Expressive Arts Therapy is the practice of using imagery, dance, storytelling, writing, music, drama, poetry, movement, craft, and visual arts together, in an integrated way, to heal and explore the self and also foster human growth and development.
What Makes Expressive Art Therapy Unique?
Expressive Arts Therapy is about reclaiming our innate capacity as human beings for the creative expression of our individual and collective human experiences in an artistic form. Expressive Arts Therapy also supports the natural capacity of creative expression and the creative community for healing.
The use of the expressive arts multiplies the avenues by which a person in therapy may seek meaning, clarity, and healing. It often deepens and transcends traditional talk therapy by acknowledging that each person’s process is unique.
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Do I have to be good at art?
The accessibility of expressive arts therapy is due to the focus being not on artistic outcomes but rather on the process of creating. Arts therapy does not require individuals to have any artistic ability. Rather, it is through the use of their senses that the imagination can process, flourish, and support healing.
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Each creative arts modality is unique, and its use is carefully considered by each expressive arts therapist. The careful use of each modality is determined by the strength, timing, pacing, and readiness of the person in therapy. Different modalities may be used at any point throughout the therapeutic process as needed.
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