Welcome to Art Therapy! We explore creativity and the arts as a catalyst of healing and therapy. Art can be used for many wonderful things and this website was created with the intent of sharing concepts, ideas, activities, and much more. It explores art and creativity and how they affect our daily lives.
“Inspiring Others To Create”
This is our motto, mission, credo, whatever you would like to call it. This motto is at the core of Art Therapy. We firmly believe that exercising creativity is a healthy and therapeutic endeavor. We will be honored and humbled if we manage to inspire a little creativity in a small slice of this world. This is the goal of Art Therapy.
Update: Check out our new Art Therapy {Lite} website where we showcase things we find online that are creative or inspirational. It’s kinda like an easily digestible art snack for your to enjoy at your leisure 🙂
Where did you come up with the name Art Therapy?
We chose the name “Art Therapy” because we liked the juxtaposition of the words and feel that it fits nicely with our mission. We believe that exercising creativity is inherently healthy and therapeutic. Art is the ultimate exercise in creativity. But art and creativity can come in an endless amount of forms and media. This is what makes art wonderful. You can’t put art in a box. A lot of people try. Don’t believe them. Art is therapy. Creativity is therapy.
On the other hand, professional Art Therapy is a beautiful thing and should be embraced more in this world, which is why we write about it and feature art therapists and artists alike. We believe there is a place in this world for professional art therapy aided by a trained art therapist. However, we also believe that there is room for self-directed art therapy by exercising creativity. This is at the core of what this site is about.
Art and creativity go hand in hand. They are one. And art is broadly defined as the product of human creativity. We hope to tap into and share some of this art with you so you are inspired to create.
Additional Thoughts
Art is often seen as one of the most inaccessible forms of communication, but why should it be? We are all capable of creating something in life. That something doesn’t have to be the Mona Lisa, it just has to be personal. It could be the most hideous piece of artwork in the world, but if you or anyone else receives value from your creativity, then that is what makes it beautiful.
The Art Therapy site is meant to explore the arts as a catalyst for healing and therapy. But, it’s also designed to showcase art, artists, and anything creative – hopefully inspiring others to explore and create for themselves. This site is by no means meant to be a substitute for professional art therapy. If you feel you need professional help, please seek out the appropriate therapy or help you need.
Otherwise, feel free to use any of the ideas and activities shared here. If you enjoyed, or were inspired by anything on this site, we’d love it if you shared it with others with the hopes of inspiring other people and spreading the word about art.
Who Runs Art Therapy?
The Art Therapy web site is maintained by a changing group that believes in the power of art, creativity, and people. This site is a celebration and a tribute to the wonders of art and creativity and their profound effect on our lives. We are interested in spreading and promoting creativity as a tool for healing. We hope you’ll join us.
Hello there, my name is Lee George and I writing to thank you for sharing my story with the rest of the global art community.
My many heartfelt thanks (and huggies) to my wonderful tidda Megan Bayliss from Imaginif, for allowing my dream to continue. In assisting in the healing journey of the six to eight wonderful, vibrant and dynamic women that I have been able met since the group developed, I have started my own “healing journey”.
I picked up a paintbrush three years ago because I couldn’t talk about my grief, however now I paint with women who have shared similar experiences as mine except our stories are unique.
For me, I have only ever painted using red, black and white because I haven’t had a lot of colour in my life, now I am using yellow….some brightness is shining through…..
Thank you thank you thank you!
Hey there, fellow blogger!
I mentioned you blog in my most recent post! Happy Creative Arts Therapies Week!
Lee
I can’t believe I JUST found this blog… unless you are relatively new! I have been looking for good art therapy blogs ever since I decided to apply to grad school for art therapy (months and months and months ago). I’m glad I found you! I’ve added you to my feeds 🙂
@JewishGal This blog is still young (few months old), so it hasn’t been around long…Glad you like it. Thanks for the comment and congratulations on getting into grad school (saw you got into a school in Chicago)…Congrats!
Hi!
I too have a blog on art therapy…mostly focusing on my thoughts, interventions and stuff I’ve been coming across in the news or on the internet. I’ve been checking out your blog, and I’ve been enjoying it a lot! Just wanted to say keep up the good work
@Liz I’m going to check out your blog in more detail when it’s not so late (It’s about 1am as I right this) 🙂 Thanks for the comments!
Therapy is a unique medicine system that can change very subtle emotional and psychological states of being. Terror,depression,anxiety, irritability,intolerance, lack of confidence,hatred or selfishness,two drops thrice a day of the right remedy can uproot such deep-seated personality traits. And,in the process,heal the body.
