Our nation seems like it's always in the grips of a stress epidemic. Stress and anxiety are disorders that affect more people than ever before, with research suggesting that work related stress costs the American economy $300 billion each year as a result of related health care costs and missed days at work. According to 76% of those individuals suffering from stress, money and work are the leading causes of the condition. Workplace stress can have a myriad of adverse effects. It can lead to … Continue reading...
Featured Articles
Color Therapy & Healing – An Introduction
It is everywhere you look, and everywhere you don't look. You delight in its marvels consciously and sub-consciously. You see color all the time, but how often do you think about its origins and effects? In a series of articles, we explore this topic further. In this first article, we'll review some basics of color therapy and healing. You can read the next 2 articles here: 1) Color Meanings and 2) Color Psychology. You can also download our color meaning and symbolism charts. … Continue reading...
Popular Activities & Ideas
Mandala Art Activity For Self-Discovery And Healing
Now that you've read about the concept of Mandala art and its history, you're ready to learn how to create one and exercise the mandala's power. The core of mandala designs is the circle. You are … Continue reading...
Transformational Self Portrait Art Therapy Activity
This activity is based on the idea of transformational therapy and art therapy for life changes. People tend to go through many changes and transformations in life. These changes can really run the … Continue reading...
Bag Self Portrait – An Art Therapy Intervention
For this art therapy activity you'll at least need a brown paper bag. … Continue reading...
A “Creepy” Art Therapy Activity for Halloween
It's that time of year again, when the air and leaves are crisp. It's a colorful time for many and winter is fast-approaching. Halloween is almost here which means Thanksgiving and Christmas will be … Continue reading...
More Activities & Ideas
Healing With Mandala Art Therapy – A Multi-Cultural Idea Worth Exploring
History & Meaning of the Mandala The Mandala (Sanskrit for "circle" or "completion") has a long history and is recognized for its deep spiritual meaning and representation of wholeness. … Continue reading...
Self-Exploration – Exploring Yourself Through Art Therapy
Along the same lines as the self-portrait, the idea of self-exploration is a very important part of any art therapy. It can also be very rewarding. As you go through the artistic process and creative … Continue reading...
Transformational Therapy – Art Therapy for Life Changes
People can change in different ways over the course of their lifetime. While it varies by individual, some people may not change drastically over the course of their life, but some people do … Continue reading...
Valentine’s Day Art Activities, Ideas, Projects
Valentine’s Day is a great time of year to do something special for someone you love. Although Valentine's Day has become rather over-commercialized, there are still concepts from the holiday that we … Continue reading...
Recent Articles
What’s Your Sign? A Therapeutic Arts Activity for January
January can be a time for people to experience an enormous amount of pressure to drastically change themselves. Cloaked in the culturally accepted paradigm of New Year's Resolutions, this is a … [Read More...]
Art Therapy & Art Related Christmas Gift Ideas
Looking for a Christmas gift related to art or art therapy? Browse our online Art Therapy Store! The store is hand picked with books about art therapy as well as books related to arts, photography and … [Read More...]
Last Minute Holiday Art Therapy Ideas
The holidays can be a stressful time of year for a lot of people. Although many people are on vacation and have some time off during the holidays, it's not always the most relaxing time. Stress during … [Read More...]
Art Therapy Activity: Faux Tarot
Each year holiday advertisements for Christmas start earlier and earlier (this year I actually saw one before Halloween!) and with them comes the meta message for many folks that they need to shape up … [Read More...]
A Thanksgiving Art Therapy Exercise For Groups or Individuals: Thank You Cards
All too often we focus on the negative aspects of our relationship with food, and our bodies. We forget that we may have developed some of our attitudes and actions for reasons that, at the time, … [Read More...]
Art Therapy: A Useful Treatment for Veterans With PTSD
With the ongoing existence of war in many countries around the world, there are many returning veterans in need of a variety of therapy treatments. Too often, these combat veterans have endured … [Read More...]
November Art Therapy Activity: Child’s Play
by Dr. Deah Schwartz This month I want to address something that arises for folks living in parts of the country where the weather is beginning to become more inclement and lulls many of us into a … [Read More...]
You Hold the Keys to Loving Your Body During the Summer
Humor is important, but the pain that people experience during the summer about their bodies is NO laughing matter. And the last thing that is helpful is for people who are feeling badly about not … [Read More...]
Memorial Day Thoughts & Thank You
Many of us spend our lives in our proverbial bubbles, maybe even reading about how art therapy can help veterans with PTSD every now and then. However, we rarely take the time to remember those who … [Read More...]
Autism and Music Therapy
According to the CDC, 1 in 110 children have some form of autism. While symptoms vary from case to case, there are two essential characteristics of the disorder: the subject experiences 1) a … [Read More...]
Featured Artists & Art Therapists
Calmanac by Dr. Deah Schwartz – About the Book and an Interview with the Author
Many of you are already aware of the great work that Dr. Deah Schwartz does and of her contributions to the Art Therapy website, but you may not have been aware that she just recently completed a new … Continue reading...
Linzy Arnott – Featured Artist
This month's featured artist is a very talented painter who knew she wanted to be an artist from a very young age. In the interview with Linzy Arnott, she talks about some of her inspirations, her … Continue reading...
Lee George – Featured Artist from Australia
This month's Featured Artist is no stranger to Art Therapy. We've written about her wonderful work in the past about how she created a program to help indigenous women in Australia recover from … Continue reading...