Therapy In Action: A look at creative expressive art therapy techniques

Experiencing anxiety when going to your first therapy appointment is extremely common. People often get nervous about what will be asked of them and perhaps what their therapist is thinking about them and their situation. Add to that the idea of incorporating creativity into a session, and a client might feel even more uncertain. However, if a session incorporating creative expressive art techniques might be right for you, it’s worth finding out more about it. So, in this blog, you will get a glimpse into what a creative expressive art therapy technique looks like in session and briefly see how it will benefit your healing journey.

It is important to note that a wide variety of techniques can be used to incorporate creative expressive art therapy. Common modalities can include sandtray, poetry, dance, music, poems, clay, art, collage and more. The type of creative expressive art technique used largely depends on your therapist's skills, knowledge, and therapeutic goals. It could also depend on your expressed interest, natural curiosity, and openness to other creative expressive modalities. For instance, if you enjoy music, a therapist incorporating creative expressive art therapy techniques might choose different activities that involve more music. Or, if you have always had a love for drawing, the therapist might rely on more drawing activities. This is not to say this will be the only modality used, or if you are not gifted in creativity or art, you cannot use these techniques. Within a therapeutic space, it is more important to allow other parts of your experience and yourself to be represented however you see fit rather than making it visually appealing.

Let's look at an example session that utilizes creative expressive arts therapy techniques. Suppose someone is coming to therapy because they are having difficulties at work and have found themselves to be curt with important relationships in their life. If this were my client, I would usually start a creative expressive art therapy session by first checking in with the client. This is important because I am not the expert on any of my clients’ lives. I do not know what has happened within the past week and I do not know if something has surfaced recently that needs to take priority over what I have already planned. Sometimes I can modify or slightly change the activity to fit what the client is needing and sometimes it needs to wait for another time. But if the client is not in crisis and wants to utilize the creative expressive art technique, I then explain what I had in mind. For this particular situation, it would be beneficial to get more insight surrounding their relationships or work life so I would present the option to them on which area they would like to target. I might suggest utilizing sandtray to accomplish this, but if they would rather not use a sandtray I can suggest another modality that is a better fit for them.

It is often helpful when using these techniques to first be grounded. This means the client is present minded and is focused on the “here and now.” There are several ways in which a therapist can lead a grounding exercise, but one of my favorites is doing a brief scan of the body, just noticing different sensations around you.

After the client is grounded and present minded, I can give more specific directions, or I might simply leave it open to allow the client to express whatever is currently coming up for them. In the example of utilizing a sandtray, I could say, "create a world of your current relationships" which would be more direct. Or I could say, "create a world," which would be an example of a non-directive approach. This is often based on what the client prefers. Some people feel a lot of anxiety when there is no direction, and some only want to create what is on their mind. Regardless of the amount of direction given, whatever is most important for the client to communicate will show up in the session.

Next is the creating stage. This is when the client creates their world, draws the picture, creates their piece. The time spent on creating can vary. Some people are very methodical in their approach and take more time, some know exactly what needs to be done and do it quickly, others might struggle to get started. It all depends. Once the creation stage is complete, it is really important to sit with your creation. This is where the magic happens. Feelings might start to surface. You might start getting some insights to your situations. Or you might simply feel validated and say, "it makes sense." From here we can talk about as much or as little as you want. You are in control. You get to decide.

In finishing the session, there are many different directions the therapist can go. But what is most important is that you feel like it is a good place to stop for the day. This does not mean that you are done processing. In fact, you will probably continue to process for the rest of the day and sometimes the next week whether you know it or not. This is why it is so beneficial to utilize creative expressive art therapy techniques in session. Not only can you continue to process your situation outside of therapy but you are also unmasking other elements that are critical to experience that you might not know were there by utilizing the right side of your brain. Oftentimes it is these intangible parts that are the key to healing and moving forward in the direction you want to go. For a more in-depth look of the benefits of creative expressive art therapy techniques, check out the blog on "Trauma and Whole Brain Therapy."

Overall, creative expressive art therapy techniques and its suitability for your healing process largely depends on you as the client. Your goals for therapy, your interests, and your comfort level should all be taken into consideration. Your therapist is simply your guide in showing you different ways that these creative techniques can be helpful in obtaining what you are looking for in therapy by using your whole brain. If you are interested in this type of therapy, please reach out to schedule a free 15 minute consultation here.