Wow! I came across this blog by accident, and Im so glad I’ve found it. I’ve been working as an art therapist fpr a year now, and it’s hard to continue to network and gain new ideas once you finish study. Art has always been cathartic for me, and I see its usefulness every day within mental health rehabilitation. Thanks for the site!
@Nita, Glad you like it…thanks for visiting!
I am a nursing student and while doing research for my art therapy project I stumbled across this page. I have always done my own healing with art from things like singing, dancing, writing and painting. It can be very helpful for anything in life that has got you down, stressed out or just plain out of wack. I am so excited to see how much is done with art therapy out in the clinical world. My goal is to work in mental health and since learning more about the use of art, I am looking forward to pursuing this after my RN. Thank you for the site and I plan to continue visiting and learning as much as I can.
Hi!
I came across your website in my search for research on the use of art therapy for children who have experienced a death loss. Do you know of any research on this topic that would be useful in my research paper? At this point, I am looking for anything as I am having a difficult time finding actual research. Thank you for your help!
–Jenna Hayes
@Jenna, The research on that topic might be sparse. If I find anything I’ll be sure to send it your way.
to Jenna Hayes
on http://www.pubmed.gov
Items 1 – 5 of 5One page.
1: A pilot study of the impact of a grief camp for children.
Nabors L, Ohms M, Buchanan N, Kirsh KL, Nash T, Passik SD, Johnson JL, Snapp J, Brown G.
Palliat Support Care. 2004 Dec;2(4):403-8.
PMID: 16594403 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
Related Articles
2: Grief masks.
Harting LB, Tompkins JM, Nancy AR.
J Pediatr Health Care. 2004 Nov-Dec;18(6):308-9. No abstract available.
PMID: 15523422 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
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3: A bereavement support group for children: fostering communication about grief and healing.
Mulcahey AL, Young MA.
Cancer Pract. 1995 May-Jun;3(3):150-6.
PMID: 7599671 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
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4: Sibling grief: a case report.
Heiney SP.
Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 1991 Jun;5(3):121-7.
PMID: 1929560 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
Related Articles
5: The experience of repeated and traumatic loss among Crow Indian children: response patterns and intervention strategies.
Long KA.
Am J Orthopsychiatry. 1983 Jan;53(1):116-26.
PMID: 6829717 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
Related Articles
Hi! I recently graduated from Emporia State University with my masters in art therapy. My husband and I now live in Webb City, MO. I am wanting to work towards my ATR but I cannot find an ATR supervisor close to me! Any suggestions?
@Whitney: Try emailing Julie Grant at the Missouri Art Therapy Association – gantja@yahoo.com
Hey! I am loving this blog site. I am studying to be an art therapist and help people all around the world discover how a little help from there creative side of their brain can save them from their issues. Thank you for this site!!!
@Madeleine: Thank you for the wonderful comments and encouragemet 🙂
Hi,
I am contemplating going to Grad School to become an Art Therapist, but I am confused and maybe you can help. I live in Texas with my husband and three kids, and in order to get a good Art Therapy education we would have to move out of state. I am also concerned with finding and keeping a job once I graduate. Is there desent job stability in this field? I read that with this economy that this is one of the many programs that could be cut. I would love your advice. I am wanting to work in a hospital with children, do you have any suggestions on which schools are best?
Thanks a bunch!
Lindsey
first, i just found this site and am very excited about it – i am looking forward to being an art therapist one day!!
second: to lindsey – i am just figuring all of this out too, but it looks like you can get certified by AATA standards at st. mary of the woods college without being required to move or anything – so if i were you i think i would look into that
sophie
@Sophie: Thanks for the generous comment about the site and for suggesting St. Mary of the Woods for Lindsey. I’m working on creating a schools and education section for the site as I seem to get more and more people interested in becoming art therapists. Sounds like you’re well on your way though!
@Lindsey: Sophie’s suggestion certainly sounds plausible given your situation. They offer a distance learning program you can read about here.
You can also contact Kathy Gotshall for more information about the program: kgotshall@smwc.edu
Angelina Rodgriquez is a certified art therapist in Houston. I’m not sure where in Texas you’re located, but she may be able to help answer some of your questions regarding the stability in that area. Her email address is life@therapybyangelina.com. Her phone number is (713) 206-8429.
She got her counseling degree at Texas A&M an then specialized in art therapy at the University of Houston Clear Lake. So, that’s another potential option…taking most of your classes at a college near you and then taking the “art therapy” part at another college that offers it.
I would say that the job stability will certainly depend on where you’re working. If you’re working in a hospital where the art therapy program is more of an “extra-curricular” program and has a short history, then it’s probably more likely to get cut if economic times are bad. It’s tough to say what the economy will be like when you’re ready to enter the market.
