What Art Therapists Do
What Art Therapists Do
What do art therapists do in their work? Today I’ll be sharing and answering this exact question.
My name is Youhjung and I've been trained as an art therapist and have been doing this work for some years.
Maybe you’re interested in an art therapy career. You may have looked around to get more information on this work.
But it’s hard to find an art therapist to talk to about what they do. It’s hard to find the answers online too since not a lot of art therapists are online sharing this kind of stuff.
So that’s why I’m here to satisfy your curiosity and help you find out what is exactly involved in art therapy work.
If you want to see the video where I answer this question, watch here:
What is art therapy?
But first, let's go over what IS art therapy.
Art therapy is a type of therapy and healing modality that uses the art-making process as a way to improve our wellbeing - whether that's physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.
Who art therapists work with
And you might ask, who do these art therapists actually help? Who do they work with?
Art therapists can work with people of all ages, all genders, and all backgrounds. They can help individuals, groups of people, couples, families, and even whole communities.
And while art therapists can work alone, they do often work with other professionals in a clinical team.
Art therapists can see people who have serious medical or mental health problems but also people who are seeking more emotional, creative, and spiritual growth in their lives.
Art Therapists assess people
One thing that art therapists do in their work is assessing people - whether that is their physical, emotional, or mental state.
Art therapists do this through observing a person before, during, and after art-making, observing the artwork itself, and through talking with the person.
Art therapists also administer formal assessments and tests that involve structured art directives that are designed to assess where a person is at.
Art therapists provide treatment
Art therapists provide treatment to help deal with/overcome challenges in life, illnesses but also to find insight and personal growth.
And this treatment often involves art, but it doesn't always have to, since art therapists are trained in providing counseling and verbal therapy as well.
Often, art therapy is combined with many other psychology or therapeutic approaches, including:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Mindfulness-based approaches
Gestalt
Psychodynamic
Person-centered,
Existential
Feminist
Somatic
Positive Psychology
Narrative Therapy
Family Systems
Transpersonal
Solution-focused
Sandplay
Play therapy
Strength based
Emotionally Focused therapy
Coaching
And more
Art therapists curate materials and methods
One important thing to know about art therapists’ work is that they intentionally choose certain art materials and/or art-making processes appropriate for the client and their needs/goals.
Art therapists do not randomly give out materials and let people make art. They carefully and purposefully choose certain materials and methods, designed to help that specific client.
Each material or process of making art has a different psychological and emotional effect. Art therapists take this into account and choose according to the client’s specific issue or goal.
For example, an art therapist might choose watercolor paint for one client because this client is dealing with feelings of depression, but the art therapist might choose pencil for another client because that client is feeling overwhelmed or more impulsive.
Art therapists witness
Another important part of art therapist’s work is to witness the creative process and witness the client fully.
During an art therapy session, the art therapist is there to fully witness. Giving the client full attention and mindfulness is a big part of this work.
Through witnessing, a lot of things can happen.
Art therapists can pick up on nonverbal behaviors, as well as nonverbal symbols or metaphors inside the artwork during art-making processes.
These can inform the art therapist and make it possible to help the client further as the art therapist adjusts and provide what the client needs according to the information h/she has gained through observation and witnessing.
The observations can be also shared with the client, explored, and discussed, which can help clients to make new discoveries, as well as identify things are difficult to express in words only.
Art therapists hold the space
As you make art within an art therapy session, an art therapist is there to hold the space for you.
They are there to support you, encourage you, listen to you, give you structure and space for you to be you.
No matter what comes up in that creative space, it's acceptable. It's welcomed.
Art therapy is all about having that trusting relationship with an art therapist who can hold that sacred space for you to express yourself and heal in that process.
This may be a simple and obvious fact, but it is super important because without that trustworthy art therapist holding that space for you, you cannot feel comfortable or safe enough to express what’s going on, explore your obstacles/problems, and find new perspective. Healing is not possible without a safe space.
Now, let’s talk about what art therapists DON’T DO because this will help further clarify what art therapists actually do.
Art therapists don’t teach art
The goal in art therapy is to express oneself. The focus is on emotions and healing oneself, not to learn the techniques to make something.
If you are not familiar with the art materials or the art process, an art therapist can help you and support you in getting familiar with the materials, exploring them, and experimenting with them.
But art therapists do not teach art in the traditional sense.
Art therapists don’t critique artwork
In the same vein as the point about teaching, art therapists do not critique a client’s artwork.
Art therapists don't evaluate or judge an artwork for its aesthetic, formal qualities, design principles.
The final art product is not the focus many times. Creating a nonjudgmental space where you can feel comfortable, safe, and at ease is what art therapists do.
Art therapists don’t usually work in a non-confidential space
Also, art therapists don’t usually work in non-confidential space. This means that since many times art therapy is a mental health treatment or is part of a intimate healing process of someone, it happens in a safe confidential space.
That's why you won't often see real art therapy happening in a "public" space.
However, there are times when you can experience art therapy through public workshops or community projects. In these cases, you can do art therapy in a more open and public setting.
I hope that this helped you learn what art therapists actually do in their work. Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts on what art therapists do in the comments below. Thanks for reading - I’ll talk to you next time!
P.S. If you are curious about therapeutic art and want to learn how to facilitate it or incorporate it in your work, then I’ve got the ✨perfect✨ resource for you. My Therapeutic Art Facilitation School course is THE place where you can learn the foundation of nonclinical, therapeutic art work. I teach you my step by step signature method of using therapeutic art to help people, even if you’re just starting (no artist or therapist background needed). Want to learn how to do this? Check out my therapeutic art course here.
Thanks for reading!
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