The picture on the right was drawn by my son when he first rode a bike without training wheels. He did not need much of my help once he began riding it. He drew this picture just after he realized that he can ride the bike easily and felt proud of himself. It contains details including sweat.

When I am anxious, I scribble with chalk (hard pastels). I may try to figure out what is causing the anxiety or simply continue scribbling using different lines and colors because drawing itself is often calming and relieving.

What do you do in art therapy sessions?

In the studio based art therapy, instead of talking about yourself and your issues, you are asked to visualize your feelings around the issue. You chose or I suggest you to choose a media which suits you and the moment most. We may talk while creating or simply you create quietly and I am besides you to support your creating process. You may look at a magazine and create an image out of a photo.

Visualizing and externalizing something inside of you are very powerful. You can also see your difficulty/struggle/problem more objectively.

Once we identify your problem/issues/concerns, we make a brief plan to solve problems over the course of your therapy.

While words disappear after talking, art remain in front of us.

History

Throughout history. people have recognized the power of art and its healing potential. Many artist have used the power of the creative process to express their own thought and feelings. Both art instructors and psychotherapists began to see the value of creative art activity for healthy psychological growth early in the 20th century.

Art Therapy considers two women, Margaret Naumberg and Edith Kramer, as pioneers. Starting in the middle of the 20th Century, Naumberg utilized art to help her patients to communicate pictorially and combined it with talk therapy to begin to understand unconscious expression in their art. Kramer places the value of art therapy on the very act of creating art as a healing act.

Links to know more about art therapy

Issues and Challenges to know who and how could benefit from art therapy.

Sessions to know how I practice art therapy.

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