Hope this helps and good luck Lindsey!
Thank you so much Sophie! It’s funny you mentioned St. Mary of the Woods because I have been thinking about that school! Thank you for the contact in Houston, it’s not close but it helps that she is in Texas. I will definitely keep my eye on this AMAZING website!! Good Luck, Sophie!
Hello,
I am currently an elementary school art teacher in northern virginia. I have just started to do some research on art therapy and I am interested in learning more about this field. Does anyone know of any classes or schools in the northern va area where I could become more educated? Or are there any online schools? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
-Lauren
Hello-
I am planning on attending graduate school for my masters in Art Therapy this fall. I am trying to decide between Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago and Naropa University in Boulder, CO. Does anyone have any recommendations or feedback on which program is better? I’d really like to go to Chicago as I enjoy the big city but Naropa’s program seems very appealing because they have better equipped art facilities and an actual campus. I’m not sure which one has better credentials or reputation. Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much!
Denise
Thanks for this blog and the plug too. I am thrilled to bump onto this blog site. I think it is a great way to promote the creative arts and psychology. I am an Art Therapist in private practice and I love my work. I recently began a Art therapy Group that is meeting once a month. I am hoping to begin a second art therapy group that only focuses on romantic, sex and love issues. I will celebrate my fourth year in July. I am in Houston, Tx. and I really support all the experiential arts. I get many emails and calls about an art program in Texas, unfortunately there is none. But, I do offer workshops, with CEU’s for those considering a career in art therapy as a way to first experience art therapy before committing to the work. Thanks again.
Angelina
Hey I love your site!
I’m doing a project to inform others about art therapy.
I would like to cite your cite for use in a speech. Do you have any links to sites that could reinforce the effectivesness of art therapy? Maybe with some statistics or citing of credible sources ie. doctors, psychologist etc.
Thank you so much!
@Phena, I emailed you some info.
@Bethani, The last article written was about a study that showed how art therapy helps women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. There’s a link at the end of the article that references the study for more detail. It’s a great study!
Hi,
I just noticed Natasha was seeking the same information I am. I am conducting research on the effectiveness of art therapy on a client with PTSD. I will be using the Transformational Self-Portrait activity (which I very much appreciate!) as part of my intervention and I need to include the proper citation. Can you please provide me with this necessary information, including your name and copyright date? Great website and fantastic opportunity to network with other art therapists! Thanks!
I just found this blog and I think it absolutely amazing, I am currently a graduate student for Art Therapy and I find this is site to be so informative and helpful. I will share this site with all my classmates!!!!! If you are in NY you should come in as a guest speaker at our school =)
so i was reading everyone,s comments i realized many of you either work with art theraphy or are going that way. anyway i looked up for some activities and i have to ask how do any of these exercices work if you dont have an art theraphy coach. is it useless ?
This blog is really interisting, i am an italian art therapyist working in milan, i invite everybody to visit ohttp://arttherapyit.wordpress.com/ur blog,
thank you melania
hi…I was wondering what you think about this problem I have…I am doing an art therapy course at the moment and am concerned about a lot of new age ideas entering the course…for example: that medicine bags (in this case a bag with stuff you have collected from home) are healing…that there really are animal guides (not a part of the sub-conscious-but that they really exist???!!!) that if you image a white light around something or somebody it will protect them… i believe that art therapy works but I do not believe that these other phenomena exist…it is part of the course i am doing…
Hi, I have just come across your site. I live in Australia and am completing a PhD looking at the lived experience of watercolour painting.
Much of the comment from your contributors is resonating with stories from my study participants. Look forward to following the site.
Congratulations on putting it all together, it’s great.
Ann
i’m looking for grad schools for art therapy. does anyone have any suggestions? thank you for this website. it’s wonderful.
Hello-
I hope you do not mind, but I have referenced your site quite a bit on my new “Art Therapy Page” on my blog (http://mymonsterhasaname.com/gallery/art-therapy/). If you do mind, just let me know.
Thank you for this site, it has so many great posts!
My Monster (MM)
@My Monster: Don’t mind at all…thanks for spreading the word about art therapy and your generous comment. I enjoy your blog as well!
I never ever post but this time I will,Thanks alot for the great blog.
I would like to cite you for a research project. I just need your full name and an update date or copyright date. Please email me at rachrach1212@yahoo.com
Thank you!
I think you site is wonderful. I just discovered it through the story about the Jihad being taught art.
Art has kept me sane for over 50 years since I had the worst drug experience imaginable in 1960. I was obsessed with suicide and developed anxiety disorders. Slowly and through imitating Jakson Pollock’s work I discovered self through art. I love your statement about it’s not the final art work but what happens to one’s awareness while doing the work. I believe this is also a Zen Buddhist realization.
