According to the American Art Therapy Association (2022b), "Art therapy is a mental health profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship."
AATA (2022a) adds that , "Art therapy is used to improve cognitive and sensorimotor functions, foster self-esteem and self-awareness, cultivate emotional resilience, promote insight, enhance social skills, reduce and resolve conflicts and distress, and advance societal and ecological change."
Art therapy uses art media, the creative process, and the resulting artwork as a therapeutic and healing process with a key goal being to improve or restore the client’s functioning and his/her sense of personal well being (Art Therapy Credentials Board, 2024).
Sources:
American Art Therapy Association. (2022a). About art therapy. https://arttherapy.org/about-art-therapy/
American Art Therapy Association. (2022b). What is art therapy? https://arttherapy.org/what-is-art-therapy/
Art Therapy Credentials Board. (2024). What is art therapy? https://atcb.org/what-is-art-therapy/
What is Art Therapy? by UQ Faculty of Medicine
Art Therapist and Masters in Mental Health tutor, Katherine Winlaw takes us through what Art Therapy really entails.
UQ Faculty of Medicine. (2020, June 30). What is art therapy? [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/4BZynyGzyow?si=x9uuMxnxrNmsAKmT
Art Therapy in Action: Trauma by the American Art Therapy Association
Cheryl Doby-Copeland, PhD, ATR-BC, LPC, LMFT and Gretchen Miller, ATR-BC, ACTP discuss how art therapy can help individuals or families who have experienced trauma express what they've been through safely, and tell their stories without needing to talk.
American Art Therapy Association. (2017, October 16). Art therapy in action: Trauma [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/lOQmxkb6Dmo?si=va_7XTmd1Q2VmLt7