Healing with art

Art therapy is a therapy that works mainly with artistic means. The patient is stimulated by the artistic design to represent his feelings and inner processes.

The therapist then tries, with the help of art, to find solutions to his problems together with the patient. Check شركة تعقيم منازل بجدة and see how they used art on their website.

What is art therapy?

Art therapy is a form of therapy that uses various forms of fine arts to promote healing processes. It can be used for people with mental or physical complaints. The patients can paint or draw, work with sculptural design, dance, make music or take photos.

The patients can thus express their inner images and ideas and promote the healing process with creativity. This is a way of dealing with bad habits or a one-sided view of the patient. The therapist gains insights into the inner life, the feelings, and the psychological processes of the patient.

Art therapy takes its approaches from psychology, pedagogy, and art science. It is practiced in various areas: in hospitals, kindergartens, schools, homes for the disabled, museums, penal institutions, counseling centers, retirement homes, hospices, in adult education, in supervision, and in therapeutic practice.

Approaches in art therapy

There are different approaches in art therapy: art therapy, depth psychology, psychotherapy, curative education, art education, anthroposophical, art-oriented and gestalt therapy approaches. Different methods are also used, such as drawing, measuring painting i.e. spontaneous painting, expressive painting, accompanied painting, shape drawing, working with clay, or painting in a dialogue between patient and therapist. There is training in art therapy at universities, technical colleges, or private training institutes.

Origin and development

Art therapy developed from ideas from the USA and Europe between the beginning and the middle of the 20th century. In England and the USA, it developed from art education, developmental psychology, and artistic practice.

The term originated in Great Britain in the 1970s and was coined by the painter Adrian Hill. In the USA, Edith Kramer and Margarethe Naumburg developed the first art therapeutic approaches at the same time. In this country, the therapy originated in connection with anthroposophical medicine. In the 1930s, people began to paint with patients in psychiatric hospitals. Here the painting of the patient was used for diagnosis and therapy.