Treatment Through Creativity
Many depressed individuals lift their moods through the creative process by utilizing art therapy, which includes painting, writing and performance art. While art therapy traditionally focuses on using the visual arts to help the individual, music mherapy is another branch that allows the individual to listen to and/or "play" music in order to express and understand his feelings. Anyone can practice art therapy, as it addresses a broad range of problems, from psychological ones to helping with rehabilitation. An art therapist can help you analyze your creations to discover hidden meanings, new aspects of yourself that may be lying dormant, and may help you to overcome hindrances keeping you from living a happier life.
Communicating
Art and music therapy are ideals tools for communicating in ways that words don't always allow. Sometimes feelings are so deep-seated, for example, that a painting may help the individual better express what he's feeling. Also, many people aren't comfortable talking about their problems. Art therapy saves them from always having to. While an art therapist may want to discuss the meanings inherent in the art work with the client/artist, this may come later, once a safe relationship has been established. Music has long been thought to have healing properties, all the way back to Plato and Aristotle. And many romantic philosophers and artists have called it the greatest of the arts. Whether listening to it, or creating it, music cuts straight to the heart and can provide catharsis for the most disheartened individual.
Creativity and Emotion
Many of our psychological problems are often unconscious. We are thus unable to see them in our day-to-day lives. By using creative expression, the many blocks to our unconscious are bypassed. This is the freeing and healthy potential of making art, no matter how good or bad it is. Listening to music also has it's benefits, and can help dislodge painful feelings in a pleasurable way. The important thing is that the individual have the opportunity to express himself---it's not about whether you can sell the work at a gallery. It's not to be judged like that. The work is there to help the individual access certain feelings in order to live a more balanced and healthier life. There is some debate as to whether an individual can practice a minor form of art therapy alone. That is, without the help of a therapist. But as this remains controversial, let's look at a basic overview of who the art therapist is and what she does.
The Art Therapist
Art and music therapists, while technically trained differently, are generally dynamic individuals, educated in both art (and/or music) and therapy. Using a person's creative expression, the therapist can grasp the overall mood of an individual and can diagnose serious problems such as depression through the nonverbal symbolic messages and metaphors. Therapists work with individuals in one-on-one adult and child treatment as well as with groups, families, friends and couples. Some therapists work together as a team.
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