Today, alternative therapies are a leader in addiction and mental health treatment. Art therapy is one of the most popular treatment options for mental health, unprocessed trauma, addiction, and co-occurring disorders. Art therapy can provide various tools to help people unlock their creativity for healing and stress relief. Luckily, art therapy programs are on the rise across the United States and here in New Hampshire.
Are you ready to learn more about how art therapy works? The team at A Better Sate is here to answer your questions. Our holistic outpatient clinic provides art therapy alongside other trauma-informed treatments for mental health and substance abuse. Call us now at 781.412.1488 to learn more about our art therapy program and get started today.
What Is Art Therapy Used for?
What is art therapy? Art therapy is just what it sounds like: a type of therapy that engages with artistic practice to help people lower stress levels and heal. Unfortunately, many people need more opportunities or confidence to express themselves creatively or explore painting, drawing or sculpting for pleasure. Many people are discouraged from creative play and dabbling in the arts early on. Art therapy helps anyone uncover the joy of creating through various mediums. It doesn’t require previous art training and allows people from all walks of life to express, process, and understand their moods, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in nonjudgemental sessions.
How Art Therapy Works
Art therapy sessions can be used to treat a range of issues, from anxiety and depression to disordered eating and traumatic memories. Clients meet with a certified art therapist for 60 to 90 minutes during art therapy sessions. Sessions may be one-on-one, or group sessions focused on similar issues. Many art therapists are practicing artists who bring their techniques, experiences, and passion for art to sessions and their therapeutic training.
During sessions, the therapist provides a client with materials and prompts to guide self-expression without. Art therapy is focused on process over product, prompting clients to focus on thoughts, feelings, sensations, and images during their art-making. Clients use various mediums to express their emotions, moods, memories, and sensations through color, texture, and style. For many people, expressing feelings nonverbally through art can be freeing and healing.
Art therapy sessions often include:
- Drawing
- Photography
- Collages
- Digital Art
- Painting
- Coloring
- Scrapbooking
- Sculpting
For many clients, it’s easy to take home exercises from art therapy. Many clients develop their artistic practice at home to reduce stress, self-soothe and express their feelings healthily.
Begin Art Therapy in New Hampshire Today
Art therapy is a deeply rewarding approach to healing. Whether someone is struggling with addiction or mental health, working with an art therapist can help. If you or someone you love is interested in exploring healing through the arts, our team can help. At A Better State, we believe in a different kind of addiction and mental health treatment. Uncovering the root cause of addiction, mental health, and unprocessed trauma can best foster long-term healing. Our holistic programs include the following:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Dialectical behavior therapy
- Individual therapy
- Group therapy
- Family therapy
- Art therapy
- Yoga therapy
- Trauma therapy
- Mindfulness meditation therapy
- 12-step recovery
- Anxiety treatment
- Depression treatment
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment
With a range of daytime and evening intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) and partial hospitalization programs (PHPs), we have the art therapy program to help you thrive.
Call Today to Learn More About the Benefits of Art Therapy
If you are still asking yourself, “what is art therapy?”A Better State can help answer your questions about art therapy and how it can benefit you or a loved one. Don’t wait. Contact us now at 781.412.1488 to learn more about our holistic art therapy program and start creating today.
