“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.” – Gospel of Thomas
This month I’ve been thinking and writing about the importance of using art as a healing modality in psychotherapy and counseling. When exploring important subjects, I always look at the basic definitions and the traditional ways in which concepts have come down to us, making an effort to avoid assumptions. I decided to take a closer look at three essential concepts and ask these questions: “what is psychotherapy?”, “what is art?”, and “why use art in therapy?”
The term “psychotherapy” is derived from the Ancient Greek word “psyche” which means spirit or soul (or breath), and the word “therapeia” means “healing.” Hence, psychotherapy is the process of healing for the spirit or soul. The Oxford English Dictionary, however, defines psychotherapy as “treatment of disorders of the mind or personality by psychological means.” You may notice that the focus of modern psychotherapy is the mind, not the soul or spirit. I’ll tackle this issue at some point down the road.
Psychotherapy has a long and complicated history, which we cannot go into much here. But let’s look briefly at Freud’s work to see what we can learn. The practice of psychotherapy is generally called “the talking cure,” because Sigmund Freud and his associates were all, for the most part, talking with and listening to their patients with the intention of helping them. They were also using hypnosis, which is another whole story in itself. Freud did not invent psychotherapy, but he brought this ancient art and science into the modern world and made it a focus of study and practice. His version of psychotherapy was called “psychoanalysis.”
The general goal of psychotherapy and counseling is for the client to receive help, healing, understanding, awareness, for the client to feel better and function better, and to experience relief from issues that are troublesome, complicated, painful, or otherwise problematic. And for therapists to assist in this process, we must have a good sense of what may be helpful to people, as well as a knowledge of people both physically and psychologically: to be able to understand what makes them tick and what makes them sick.
Now let’s take a look at the subject of art. What is art, exactly? How is art defined and how is it different from everything that is not art? Oxford Languages (which Google uses for definitions) defines art as: “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” A second definition is “the various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance.” Hence, art comes from a creative instinct within human beings, and the expression of that creative impulse sometimes produces what we call art.
What is the importance of using the art process in therapy? What is the art process like anyway, and why would it be helpful to a person with mental, emotional, or even spiritual/soulful issues? Let’s look at what peoples’ common problematic emotions are: fear, anxiety, loneliness and isolation, sadness, grief and loss, confusion, guilt, shame, anger and resentment. These feelings all stem from an experience of disconnection from life, from others and from oneself. When people are feeling good, happy, excited, and joyful, they are feeling connected to and at one with others, the community, the world and with themselves. As it happens, there is a deep need within all of us to express ourselves. Just talking is somewhat limited in the overall realm of expression. Talking only goes so far. Creating something from within oneself that may be called artistic expression is much more satisfying. The act of creation is like no other; it produces something that goes way beyond spoken words. The ironic thing about artistic expression is that it is often created when one is alone. Much of art comes from a solitary experience. But the expressive artistic product that comes forth disspells the feeling of disconnection. When people make art, they get in touch with something within themselves that creates a feeling of connection. And that connection goes both inward and outward. The inner artist within all of us is waiting to be seen, to be drawn on, to be used to create art. And that inner artist wants to express. And when expressed in an artful way, other people get to experience that expression and get to experience the same or very similar feelings that the artist has had in creating that thing.
And so it follows that creating art is healthy. It is a healing process. When art is made and connection is achieved, fear, anxiety, anger, and all the other difficult emotions are lessened, let go of, and may be disspelled from the psyche, from the mind, and from the body. This is why it is so important to bring the art process into therapy sessions. Creating art is meditative, relaxing, envigorating, inspiring. It is a journey of adventure and discovery. It’s like taking a vacation from your problems (remember what Richard Dreyfus the psychatrist told Bill Murray the patient in the film “What About Bob”?). It is a way of communicating with the world in expressive and symbolic form. Making art is healing and experiencing art is healing. To me, there is nothing more powerful that to express in an artistic way and to indulge fully in the creative act.
By: Terry McMaster, LMSW, EAP Counselor