What is art therapy?

Art therapy is method that focuses on individuals processing their inner worlds and emotions through art making and artistic reflection. For children, art therapy helps them tap into their natural creative and playful mindset and can help them to express feelings that they might normally not feel “safe” to sharing. Through art they can externalize emotions and trauma in healthy and non-harmful ways. Art therapy can also help them create greater senses of autonomy and control over their environments, which is no small feat for children. 

Many adults can also benefit from art therapy. Often they have been told that they “aren’t artists.” For art therapy, you don’t need to be technically proficient in art mediums. In art therapy you are able to reframe your mindset and creative abilities in a nonjudgmental environment. Art therapy can help with grief and trauma processing, developing and visualizing goals, and understanding relational dynamics better and promote flexible thinking.

Why may art therapy be best for me?

If you feel in need of any of the following, art therapy might be for you

  • Developing a means of processing creatively

  • Working with children who live in their natural creative space

  • Images can communicate trauma while creating a safe barrier

  • Allows kids to get out feelings that might normally be seen as not acceptable

  • Externalize feelings that are not “allowed”

  • Explore and come to terms with certain things

  • Create a greater sense of autonomy

  • You can also create more boundaries, structure, routine

  • Adults have been told “you’re not an artist”

  • Art therapy doesn’t need to be very technically proficient

  • Opportunity for a positive reframe for themselves or their abilities

  • Recovery from trauma, grief

  • Autonomy and self-empowerment

  • Control

  • Visual learners

  • Develop and visualize goals

  • Understand dynamics

What is play therapy?

Play therapy is a therapeutic process by which anyone, children or adults, can communicate, express themselves, develop creative thinking, explore social interactions and identity and can safely approach challenging and/or traumatic experiences through the medium of play. Play therapy can be conducted through a variety of mediums such as roleplaying games, sand trays, video or board games, toys, puppets, etc.

Why may play therapy be best for me?

If you feel in need of any of the following, play therapy might be for you

  • Developing a means by which, depending on the client, it can help someone get in touch with a more expressive and creative and free-flowing internal process

  • Establish communication that is not reliant on words, all kids know how to play

  • Understand and explore the world through the medium of playing

  • Creating the opportunity to be able to exist more in the present moment, be in touch with ourselves and our creativity, childlike sense of wonder and formulate a means of existing without high levels of internalized biases and self-doubts

  • Develop internalized permission to play