About Art Heals Minds
An inclusive gateway to art therapy.
Whether you're working with an accredited art therapist or are just looking for ways to destress from life's challenges in a creative way, Art Heals Minds strives to offer resources and ideas to support your journey and offer a judgement-free community.
We're in this together.
Our goal is to provide an uplifting community where you feel seen, heard, and supported. We believe everyone has a creative side that can be a beacon for self-discovery, empowerment, and a start to improving mental wellbeing.
At our compassionate corner of the internet, we believe creativity lives within us all and can be a powerful force for self-discovery, empowerment, and mental wellbeing.
How To
Browse our helpful guides to awaken your artistic spirit.
Materials
See our art supply recommendations and more.
Community
Share your artwork, encourage others, and get inspired.
“Life is full of challenges. We all have them. Art has helped me through my own deep valleys.”
― Sarah Jio
What is art therapy?
Art therapy that has the ability to better lives on a small and big scale. It occurs when an individual chooses to create art and engage in the creative process along with a certified psychological practitioner who is trained in art therapy techniques. Art therapy sessions can be individual, as a couple, or with a group of people. Typically an art therapist session will have the patient engage in a guided art activity, during which the therapist will give advice on processing the insights and emotions that arise.
This specific form of therapy was named in 1942 by Adrian Hill, a British artist who realized art therapy's benefits while recovering from tuberculosis. By the 1970's its integrative methods became more available for patients with difficulties articulating their thoughts and feelings verbally, giving them an outlet to communicate though visual symbolism.
Benefits of Art Therapy
In addition to making it easier to communicate, art therapy has an inherent benefit of reducing stress by allowing you to be in the moment to be in touch with your mental, emotional, and physical state. Art therapy is beneficial to anyone, regardless of age or art skill level. Something as simple as coloring is known to quickly drop stress levels. By removing the distraction of personal stressors you can then focus on processing events and emotions. Below are some of the benefits of art therapy:
Improve mental & motor functions
Grow self-esteem & social skills
Develop insight & awareness
“Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos.”
Therapeutic art
Creating art has been a human past time since before the foundations of civilizations and communities, all the way back to our ancestors time of being hunters and gathers. It has inherently allowed individuals to to express ideas in a relaxed setting for thousands of years.
Therapeutic art is different than art therapy. The practice of art in any of its forms is therapeutic in and of itself since it is common for participants to get into the "flow" of creation and distance themself from the stresses of daily life. While both utilize creativity as the vehicle, art therapy is focused on communicating a thought or feeling and art as a therapeutic activity is focused on the technical aspects of creating a final piece of art. It is a happy accident if the artist happens to have insights about themselves or the difficulties that they're encountering.
