What is expressive therapy?
expressive therapy, also known as Creative Arts Therapy, uses creative art such as music, dance, drama and writing as a form of therapy. The most important concept of using expressive therapy is that the use of imagination to create art helps promote mental and physical healing. When this type of therapy is used as treatment, the act of creating is given more important than creating a completed work of art.
expressive therapy is often used in hospitals, mental health centers, senior centers and addictive substance abuse programs. Schools can also use this type of program for students with special needs or for all students as a form of art integration into lessons. In addition, this type of program is often used as a form of psychotherapy, especially for children.
children often do not have verbal skills to articulate their feelings, but can be able to act or draw them. As a result, creative art is very useful for the help of children of the extiscoveFeelings that may not be able to talk about. Children are often encouraged to play, draw, or discuss scenes with dolls or other toys to provide information for the therapist about how the child perceives and interacts with their world. This type of therapy can also be used as an ongoing form of treatment for children, adolescents and adults with Asperger syndrome, autism and other neurological disorders.
Many expressive therapeutic practices encourage their patients to try different forms of artistic expression depending on their needs and preferences. The therapist usually suggests that the patient tests a number of different approaches such as dance, music or art to determine what helps them most. Alternatively, some therapists can specialize in dancing, drama or other type of creative art. In addition, the type of therapeutic session that patients visit can diThe art of creatipipping the form is used. For example, group therapy is well suited for drama and dancing, while art or writing can be more suitable for private or family therapy.
expressive therapy is also a useful form of physical therapy. Participation in expressive art, such as drama and dance, is a positive way for people to recover from an accident or injury to connect with their bodies. This is particularly useful because physiotherapy and rehabilitation therapy is often painful and frustrating and the use of dance and other creative art is usually perceived and experienced as relaxed and pleasant.