Art Therapy is the backbone of what we do here, but you may be asking yourself, "What is art therapy?" In this article and podcast, we are diving into the basics of art therapy. You'll come away with an understanding of what art therapy is and how it can benefit you.

Like all professions, there is and official definition of art therapy and the quick elevator pitch you give to acquaintances at parties.
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​For the official definition, we refer to the American Art Therapy Association:

"Art Therapy is an integrative mental health and human services profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship.

Art Therapy, facilitated by a professional art therapist, effectively supports personal and relational treatment goals as well as community concerns. Art Therapy is used to improve cognitive and sensory-motor functions, foster self-esteem and self-awareness, cultivate emotional resilience, promote insight, enhance social skills, reduce and resolve conflicts and distress, and advance societal and ecological change.

Art therapists are master-level clinicians who work with people of all ages across a broad spectrum of practice. Guided by ethical standards and scope of practice, their education and supervised training prepares them for culturally proficient work with diverse populations in a variety of settings. Honoring individuals’ values and beliefs, art therapists work with people who are challenged with medical and mental health problems, as well as individuals seeking emotional, creative, and spiritual growth.

Through integrative methods, art therapy engages the mind, body, and spirit in ways that are distinct from verbal articulation alone. Kinesthetic, sensory, perceptual, and symbolic opportunities invite alternative modes of receptive and expressive communication, which can circumvent the limitations of language. Visual and symbolic expression gives voice to experience, and empowers individual, communal, and societal transformation."

Lengthy, right? Good luck holding a party guest's attention with this doozy.
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​When Evie, as licensed art therapist, is asked to explain the field, she says, "It's a mental health field that uses art making and the creative process to bring about change."
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​Much better!

When the time for college came around, her natural interests centered around psychology, which was piqued in a high school class.

Like many of us, even though the desire was there, the path was not straightforward. College took longer than planned with several stops and starts but her interest in the inner workings of the mind never wavered.
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​She was hit with the realization that post grad education was necessary and started getting into research. She gained research experience through substance use and alcoholism labs and sexual minority health labs.
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​It was around this time that she decided to go back to her love of art and starting working toward a minor in art. One of her first courses was Introduction to Art Therapy. She officially decided to pursue this degree after writing a research paper and learning about its roots in psychology, dispelling any preconceived notions she had about the field.
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​And this is where she finds herself today, working as an art therapist within Florida's prison system. Not only is she passionate about the population she serves in her daily work, but she is also passionate about the benefits this work can bring to anyone.

The art therapy field divides itself into two points of view:
​- art as therapy
​- art psychotherapy
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When two art therapist get together, a question that often comes up is, "So, are you a therapist who is also an artist, or an artist who is also a therapist?"

The differences is how you use the art and how directive the process is. While Evie considers herself a therapist who is also an artist, there are advantages with both approaches.

We create as human beings, whether we realize it or not. Even just having a conversation is creative. These creative acts often go unacknowledged.  Creativity is something that we tend to do more readily as a child, but then as we get older, and we forget about it or face a lot of pressure to do something "practical" and get into the workforce as adults.

Art and creativity faces the stigma of the "starving artist."  If you chose to go into the arts, you knew this was what you were signing up for. This is a false assumption and it's even less true today.

The truth is creativity is a skill that can benefit everyone and one that can be learned and improved over time. To use an exercise analogy: if you lift weights those muscles are getting stronger, but if you don't, your muscles are going to get weak from not using them. Creativity is the same way. ​

The more we practice creativity, the more you can do it. The more creative you are, the more ideas come. It's infinite. Everyone is creative, because creativity is a characteristic of conscious beings. So we are, by definition, creative beings. And then anything that we create is an extension of who we are, therefore it is a reflection of who we are. It says something about us.

Products of art therapy are not necessarily used as a diagnostic tool. There are certain indicators in artwork that reflect different mental states or states of being, such as like depression and anxiety. Art therapists are trained not only in mental health diagnoses but also in how art reflects these diagnoses.  But this is all considered nothing more than data and information gathering.

Art therapists are discouraged from taking one art piece and claiming to have a client all figured out. is one data point. The client is a very important part of this process, because they can tell the therapist a lot more about what they created and why. Part of art therapy, is looking at the art piece and then asking the client what they see or why they made the choices that they did. The client's perspective is going to be different from the therapist or anyone else who might look at it, because it's all filtered through our own our own lens, biases and beliefs.

Through the process of art making we gain insight into our internal environment and states of being. During art creation many choices need to be made and those choices speak to our thought process, preferences, strengths, and limitations. It conjures emotions like fear, uncertainty, sadness, and shame and contains them within the piece.

The product is a reflection of these happenings, serves as evidence of progress, and through supportive, compassionate curiosity and exploration the artwork becomes a guide and mirror of the self.

Therapy not as effective if the therapist tells you about you, but rather what you tell yourself about you. 

Evie's career has been evolving over the years. She started off in community mental health. In this environment, she was seeing all different types of people with all different types of backgrounds. She was focused on learning how to help people.

The experience was so much different than grad school where you learn about theories, different directives and specifics about the field. But when it came to the actual practice, it was a whole new world. She uses the metaphor of a beach. Her practice was expansive and broad.

As she moved into the prison system, the metaphor morphed into a river. Her practice became more specialized and more specific with more focus on art therapy.  She now takes time to plan projects and get creative with the people she works with. Plus, she gets to experience the everyday creativity of her clients.

Technically, in order to participate in art therapy, you do need an art therapist. It is a dynamic exchange that happens between therapist and client. If you are looking for an art therapist the American Art Therapy Association is a great place to start.
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​We recognize that art therapy is not accessible to everyone. But do not despair, one of our aims is to utilize art therapy techniques to help everyone embrace the power of creativity. Check out our free guide to get started now!

During this show segment, we introduce four ways to interact with the material presented: A question to answer, a quest to complete, an aspect of creativity we've noticed this week, and a quote to ponder.

We have a two-parter this week:
​1. What more would you like to know about art therapy?
​2. What has been your experience with art therapy?

Get your free guide to Re-Discover Your Creative Self.

Evie's latest research in art therapy: How creative expression varies between inmates housed in open population versus long-term confinement. 
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​Publication is pending, but give updates as soon as it's out.

"The most creative act you will ever undertake is the act of creating yourself."
​- Deepak Chopra