises to help patients express and work with memories and emotions that can be difficult to verbalize. Other names for it include creative arts therapy, expressive arts therapy, art therapy, and experience therapy.

Psychologists first became interested in this topic in the 1940s when they began examining the drawings made by their patients. Sometimes, the sketches gave them more insight into a person's thoughts or emotions than they would have gained simply speaking with the patient.

An experienced therapist leads the art creation process in an expressive therapy session. Usually, various activities are included, but occasionally, therapists concentrate on only one. Journaling or writing can be a better option for someone new to therapy. One may be more interested in dancing or acting if they have been in treatment for some time. A person can attempt talk therapy in addition to expressive therapy or independently.

A person does not need to be "good" in the art form practiced in the sessions. In expressive therapy, the process is the main focus rather than the outcome.

What Are the Benefits of Expressive Therapy?

• Self-Awareness: This realization may be a coping strategy and frequently results in the release of emotional strain brought on by previous experiences. Having the authority to tell a narrative aids in self-affirmation.

• Self-Determination: Through expressive therapy, patients may express their worries and anxieties in unconventional ways and frequently gain control over their feelings.

• Stress Relief: It is good on its own for reducing stress, but when combined with other tools for relaxation, like guided imagery, it can work much better. Through expressive therapy, people may identify and address their distress from a foundational place.

• Rehabilitation and Physical Pain Management: It has been demonstrated that expressive therapy aids in the reduction of pain in those recuperating from disease and trauma. It has also been used to relieve and regulate pain in people who are terminally or chronically sick.

• Better Communication Skills: Expressive therapy can assist people in improving their nonverbal communication abilities and self-expression.

• Decreased Stress and Anxiety: Taking part in artistic pursuits can encourage awareness and relaxation, which can lessen the symptoms of stress and anxiety.

What Conditions Can Be Treated With Expressive Therapy?

Numerous mental health issues may benefit from expressive arts therapy. It works well with both kids and adults. It might be helpful for the following diseases or issues:

• Anxiety.

• ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

• Death and grief.

• Brain damage.

• Long-term health issues.

• Depression.

• Problems of development.

• Eating disorders.

• Emotional issues.

• Interpersonal problems.

• Low self-worth.

• PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

• Stress

• This method might also help treat younger patients who cannot verbally express their thoughts and feelings.

How Effective Is Expressive Therapy?

According to research, there are several advantages to using expressive arts therapy. Some of these are developing one's talents and abilities, growing personally, reducing symptoms, enhancing communication, and deriving meaning from experiences.

• According to a 2021 assessment of the literature, patients, their families, and medical personnel worked more cooperatively when expressive art therapy was used in adult health and nursing care.

• Subjective assessments showed the children were calmer and less anxious following therapy sessions. A 2016 pilot study analysis using the treatment with hospitalized children found that hospital personnel and family members appreciated the expressive arts therapy program. Additional metrics also indicated that the kids' moods had improved.

In general, creating art has been linked to several advantages for mental health. According to 2020 research, coloring can help elderly people feel less anxious and happier. Another study discovered that elderly women's mental well-being was enhanced by drawing and performing music.

Conclusion

The underlying premise of expressive treatments is that people may recover via various artistic mediums. Consult a mental health practitioner who has received training in expressive therapy if one wants to learn more about it and how it might help.