A Resilient Insight into Art Therapy with Mary Young
Art Therapy is one of the most effective evidence-based therapies to counselling that aims to support mental health, wellbeing and healing. In our latest Resilient Insight, we catch up with our Art Therapist Mary Young on Five Things You Didn’t Know About Art Therapy and how this amazing form of therapy can benefit anyone.
Here are Five Things You Didn’t Know About Art Therapy!
1. People often assume that Art Therapy is just doing art or art classes, however the opposite is true. Art Therapy requires no knowledge or skill in any art or creative form, and this is because Art Therapy is about the process of creating and not focusing on the final product. A person’s creation is not judged or interpreted by the therapist, instead they assist the person to tune into their experience, feelings or insights so they can discover their own meaning from their creation.
2. Art is something that has been loved across the globe since as long as we know. By just viewing it we are moved emotionally, intellectually and often transported to another world. It is loved so much so, Mona Lisa has her own mailbox in the Louvre so that devotees can write to her! But its power reaches way beyond the heart to the mind, because it has the power to influence how we see ourselves and the world around us, if this weren’t true what the artist was expressing would have no power. In Art Therapy the process of bringing our concern/challenge into 2D or even 3D form means we process it visually or physically and use a different part of the brain and this provides opportunity for new understanding, this is why art is far more than just something to be loved.
3. Art Therapy is not just painting or drawing, it uses many different mediums like clay, collage or printing to name a few. There are also different modalities like drama, dance, storytelling, poetry, music, sandplay, media and movement that are used to assist people to process their concern/challenge. Art Therapy uses different approaches so people can find their form of self-expression.
4. Creating art in a therapeutic setting is different to just doing art for art’s sake because a trained therapist supports you to use the art making process to reach your specified therapeutic goal.
5. Art Therapy is a safe and contained space where people can express who they are non-verbally by bypassing the limitations of verbal communication through the use of creative processes.
Q&A On Art Therapy with our Art Therapist Mary Young
1. How long have you been practicing as an Art Therapist?
MY: “I have been working part to full-time in Art Therapy for four years with both young people and adults.”
2. What is your background in art and in mental health?
MY: “I have been creating since I was very young, it is part of who I am and how I express my view of life. It is my passion, and I have participated in many workshops over the years expanding exploring and developing what I know. I have my Certificate in Sandplay and Symbols Work. I have been operating in the community mental health sector for 20 years in my work as a Diversional Therapist, Counsellor and Art Therapist.”
3. How do you typically structure an Art Therapy lesson?
MY: “Sessions are typically structured around the client, as with any therapy session there is a period of information sharing and collection, this may be talking or through an introductory activity. This helps the client settle in, feel safe, comfortable and provides direction for the therapist. I allow the client to guide how we move forward in developing a plan for what they need or want from their sessions.”
4. How do you incorporate art-making into your overall therapeutic approach?
MY: “All clients are made aware of the option to work expressively and creatively in their sessions and what that might mean for them. Within a session the client has the freedom to express themselves using a chosen medium i.e. painting, sandplay or clay or the therapist may suggest a medium which may be useful.”
5. What are some of your favourite art mediums or techniques to use?
MY: “I am passionate about sandplay therapy an adaptable and effective approach for any age group but particularly those who struggle to verbally express what they're struggling with. It is a powerful type of therapy that helps clients to explore their inner world, the subconscious and bring it into conscious knowing through the use of sand, miniature figures/objects and water. It creates a three-dimensional picture for the client to interact with and process. I am also passionate about the medium of clay. It comes in a two specific forms, natural earth based and man-made. Individuals have their own particular medium they chose to work with depending on their sensory menu. It is kind and has so many ways of assisting the user, be it regulating emotions, calming the system, developing motor skills, symbolism, exploring trauma, difficult internal feelings or thoughts and creativity. It's versatile and can be adapted in a wide range of therapeutic settings either individually or in group.”
6. Can you share some examples of how Art Therapy has helped your clients?
MY: “Through the modality of drawing using lines, shapes and colours with a range of mediums I have witnessed clients process and make sense of something they could not process through traditional counselling methods. They have created images (with no artistic talent) and the visual nature of the art has assisted them to find new perspective and ultimately what they needed to move through their presenting challenge. Through sandplay I have witnessed numerous clients play out their internal symbolic worlds until they discover some tangible understanding that helps them move into but not limited to either healing, finding balance or developing a sense of wholeness. These are two examples of how the very safe and contained modality of Art Therapy can assist without revealing client work.”
7. What are the Benefits of Art Therapy?
MY: “It provides a non-threatening, safe and relaxing approach to working through personal challenges for people that find traditional approaches difficult. It can help with anxiety, depression and trauma recovery to name a few. I believe it benefits because the art creates a map that a person needs to guide them either through or out of a place or situation they are struggling with. It helps young people by taking them on a playful adventure encouraging them to go down paths they would never consider and then discovering things about themselves they didn't know. These adventures/inquiries build confidence, resilience and courage that are discovered by the client from their art. It is the same for adults when we engage in a therapeutically guided activity it provides the mind with a new path to explore, and many new discoveries/insights are made on that journey.”
Are you interested in Art Therapy for your child or young adult? Enquire here.