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Creative Communication: The Power of Art Therapy | Alexandra Steward

November 11, 2020

Whenever I visit my grandmother, or “Nanna” as all the grandkids call her, we paint together and she tells me stories about her life from long ago. She would delight in telling us about how, as a little girl, she was so proud of her first pair of Levi Jeans. I remember her telling me the story of when she moved to California and refused to marry a farmer only to fall for a farmer who was working as a pilot at the time. Throughout her life, she has told me many stories filled with wisdom and reassurance. Once she told me that “God lets an artist paint the sky when they get to heaven” and that’s why we see beautiful sunrises and sunsets every day.

As both a mentor and grandmother, my Nanna is also one of my favorite artists alongside Georgia O’Keeffe, Kehinde Wiley, and Andy Warhol, each of whom has a unique artistic style to communicate their ideas to the world.

Andy Warhol, who founded the New York Academy of Art, captured the world’s attention with his pop styled art of repeating images and bright colors. On the other hand, artists like Kehinde Wiley is a more modern artist known for his historically European stylized portraitures of modern Black people. The enlarged flowers of Georgia O’Keeffe were some of my favorite paintings growing up and was one of my Nanna’s favorite artists since she likes nature subjects as well. 

From pop to historic grandeur to naturalism, each of these artists expressed themselves in a different medium and style. Art has been seen to be just one mode of communication, but more than that, it can be a useful tool to explore your own emotions. Troubling and stressful thoughts and feelings can be hard to communicate, and a lot of people struggle to form words to express themselves. Art helps communicate these complex troubles and stresses in a way that is helpful for the client and is often uniquely tailored to fit their needs. Anyone can be an artist, and anyone can explore their emotions through various mediums of art.

Creating is not only for people who have trouble verbalizing themselves, but can also be a method to reduce stress, anxiety, PTSD, and other disorders.

Can Art Be Therapeutic? 

Yes it can.  There is even a for of professional therapy called “art therapy.” Art therapy is a discipline that blends art and psychology through the therapeutic process and implements the use of painting, drawing, collaging, photography, and so much more. Often changed to fit the client, art therapy is helpful for various ages and has many benefits for participants. Art therapy has been seen to:

  1. Improve communication and concentration through a creative mode of conversing, and helps clients to focus on a particular idea
  2. Allow the client a safe space to work through their emotions throughout the entire process and acts as both a positive distraction and calming experience. Art therapy has been seen as a time that allows clients to process their overwhelming emotions.
  3. Increase self-awareness which promotes self-esteem in social situations and reduces feelings of isolation.
  4. Cultivate emotional resilience and promote insight as clients can use various mediums and freely express themselves.

What Are the Benefits to Art Therapy?

Not only does art therapy have many benefits, but there is a diversity that exists within the field, where different mediums have different uses. Art ranges from more to less structured mediums. More structured mediums like photography and collages allow more hesitant clients a place to start while less structured mediums like painting, drawing, and sculpting is more free-flowing. Any of these mediums are suitable for therapy, but their suitability for each particular client varies. Painting isn’t always as suitable for directives as collages are, but collages do not always have the emotional range as painting. Sculpture can be a great medium for some, but for others who don’t enjoy the mess, it may not be the best option. Furthermore, drawing can come in so many forms from colored pencils, graphite, crayons, and more allow for lots of freedom to depict what the client wishes to, but may overwhelm them if they try to include too many details. Overall, many types of art can be tailored to fit a particular client, with pros and cons attached to each one. 

Art therapy isn’t just for artists, if you’re having trouble expressing your emotions, feel too overwhelmed to adequately and freely express yourself, or need a creative outlet to process your trauma, then art therapy may be for you! Anyone can create, reach out to a qualified art therapist today and start communicating creatively!

Alexandra Steward serves as an intern at Family Solutions Counseling. She is currently pursuing a degree in Family Science from Oklahoma Christian University, with plans to attend an Art Therapy accredited program come Fall of 2021 following graduation.

Sources used for this article

Mehlomakulu, C. (2016, August 11). Media Choices in Therapy. https://creativityintherapy.com/2013/01/media-choices-in-therapy/. 

Fabian, R. (2017). Healing Invisible Wounds: Art Therapy and PTSD. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/art-therapy-for-ptsd#Takeaway. 

Editorial, C. J. (2017, November 29). Who Can Benefit From Art Therapy? CureJoy. https://www.curejoy.com/content/benefits-of-art-therapy/. 

