Art Psychotherapy

Introduction

This paper aims to show an overview of how art psychotherapy is helpful in the treatment of individuals having depression on to people who suffer from select mental illness. This paper would not delve so much with the specifics of each and will just discuss it in general. This paper aims to know what lies behind art psychotherapy in helping in the treatment process and how it could benefit and individual. With the aid of references, the researcher intends to find the reason why it is beneficial and how it affects and helps the individual as a whole.

Body

The WHO (World Health Organization, 2011) stated that they estimated four hundred million worldwide suffer from some form of mental disorder and about one hundred twenty-one people suffer from depression. Depression is among the leading causes of disability worldwide. Mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, autism, bipolar disorder can be treated through the intervention of psychotherapy.

Art Psychotherapy

What is art psychotherapy? Art psychotherapy is a mental health profession that uses creative process of art making to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages. It is based on the belief that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and self-awareness, and achieve insight. Art psychotherapy began to formalize during the middle of the 20th century. Doctors noted that individuals suffering from mental illness often expressed in drawing and other artworks, which led many to explore the use of art as a healing strategy (Cherry, n.d.).

According to Carl Jung (n.d.), the roots of art psychotherapy reach back to the prehistoric eras, when our remote predecessors expressed their relationship to their world in cave drawings and sought the meaning of essence in imagery (as cited in Wadeson, 2010). Visual expression has been used for healing throughout history but art psychotherapy did not emerge as a distinct profession until the 1940's (American Art Therapy Association, Inc. [AATA], 2008). And thus making art psychotherapy and effective means in treatment processes.

Art Psychotherapy and Autism

Autism is a disorder of neural development and it could really affect the person and his relationships with others. Lisa Jo Rody(2010) stated that one of the characteristics of autism spectrum disorder is having difficulty with verbal and social communication. There are other cases in which the patient with autism would really have a difficulty in processing language and turning into a smooth, easy conversation. In contrast with their difficulty in social interaction and communication skills, there are some very good visual thinkers. Many of them can put that ability to use in the processing of memories, recording images and other visual information.

Studies and or therapies have shown that art psychotherapy has helped the conditions of people with autism. Dr. Donna J. Bets (2005) relates "I once taught a student with autism who was obsessed with his own wet saliva. I realized that he was fascinated with the patterns of movement he created with his spit, and that this what kept him interested in the activity. So I devised a way to divert the boy away from his saliva, by introducing a dry substance: sand. In his art psychotherapy session, he was encouraged to play with sand and containers in a tabletop box. As he learned how to manipulate his environment through sand play, his obsession with spit eventually disappeared. And with my encouragement and praise for using he sand, rather than the saliva, he progressed toward a more flexible and mature ego functioning. In that respect, he experienced positive behavioral and emotional growth."

Art Psychotherapy and Schizophrenia

Helping people communicate what they are unable to think and feel on a normal level is the ultimate goal of art therapy. One way of achieving such goal is through the helping of the treatment of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder in which it causes an individual to experience hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thoughts, disorganized speech and catatonic behaviors.

The studies however, may somehow still be unclear on how art psychotherapy could actually help in the treatment of schizophrenia. However, there are some studies that show it does.

Dr. Mike Crawford, an expert in mental health services at Imperial College London who has carried out studies on arts therapy, said the therapies help people communicate. "With psychoses, part of the problem is hallucinations and delusions and it becomes really hard to talk to people about them - and people become isolated because no one is listening to them."

Alison Cobb from the Mental Health Charity Mind said: "While medication for schizophrenia can help tackle symptoms such as psychosis, medication alone fails to address some of the other problems people may experience, such as problems communicating and socializing with others. Art therapy is a non-threatening and accessible therapy that can help people express their feelings without the need to talk them over" (Wilkinson, 2008).

Art Psychotherapy and Depression/Anxiety

Depression has been defined by some anger turned inward. Art can help the depressed individual discover their anger and express it in a healthy way. In one study, art therapy was used with suicidal teenagers and results show that it had positive effects. Guilt, worthlessness and hopelessness are all emotions that can cause depression, and the creative process can help a person cope with these emotions. In depression, a person may feel being isolated and do not much feel like talking or interact with other people about how they fell. More often than not, depressed people feel like they are in a dark tunnel that seems difficult to escape from. When they begin to feel that way, it is quite a challenge for them to find a way to communicate with others.

As a result of the factors that constrain the ability to communicate with others, art therapy assists the person in being able to channel his thought or whatever he wants them to know. Art therapy in depression can provide a bridge between the inner thoughts and feelings and communication with others. Often clients comment that without creating a piece of art first in a session, they would find it difficult to talk directly about them. The client can communicate using the artwork to explain. The artwork helps to open up communication and increases self-awareness (Peebles, 2011).

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