#Art Psychotherapy

[carminamasoliver]

Freelance Reflections #142

I am officially done. My intense period of work is over and I am feeling really run down now, with very low energy levels. I didn’t do too much last weekend and I’m off to the coast now, so hoping that will allow me time to recuperate. Aside from the journey, it should be a chilled time and will force me to relax rather than being home. resting butterfly I had my usual language school work, but…

[art4success123]

Enhancing Mental Health with Art: The Science Behind Art Psychotherapy

Are you experiencing stress, anxiety, or just feeling off? Look beyond conventional therapeutic techniques since there is an effective and easily accessible option available: art. The use of creative expression in art therapy, a type of mental health treatment, is becoming more widely acknowledged for its ability to improve mental wellness. But there's a fascinating scientific tale behind the attractiveness of art psychotherapy.

Let’s get started!

The Language of Art:

Since verbal communication is a common component of traditional treatment, it can be difficult for some people to convey their most profound feelings and experiences. This barrier is circumvented via art therapy, which provides a nonverbal language for exploring your inner world. Painting, sketching, sculpting, and other creative endeavours provide you with an alternative means of analysing ideas and feelings.

The Science Behind It: 

Research has demonstrated that the act of making art causes beneficial brain modifications. How to do it is as follows:

Stress Reduction: The repeated movements used in art-making, such as colouring or sketching, have a relaxing impact that lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Mood Enhancement: Taking part in creative pursuits causes the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to pleasure and reward, which elevates your mood and sense of well-being in general.

Self-Discovery: Making art gives you a secure, accepting environment in which to explore your ideas and feelings, which promotes self-awareness and personal development. 

Beyond the Advantages

Art therapy serves a broad spectrum of people and issues. It has demonstrated efficacy in:

Handling sadness and anxiety: Art helps emotional control and coping mechanisms by offering a constructive way to express strong feelings.

Trauma processing: Art therapy may provide a safe space for those who are experiencing trauma to express and work through their experiences.

Improving cognitive function: Being creative can help with concentration, memory, and problem-solving abilities. 

Art psychotherapy services are a distinct, empirically supported method for enhancing mental well-being, regardless of creative background. Recall that the process is more valuable than the result. So gather your materials, welcome the creative process, and experience the transformational potential of art.

[sodelafo]

We all wear masks from time to time.

I’ve been meaning to do a mask activity with patients on the ward for sometime now. I finally got round to buying a paper mache one and had a little experiment with some acrylic pens. A lot of the patterns I’ve used are from other doodling exercises I’ve posted about in the past. I want to experiment with different mediums – coloured tissue, beads, blocks of acrylic colour, real flowers! I can…

[weirdlookindog]

Sarah R. Bloom - A Message Written in the Sand, 2013

©Sarah R. Bloom

[eananoor]

Living creatively means growing, expressing one’s potentialities, developing one’s possibilities, and therefore finding continuously new interest in persons and things… to fulfill one’s human destiny.

Rollo May The Springs of Creative Living, 1940.

[wszystkoinicmarysia]

~| Pinterest; Private Collection |~

[slowandsweet]

Lose yourself in books, in art, in the haze of new horizons. Lose yourself in curiosity, in knowledge, in passion. Lose yourself in feeling it all; lose yourself in the world, in the stories and the lessons it has to teach you, but never lose yourself in love; never lose yourself in another person. You are your own home—please don’t ever forget that.

― Bianca Sparacino, The Strength In Our Scars

[inkprovised]

Just remembered a session with my therapist.

nothing wild, but I put it under the cut, just in case it could be triggering.

Maybe people just don't want to see a psych-session

Read the tags just in case pls. Take care of yourselves

Mostly, my art is nothing but a way to procrastinate, instead of working on my issues...

I miss my therapist. She is awesome.

Even though I'm not sure therapy ever really helped....

[loneberry]

Tosquelles, my man, you truly absorbed the way of the French ;)

From Potential History of Francesc Tosquelles, Catalonia and Fear

[sstargrllll]

“Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways”.

-Sigmund Freud

[carminamasoliver]

Freelance Reflections #138

Well, I have managed to have one and a bit days of rest before things get super busy again with long working days across six days a week… and still going through time without enough funds. I caught up with ibizo lami and we ended up coincidentally meeting Mr Poetivist, who travelled from Ghana to perform in the UK and is in Brighton tomorrow night at The Rose Hill. This was in the Inspired by…

[art4success123]

What Are The Primary Aims Of Art Psychotherapy?

Art therapy is a type of psychotherapy in which the main means of expression and communication are artistic mediums. It is predicated on the idea that engaging in creative endeavours may aid in emotional exploration, the growth of self-awareness, and stress management. Anxiety, sadness, trauma, eating disorders, and other mental health issues can all benefit from art therapy, which can be utilised with patients of all ages.

