Building Resilience through Art Therapy. Antonia Farrugia MSAT, BSN, RN, ATR, CCRN. Disclosure Information: Have noting to disclose

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1 Building Resilience through Art Therapy Antonia Farrugia MSAT, BSN, RN, ATR, CCRN Disclosure Information: Have noting to disclose

2 Art Therapy: Definition Art Therapy: a mental health profession that uses the creative process of art making to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages. It is based on the belief that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and self-awareness, and achieve insight (AATA, 2011).

3 Difference Between Arts, Craft and Other Healing Arts Art Therapy The primary goal is to intentional use of the arts for psychological change as a form of therapy within a therapeutic context. The artwork produced is not intended as a product in itself. Drawing an ugly picture or destroying a picture is viewed as an important and valuable expression. The artwork does not have to be aesthetically pleasing or even finished to be valuable. Arts & Craft (Shoenwald, 2012) The primary goal is creating a finished artwork within a fun learning environment. The facilitator, who is a trained or experienced in art, may influenced the creation of the artwork or even provide advice. The person may be expected to make use of a particular set of skills that can be taught, practiced, evaluated or judged aesthetically. The artwork produced may be exhibited or assessed.

4 Art Materials: Continuum Various art materials are associated with different emotions and elicit different reactions based on their physical properties. Keep in mind that art materials do not always elicit the same response in all people. Art materials fall roughly in a continuum: CONTROLLED AFFECT STIMULATING (Need to defend) (Need to emote) Two dimensional materials and where they are in a continuum: pencils, colored pencils, markers, collage, crayons, oil pastels, chalk, paint (thicker-thinner), finger paint (e.g., Pencils are more controlled than paint. Looser materials bring out more emotions.) Three dimensional materials and where they are in a continuum: Wire, wood, plasticine, sculpey, model magic, plaster gauze, clay (thicker-thinner), plaster gauze(on body/face) (e.g., Wire and wood are more controlled than clay) Adapted From: Lisa Falls, MPS, LPCC, ATR-BC

5 Selection of Art Materials Art Therapists don t just randomly offer art materials for clients to use because they like the specific quality or texture, or because the material is cheap, non-messy, or looks good when you hold it in your hands. An art therapist s role is to act as a facilitator, a guide and witness, who helps a person navigate through their emotions and needs. Art, in this context, is a means to self-discovery and is the link between the person and the therapist. The art materials chosen and the way feelings are expressed are importantaspectsofthe creative process. What makes art therapy different to art making is the art therapist s application of sound theoretical and experiential learning of art materials. We use different art materials because each art materials has its own: Qualities Individual/ culturalsymbolic characteristics Relational aspect and its affects on client-therapist and therapeutic art experience

6 PROCESS: Creating Art Process vs. Product The creative process begins with the nebulous ingredients of emotions, thoughts, ideas, and unconscious urges. Through the application of art materials, these unseen entities solidify and manifest as concrete shape and form. Art therapists are trained in when to offer which types of materials, which art prompts to give, and how to support the creative process as it is unfolding. DO NOT ask a client to use materials you have not tried yourself. Most importantly, perhaps, we bear witness and hold space for our clients to create. PRODUCT: Making Meaning Art therapy does not end with the experience of the art product being created; rather, the art therapist works with the client in a second direct experience of the image-deciphering meaning from the art produced. Avoid interpretations- ask client s own meaning. Interpretations are the most challenging component of Art Therapy. Only THE CLIENT/PATIENT know what their imagery means. The product matters not in the level of artistic skill displayed or the beauty of the image. All of the art world or art industry rules are thrown out the window in art therapy. All marks made are art. (Participants do not need to be artistic to engage in art therapy.) (Berlingo, 2013)

