This is probably the question I hear the most since I began providing therapy through the creative arts.

What benefit can be derived from creating, from working with materials, beyond simple enjoyment? How is art connected to therapy? How can creating art be a form of medicine, a solution to a problem, and not just a simple comfort? How is it possible that art can genuinely improve, ease, even heal? Isn’t that a bit pretentious, spiritual, or unrealistic?

Why mix these fields at all?

There is the field of therapy, where people talk and dig into the past, sometimes blame their parents a little, occasionally gain interpretation or a new perspective on their story, receive acknowledgment of past struggles in hopes of moving forward, and that’s it.

Classic.

Then there is the field of art, which belongs to talented people or those with artistic tendencies. It is their language, how they express themselves, and some can achieve amazing results.

Art therapy’s power lies exactly in the synergy between these two sources, allowing a new path to be charted for both.

This special connection makes it beneficial and suitable for everyone—not just the “exceptional few” I mentioned earlier in regard to art and creativity.

Creative expression with materials can (and should!) be accessible to all ages and life stages, just as mental health therapy is something everyone can benefit from at any point in life, especially during life transitions or crises.

So…how does it help?

In art therapy, We put it into form, not just into words

Art offers much more than words in therapy. Creating allows for precise expression of intentions and feelings in ways words often cannot.

The therapy room is essentially an art studio, offering an immense variety of possibilities for expression through materials, tools, and artistic means.

How do you start, which materials do you choose?

Sometimes choices are completely intuitive and only later, when an image is created or the work is finished, is the choice easier to understand. When it’s hard to decide, I’m here to guide and help identify which material best conveys a certain feeling or content.

Some people work with the same material all the time; others vary. Some choose to work on one piece over several sessions, while others complete three pieces in half an hour.

All options are excellent, and the pace is personal.

One can talk while creating, connecting thoughts, memories, or emotions that arise during the process, or create in silence and let the materials speak, with connections emerging afterward.

The conversational parts of art therapy can relate to what was created or to seemingly unrelated things that, over time, reveal why they came up during the work.

My role as a therapist is to help understand the choices of materials and artistic methods in relation to life reality, and later connect the artistic work to the difficulties faced by those who chose therapy.

It’s a very delicate and personal process of weaving connections between life and what happens in the room, in a respectful, attentive way that doesn’t feel analytical, judgmental, or absolute.

There are endless ways to benefit from art therapy:

• You can connect pieces, repair a broken tool, tie knots in various threads, embroider (something I love to do in my free time to heal myself), draw a desired place, create on an ironing bead board and see how they come together into a colorful block, and more.

• You can also reach the goal indirectly, such as by choosing descent to ascend—breaking before mending, tearing then connecting, exploring the fracture, creating it, observing it, controlling it, befriending it, creating and focusing on it for a while, living inside it.

• You can connect to art created by others and find yourself within it. Create something that dialogues with existing art, change something and adapt the art to your personal emotional state, as a kind of response to something already happening in the world.

There are so many more ways; everyone is invited to use the studio as an enabling, welcoming space and the therapist as a companion on the journey.

As the relationship deepens, the therapist can offer more precise suggestions.

Therapy and art are two fields that can alleviate and ease a vast array of difficulties.

Their connection is powerful and has enormous potential to create significant life changes.

Art therapy is a wonderful and unique profession, capable of greatly impacting others.

It requires deep knowledge of both the language of art and mental health therapy, with all the implications this entails.

Unfortunately, this field is still largely unregulated, and I sincerely hope legislation will soon define who is qualified to practice mental health therapy in various professions.

Until then, to get the most out of a healing and therapeutic process in a responsible and ethical way—don’t hesitate to ensure you are in good hands, with a professional who has appropriate academic training, knowledge, and experience relevant to the difficulty you sought therapy for.

This is the most important factor when seeking significant improvement in quality of life and well-being for our children—and for ourselves.