Art Therapy and Children Affected with Cancer
Method Helps Children Express Their Emotions Visually
Jan 10, 2009
Art therapy is a form of expressive therapy that uses art materials, such as paints, chalk and markers. Art therapy combines traditional psychotherapeutic theories and techniques with an understanding of the psychological aspects of the creative process, especially the affective properties of the different art materials.
According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is based on the belief that the creative process of art is both healing and life-enhancing. Art therapists use the creative process and the issues that come up during art therapy to help their clients increase insight and judgment, cope better with stress, work through traumatic experiences, increase cognitive abilities, have better relationships with family and friends, and to just be able to enjoy the life-affirming pleasures of the creative experience.
Art Therapy is the Tool for Self-Examination and Healing
Art is the tool for communication, self-examination and healing. Many Art Therapists combine art activities with verbal exploration of the art product to facilitate understanding of the client's issues and concerns. The emphasis on art or discussion may vary, depending on the therapist's approach or the client's needs.
The purpose of art therapy is to improve or maintain mental health and emotional well-being. Art therapy generally utilizes drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, and other forms of visual art expression.
Art Therapy Allows Children to Express Feelings too Difficult to Discuss
As an art-based therapeutic approach, there are many potential benefits that may derive from the use of Art Therapy. Some of the specific advantages are:
- Does not rely on language or verbal skills
- May provide an accessible modality for persons with certain disabilities
- Offers opportunity to access experiences in a controlled way
- Focuses concentration on a single activity, shutting out intrusive thoughts
- Encourages creative thinking and risk-taking in a safe environment
- Endorses the idea that creativity is inherently therapeutic
- May be less intrusive and yet is capable of releasing strong emotion safely
The theory behind art therapy—using a young patient’s art for a psychotherapeutic purpose—is that creating pictures allows children to express what is uppermost in their minds more genuinely and spontaneously than they are apt to do in a discussion with the therapist.
Pictures help the therapist understand the children’s perceptions and feelings about what is happening to them and explore possible alternatives to solving problems.
The Art Therapy program uses art expression to offer children and youth an opportunity to gain a sense of control during their illness, medical treatment, and hospitalization and to express their feelings associated with these experiences. Art Therapy allows children and youth to express feelings too difficult to discuss and helps them clarify issues and concerns. Art making may also help them focus on something other than what brings them to hospital. It leaves the image which becomes a tangible product, a lasting mark.
Art therapy is provided in a safe environment that encourages healthy coping skills, increased self esteem and confidence, stimulates imagination and creativity, and promotes the development of physical, emotional, and learning skills. Depending on the specific needs of children, art therapy can be an individual or group activity.
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