Can you draw? Yes? No? It does not matter. Creativity comes in many forms, and Expressive Arts Therapy is not about creating art. Believe it or not, it’s about neuroscience.

What is Expressive Arts Therapy?

Expressive Arts Therapy is the process of using a wide variety of creative modalities, like drawing, painting, photography, music, dance/movement, storytelling, collage, assemblage, sculpture, sand tray, and limitless other creative means, to access the right brain and to integrate the brain across the brain structure of the corpus collosum.

Right Brain vs. Left Brain

Maybe you have heard about the “left brain” and the “right brain.” The left brain is the analytical, concrete, and logical brain. It is also the side of the brain that uses language. The right brain is the creative, empathetic, spatial, and intuitive side of the brain, and it expresses its knowledge in symbols. When we engage in talk therapy, we are accessing the brain through the left brain by using language. There is nothing wrong with that, but the right brain has knowledge, too, including emotional and relational understanding. When we access the right brain directly, we can learn more about ourselves and discover things that we did not even know that we knew. In expressive arts therapy, as you use language (left brain) to discuss your creation (right brain), you are integrating the hemispheres of your brain and bringing wholeness to your experience and understanding. In research, integration across the brain structures is linked to improved mental health. The more integrated the brain, the more organized and flexible a person becomes, verses chaotic and rigid, which leads to a calmer nervous system.

What to Expect

Every expressive arts therapy activity is a bit of an experiment. It is the therapist’s job to design targeted creative interventions related to your therapeutic goals. The client’s role is just being willing to courageously engage in the process and to be open to discovery. After participating, you can expect the therapist to ask you about both the process (what the experience was like for you) and the product (the elements in what you created). The therapist will not tell you what your creation “means” – you will have a discussion with your therapist that will help you to explore its meaning.

Judgment Free Zone

Expressive Arts Therapy is a judgment free zone. If you are curious about expressive arts therapy, but are thinking, “But I cannot draw at all” or “I don’t like doing crafts,” be assured that art talent and craftiness are not required. In fact, the author of this article primarily draws stick figures. You will never be judged based on the quality of your work from an artistic standpoint. If a material product is created in session (like a drawing), you as the client will have the option to decide what to do with your finished product. Nobody ever has to see it, or you can hang it on your fridge if you prefer.

Fun

Expressive Arts Therapy is fun. If clients are willing to engage in it, most find that they not only learn so much about themselves through the integration of expressive arts therapy into their therapeutic work, but that they really enjoy the process. Plus, the process of creation can itself be therapeutic. Your expressive arts trained therapist can incorporate modalities that you as an individual enjoy best – drawing, clay, music, sand tray, drama, or dance. Just as there is no limit to creativity, there is no limit to what you can imagine incorporating into your counseling through expressive arts therapy.

Here at Atlanta Wellness Collective, we want to help. For support, contact us or request an appointment online.

This blog post was written by one of our Clinical Interns, Jennifer Oswald.

Disclaimer: This blog is not intended to substitute professional therapeutic advice. Talk with your healthcare provider about your health concerns and before starting or stopping therapies. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct professional advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

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