Today, in times of great stress and uncertainty, keeping yourself sane is a great challenge. For this purpose, the field of psychology has developed different sorts of therapy to provide people with the treatment they need to regulate their emotions. This includes psychotherapy, dance therapy, psychosomatic exercises, and art therapy.
Art therapy is the creative expression of your emotions under the supervision of a licensed therapist. It is rooted in the concept that it fosters healing and mental well-being. People with mental illnesses have expressed themselves through “art” for thousands of years. The painting of Van Gogh when he was in a depression is very famous. So on the same note, doctors noticed that art could be used in psychotherapy to promote well-being. It lets you immerse yourself in the joy of creativity while allowing you to get in touch with your subconscious and conscious emotions. It gives you a creative outlet to express your deepest, nonverbal desires, thoughts, and emotions without any judgment and allows you to be at peace, to be yourself. Because of these reasons, art is used as a tool to understand oneself by mental health practitioners all over the world.
The final goal of art therapy is to help people find their “authentic self” by giving them a creative outlet for their emotions and with it, giving them a set of coping skills and boasting their self-esteem. It also helps to mitigate anxiety and depression and can help in behavioral and emotional regulation by improving focus, concentration, memory, and perception.
Art therapy can take various forms which include doodling, painting, sculpting, coloring, photography, etc. Art therapy can be used in conjunction with psychotherapy to treat a wide spectrum of mental disorders including anxiety, depression, Post traumatic disorder and addiction problems. Art therapy is a single-stop solution to mental health problems but it can work well for anyone when used in conjunction with traditional therapy under a licensed professional.