Here are some primary aims of art psychotherapy –

Self-Revelation and Understanding

Verbal communication is occasionally restricted. Through the creative process, art therapy offers a secure environment for nonverbal communication, enabling people to access their hidden feelings and experiences. Using art to explore emotions and memories visually can help people become more self-aware and comprehend their struggles.

Enhanced Social and Communication Capabilities

Through art therapy, those who have trouble expressing themselves verbally can communicate differently. Making art and talking about it with a therapist can help people communicate more effectively and engage in social situations better. This is particularly beneficial for kids or those who struggle with social anxiety.

Emotional Relaxation and Control

The creative process may be healing in and of itself. Art psychotherapy services offer a secure means of expressing challenging feelings such as fear, grief, or rage. By expressing these feelings via art, people can develop effective coping strategies for managing long-term emotional well-being.

Increasing Confidence and Self-Esteem

Making art may give one a sense of pride and success. Finishing an artwork and getting encouraging feedback from a therapist might result in a greater sense of confidence and self-worth. This renewed confidence in one's skills may be applied to other facets of life.

General Health and Personal Development

Art therapy can enhance an individual's total development by treating emotional, social, and cognitive components of well-being. It can help people overcome obstacles, grow resilient, and lead more satisfying lives.

There is no one-size-fits-all method to art therapy. But its fundamental goals of encouraging self-expression, mental health, and personal development make it an invaluable resource for anybody looking for a special and imaginative route to recovery and self-discovery.

[raskoolz]

Liminal Spaces

Recently, I've noticed a growing trend online of people posting photos of liminal spaces and forming internet communities around this concept.

So what are liminal spaces?

In your own daily life, you may have noticed that there are certain places or states of being in which you may have felt different, "off", or uncomfortable. These places are often associated with liminal spaces and there's a reason why they may seem so uncanny or feel surreal.

The word "liminal" comes from the latin word limen, which in English means "threshold".

The anthropologist, Arnold van Gennep first wrote about the concept of liminality when he developed the idea of rites of passage.

He defined:

a "rite of separation" (preliminary rite)

a "rite of transition" (liminary rite)

and a "rite of incorporation" (post-liminal rite)

This transition theory was formed to explain the pattern he observed when it comes to changes in people's lives.

In short, liminal spaces are transitional or transformative spaces. It's the uncertain transition between where you've been, and where you're going- whether it means physically, mentally or metaphorically.

As a result, these places are often associated with an abandoned or sad atmosphere. They are also usually tied to feelings of despair, confusion, and hopelessness- as well as wonder, awe, and curiosity. Often it is also tied to the idea of a disconnect from the concept of reality or a neglected aesthetic.

To be in a liminal space means to be on the precipice of something, but not quite there yet. Often, when we are in liminal spaces, we have a feeling as if we are on the verge of discovering something new.

This can, of course, take the form of a literal physical place, but it can also take the form of physiological or mental states. There are liminal spaces, but maybe also liminal people- liminal careers, liminal relationships, and liminal events.

A recent example of this can be found during our own lived experience of going through COVID. A worldwide pandemic that brought a halt to our usual routines and day-to-day functions.

(And because this was the case, I think it should come as no surprise that this was when the idea of liminal spaces became more popular online.)

Perhaps what these bizzare/surreal/spooky pictures of abandoned places, and empty rooms allows us to do is to come to terms with our own feelings of confusion or dread.

For some of us (or even a majority of us), maybe we are currently living in a liminal space.

Maybe things don't make sense for you right now, and that's okay.

Maybe things are weird, different, or unfamiliar- and the rules, guiding belief systems, or structures you inhabit have changed, and you've lost your own footing within all that.

But perhaps- if you allow it, these conditions are precisely what is necessary for you to come to a deeper understanding of yourself. Only through these experiences of uncertainty can we learn to tap into the permanently available recreative power we all carry within each of us.

Maybe we could also learn to see the beauty, awe, and mystique that comes with these pictures- and to appreciate them for what they are:

A way for us to just "be" and be okay with it.

[osatokun]

art fight

hopefully I'll be able to draw more sketches for art fight this upcoming month. So, here is my profile :3 https://artfight.net/~Ghost_Osa

[thewiglesswonder]

Human AU ViceStrom in the same vein as last night’s sketches: they meet when Quarrel brings her severely concussed roller derby teammate to the only doctor she knows won’t charge thousands of dollars for a treatment.

[age-of-moonknight]

“Dead Reckoning,” Moon Knight: City of the Dead (Vol. 1/2023), #3.

Writer: David Pepose; Penciler: Sean Damien Hill; Inker: Jay Leisten; Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg; Letterer: Cory Petit