Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses art making as part of the therapeutic process. It is useful in recovering from addictions because it is a psychodynamic therapy that addresses the root of drug-related issues rather than trying to solve the drug use alone. Using art in therapy can help to get around defences, which are very often verbal in nature. Clients can, with the help of their therapist, begin to identify patterns and experiences from their lives that have made them who, and how, they are today. Sometimes people with similar experiences can have very different outcomes – some people turn to drugs, while others might become depressed or develop eating disorders and so on. Using art in a therapy session can feel less confrontative that talk therapy, because if you don’t feel like talking, or don’t know what to say, you can work on an art work instead – you will still be expressing something, but it can feel easier. Sometimes people begin to talk about, or express through art, things they weren’t aware they were feeling or thinking, because making art somehow gets to the heart of things. Our experiences are not stories, so they cannot always be expressed in words. Sometimes we need to be creative in finding ways of expressing ourselves, and in finding resolution.
Tags: Addiction, Art therapy, Finglas, Sankalpa
I admire what you have done here. I like the part where you say you are doing this to give back but I would assume by all the comments that this is working for you as well.