7 Use Metaphor in Art Therapy Metaphors generate description and multi-layered meanings rather than a single interpretation; when it comes to really helping an individual make progress, it's the metaphoric experience of art expression that sets the stage for emotional repair and insight The accompanying narratives to metaphors may become the more important part of evaluation in art therapy. Well chosen metaphors stimulate therapist-client conversation an assist in understanding individual s world views, needs and goals for change. (Malchiodi, 2011) Metaphors in art therapy, as in life, are so powerful because they: Allow us to shift our perspective and unlock old ways of thinking that do not work. Help us think flexibly Evoke emotion, and feelings are the keys to change. Help us understand better than words alone, as metaphors use both words and visualizations. Offer us increased insight by associating a concept with an example that we understand well in everyday life.

8 Use of Symbols in Art Therapy Some might argue that visual metaphors are really symbols [images that represent something else by association, resemblance, or convention] and to some extent that is true. In art therapy, symbolic meanings found in self-created artwork can be important; Symbols tend to call for interpretation, however. Interpretation rarely brings about significant change, recovery or relief. Symbolism gives conscious expression to unconscious mental content, and serves both adaptation and communication.

9 Use of Rituals in Art Therapy Ritual, which literally means to fit together, It is related to such words as art, skill, order, weaving and arithmetic, all of which involves fitting things together to create order. All societies have rituals to acknowledge the major live transitions of birth, initiation, marriage and death. Ritual is the conscious act of recognizing a life change, and doing something to honor and support the change through the presence of such elements as witnesses, gift giving, ceremony, and sacred intention In this ay humans beings support the changes they are experiencing and create a way to fit things together again. Ritual speaks a symbolic, metaphoric language, and therefore engages the rich layers of the psyche that connect us to the wholeness of life. Because ritual utilizes multi-sensory processing sight, sound, touch, movement, and smell change can occur at a deeply embodied level.

10 Global Art therapy goals Cliental Individuals and group settings of any age Goal Relaxation Educational Expression Introspection Remodulation: Change in perspectives of past, present and future experiences

11 Art therapy and the Right Hemisphere Chapman (2014) Healing is facilitated through right brain, non-verbal interventions Art therapy is a right brain intervention Combination of verbal therapy and non-verbal art making integrates left and right brain communication

12 Creativity is a Wellness Practice Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi said during his seminal TED talk in 2004, "When we are involved in creativity, we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life. It's our capacity to actually "create" is where we begin to live more fully, experience transformation, and recover the core of what it means to heal.. creativity is a wellness practice. (Cathy Malchiodi, PhD 2015)

13 If you really want to benefit from the arts for wellness, studies continue to show that your active participation is the best bet (Bolwerk et al, 2014).

14 References Chapman, L. (2016). Art therapy treatment of relational trauma: Rebuilding and restructuring the right hemisphere. Presentation at Northern California Art Therapy Association, September 17, Berkeley, CA. Chapman, L. (2014). Neurobiologically Informed Trauma Therapy with Children and Adolescents. W.W. Norton: New York Chapman, L. (2012). The effectiveness of art therapy interventions in reducing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms in pediatric trauma patients Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association. 18:2, pp Conner, T. S., & Silvia, P. J. (2015). Creative days: A daily diary study of emotion, personality, and everyday creativity. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, & the Arts, 9(4), Flett, J. A. M., Lie, C., Riordan, B. C., Thompson, L. M., Conner, T. S., & Hayne, H. (2017). Sharpen your pencils: Preliminary evidence that adult coloring reduces depressive symptoms and anxiety. Creativity Research Journal, 29(4), Gaskill, R. & Perry, B. (2014). The nuerobiological power of play: Using the nuerosequential model of Therapeutics to guide play in the healing process. In Malchiodi, C. A., & Crenshaw, D. A. (Eds). Creative Arts and Play Therapy for Attachment Problems. (pp ). Malchiodi, C. (2015. )Creativity As a Wellness Practice: Steele, W. & Malchiodi, (2012). Trauma-Informed Practices with Children and Adolescents. Routledge: New York.