 

 

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: art in therapy, art therapy, counseling, creative communication, creative counseling, healing, healing with art, mental health, mental health counseling, trauma, what is art therapy

FREE WEBINAR: Practicing with Confidence During Uncertain Times | Brandi Matthews

May 1, 2020

Navigating this unprecedented pandemic is challenging for practice owners! What should and shouldn’t change about how you run your practice? We’ll discuss ten tips for assessing your practice and making the necessary adjustments to continue to grow your practice during the pandemic and beyond.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/95203054210?pwd=U0RPWGRiTVRTZ0lkc2kvMjhBdFB2dz09

Meeting ID: 952 0305 4210
Password: 0ZM7Ss

About the Speaker: Brandi Matthews, JD, LMFT

Brandi Matthews is a Licensed Marital & Family Therapist, Attorney, and Practice Consultant for therapists. As a Practice Consultant, Brandi helps therapists confidently establish efficient, profitable practices (and businesses beyond the practice) that help them best serve their clients.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/brandimorganmatthews
Facebook: @brandimatthews.consulting
Website: www.brandimatthews.consulting

Tagged With: attorney, beyond the practice, brandi matthews, brandi morgan, brandi morgan matthews, building a practice, business coach, covid-19 webinar, licensed therapist, lmft, mental health, pandemic, therapist coach, therapist consultant

FREE WEBINAR: Managing Grief during a Pandemic | Lauren Thompson

April 14, 2020

Quarantine Sucks! Series: Managing Life While on Lock-Down

We are living in a world of grief. Loss of life, loss of freedom, loss of control. Many of us are fearful about work, health, families and the future. Join Lauren as she talks about the stages of grief, how to communicate about grief and ways to manage grief during this pandemic.

About Our Guest Expert: Lauren Thompson, LPC

Lauren is a Licensed Professional Counselor in OKC. She has undergone extensive training in treating trauma and grief and provides counseling to all ages. Lauren believes that therapy is a collaborative process between client and therapist and that every person’s needs are personal and unique. She works closely with individuals with chronic health problems, in particular cancer patients and their families.  Read more about Lauren on her website.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/332129908?pwd=MXB1V1czbnBFeklpTXkwRStzazEzdz09Meeting ID: 332 129 908
Password: 062845

Tagged With: coronavirus, covid-19, covid-19 pandemic, family solutions counseling, grief, lauren thompson, lauren thompson lpc, managing grief, managing grief during a pandemic, mental health, pandemic, stages of grief

WEBINAR: Practicing Mindfulness in the Midst of a Pandemic | Holly Shockley

April 7, 2020

Quarantine Sucks! Series: Managing Life While on Lock-Down

Join in this FREE webinar with licensed therapist, Holly Shockley, to learn more about mindfulness and how it can help see you through this pandemic.  Mindfulness is an important way to meet challenges and suffering with a heart of compassion.  As we practice mindfulness, we are able to live more at ease, with less stress, less anxiety and depression, learning to live in the present moment.   The challenge is to implement them into daily practice, being able to connect with our experiences in authentic and vulnerable ways.  Several techniques that will be covered are; gratitude, mindful listening, self-compassion, body scan, and Christian meditation.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/351904294?pwd=anNnZnhkc3JFMmxDRzFJdGVPOGJHdz09
Meeting ID: 351 904 294
Password: 096286

About Our Guest: Holly Shockley, MS, MEd, LMFT

Holly is a Marriage and Family Therapist at Thrive Christian Counseling in OKC.  Holly values a strong therapeutic relationship with her clients as a crucial aspect of the healing process and works to create a safe, connected, and restorative environment.  Holly is also a certified biblical counselor and is deeply invested in the restoration of her client’s relationships with God, themselves and one another.   Holly’s passion is to bring individuals and couples into a space of emotional, relational and spiritual healing through the honoring work of counseling.

Tagged With: coronavirus, covid-19, covid-19 webinar, covid19, covid_19, family solutions counseling, holly shockley, lmft, mental health, pandemic, practicing mindfulness, thrive christian counseling

WEBINAR: Keeping Your Faith in Times of Isolation | Kathy Gissler, LPC

March 27, 2020

Quarantine Sucks! Series: Managing Life While on Lock-Down

In this FREE webinar, licensed therapist, Kathy Gissler, will be sharing and discussing down-to-earth and practical suggestions on how to worship and keep your faith strong during the COVID-19 isolation, and beyond.  If your faith and faith community is important to you, then this is one you don’t want to miss.

Join the Zoom Meeting:

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/347913657
Meeting ID: 347 913 657
NOTE: Download the Zoom app to your smart device or computer prior to the event. 

 

About the Presenter: Kathy Gissler, LPC, NCC

Kathy is a professional counselor with over 17 years of experience in helping hundreds of people through difficult times in their life, and emerging as healthier people.  Kathy also has a Bachelor’s degree in music, and was a worship leader and choir director for over 30 years.  She is a devoted Christ-follower, and offers hope and practical help in an easy, down-to-earth manner.

 

Kathy currently practices at New Vision Counseling and Consulting and can be reached at (405) 921-7776.

Tagged With: believer, christ follower, christian, christian counseling, coronavirus, counseling, covid-19, covid19, covid_19, faith, faith and social distancing, family solutions, family solutions counseling, familysolutionsok, i believe, kathy gissler, keeping the faith, keeping your faith, keeping your faith in isolation, lpc, mental health, new vision, new vision counseling, quarantined, social distancing

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