Thinking about Art Therapy?

For as long as I can remember, art has always been calming and a beautiful activity to embrace. Even if a person is struggling to draw a circle, art can be whatever the person considers simply enjoyable or a form of healing.

Art can be a refuge from the intense emotions associated with illness. There are no limits to the imagination in finding creative ways of expressing grief i.e. For example, molding clay can be a powerful way to help people express these feelings through tactile involvement at a somatic level, as well as to facilitate verbal communication and cathartic release and reveal unconscious materials and symbols that cannot be expressed through words. –NIH

Art Therapy Helps with Mental Health

Art therapy has been increasingly recognized as beneficial and effective in the treatment of various types of both mental and physical conditions. For example, art therapy has shown to be effective as a treatment for traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia, sexual abuse, breast cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as numerous other conditions…

It has been generally recognized that art therapy enhances communication and bolsters self-esteem. Despite the apparent effectiveness of art therapy, and its ready acceptance by patients, the prevalence of the utilization of art therapy was this study’s inquiry…Overall, ongoing and recent studies show art therapy to be beneficial, its utilization appears to be underutilized for reasons unknown at this time–NIH

As a PMHNP, art therapy is incorporated in many psychiatric settings and, in fact, many patients have great art skills! or other creative skills. Health providers need to be aware of the interventions that are incorporated into a person’s plan of care. Also, art can be used as a self-help technique to create a healthy outlet for managing stress.

Resources for Art Therapy

• Art Therapy Resources (Australia): provides art therapy downloads and business resources for those in the mental health field. Additional international organizations from ANZACATA.
• The American Art Therapy Association (AATA): information about the advancement of art therapy as a regulated mental health and human services profession.
• The International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA): a worldwide community providing a professional, international network for creating visual arts, movement, drama, music, writing…etc.

Art on Social Media

To spread art awareness, they are some major showcases via Twitter accounts that show off classic beautiful art/painters… and I’m basically obsessed! However, I don’t recommend diving and looking for drawings such as on Instagram because some art/pictures can be dark and triggering. Try to look for certain genres and hope you can stay away from explicit stuff lol. Anyway, the point is indulging in something relaxing and sweet (definitely send me an email to list other artists out there):

• Frank W. Benson: an American artist known for his Realistic portraits, Impressionist paintings, watercolors, and etchings.
• Marie Bronislava Vorobyeva-Stebelska: a 20th-century Russian-born painter known for her work with Cubism and pointillism.
• Mstislav Dobuzhinsky: a Russian-Lithuanian artist noted for his cityscapes.
• Ferdinand Hodler: one of the best-known Swiss painters of the nineteenth century.
• Maxime Maufra: a French landscape and marine painter, etcher, and lithographer.
• Willard Metcalf: an American artist and a prominent landscape painter.
• Lilla Cabot Perry: an American artist who worked in the American Impressionist style.
• Jackson Pollock: an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement.
• Elaine de Kooning: an Abstract Expressionist and Figurative Expressionist painter in the post-World War II era.
• Konstantin Korovin: a leading Russian impressionist painter.
• Arthur Rackham: an English book illustrator.
• Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin: an important Russian and Soviet painter and writer.
• Alfred Sisley: an impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life in France.
• Marianne von Werefkin: a Russian-German-Swiss expressionist painter.

Others 

• Karyn Douthitt: this lady’s art is simple, affordable, and beautiful.
• Colin Drake: a popular ambidextrous artist on TikTok, who’s also a lawyer.
• Devon Rodriguez: draws people on subways and just brings a ton of smiles and love.
• Bob Ross: the most relaxing, famous, sweetest painter EVER.
• Cy Twombly: people are critical of his work because it looks like doodles but it’s usually worth millions. I love abstract and modern art but will never pay that much for just about anything. Nevertheless, don’t underestimate the abstract.

NIH References

• Stuckey, H. L., & Nobel, J. (2010). The connection between art, healing, and public health: a review of current literature. American journal of public health, 100(2), 254–263. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2008.156497
• Bitonte, R. A., & De Santo, M. (2014). Art Therapy: An Underutilized, yet Effective Tool. Mental illness, 6(1), 5354. doi:10.4081/mi.2014.5354