Thanks so much. Art has led me into activism which is a way to express my anger while fighting for social justice issues. The artist Joseph Bueys formed the Green Party as an art expercience, and called it social sculpture. He has been an inspiration to my work. Not for the faint at heart, but if you want to know more about my work it is at
http://www.merrillcharles.com
Thanks again for being here.
Hi! I love your blog! You have an amazing amount of helpful information on it! I’m a graduate student in the art therapy program at Emporia State University. I graduate in May and am currently working on my masters project. I noticed that you have some information on sexual abuse and art therapy and I was wondering if you could give me your information so that I can use the info in my project and could cite you properly. Also any other resources you might be able to suggest would be greatly appreciated! For my project, I am making a book of a collection of directives specifically designed to address the symptoms/issues of women survivors of sexual trauma. I thank you for creating such a wonderful art therapy blog and bringing so many of us together through our common interest! Would you mind if I continue to stay in contact and ask you questions about careers in art therapy, etc as I get closer to graduating? I feel very unstable about graduating and finding a job in art therapy and it would be nice to get advice and knowledge from one who has experienced the process! Thanks again! I look forward to following your blogging! 🙂
Jen
I just produced and wrote a half-hour documentary about an art therapy program for maximum-security patients at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, DC, who have been adjudged “not guilty by reason of insanity.” The film was broadcast on PBS twice in December 2009 and will be shown at the Our City Film Festival (in Washington, DC) on Valentine’s Day 2010 (in one week), where I will also appear on a Q & A panel after the film. I am looking for groups and institutions around the country that might be interested in screening the film,distributors,film festivals, etc. I also just wanted to let this readership know about it and see what happens. Email me if you have questions or would like more information. Thanks!
Deborah
In case it didn’t go through, my email address is deborahschull@gmail.com.
Thanks,
Deborah
I’m in second year university in Canada majoring in art history and psychology. I am hoping to pursue a career in art therapy but I am having trouble getting started, does anyone know of any suggestions on how I could get started? Preferably something that I can do during the summer.
I think that art therapy is such a great tool! I am going to college next year and would love to minor in it.
I was fascinated by your site and the different applications for art therapy. In my work in Houston, I use projective drawings. These help me diagnose current stressors and help the patient with symptom intensity reduction. Thanks for a great site. By the way, I explore trances we live in my paper on eating disorder prevention – google “therapit jim” for more information.
Jim A.
Wooops.. please google “therapist jim” for more info.
Thanks.
wow what can I say I am very impressed by this web site I am doing a briging course to get in to an art course at uni and I have to write an essay on health so I picked art therapy . this web site has been a great help in gathering infomation for my essay thanks and also it is great to see so many people supporting each other in this research. power to the people that help each other grow
I love this site and I am following you on twitter! What a great way to spread the word about the importance of art therapy!
I am in the process of implementing an art therapy program at an elementary school, for students with disabilities. My program, Art for Young Hearts, is in the running for a $50,000 grant from Pepsi Refresh. We are currently ranked #81. If we are in the top 10 at the end of the month, we win the grant and we can begin implementation.
Please let me know what you think about Art for Young Hearts. Go to http://www.artforyounghearts.com to find out more! Please spread the word and vote to implement art therapy in elementary schools. I believe that this is more than just one project. All elementary schools could benefit from art therapy programs!
Thought you might like to check this out:
It’s a short look at the art therapy program at Whittier Street Health Center in Boston.
Wonderful site!! Thank you for all that you are doing to share information on art therapy.
I wanted to pass on information about the International Creative Arts Therapies Teleconference http://www.icatconference.com and hope you’ll be a part of this groundbreaking event!
Laura
Hi.
I am 51. I’ve been working for more than ten years now, with teenagers in PRUs, support teaching teams and an ESBD school, who are struggling within the school system one way or another. I teach art (encourage creativity, expression and problem solving) and provide emotional literacy sessions. I really want to train and work in art therapy but I do not have a degree. I only have my O levels and an A level in art and many years of experience working with costume design, textiles, and art in general as well as understanding the needs of more troubled teens.
A friend told me I could do an access course as a short route to studying art therapy but I cannot find one. Does anyone have any advice about this or suggestions how I can further a career in this area as I am passionately committed to it and the help it provides.
Thanks.
Jeni Taylor
Im almost done with my bachelors in fine arts and Im so interested in doing my masters in art therapy, except i dont know what schools they are offering them at. Can you guys inform me of schools where i can go to for art therapy? Thnk you 🙂