Art Therapy for Mental Health? How does that work? As a child, I used to draw. A lot. Then it was study time and I simply forgot all about it. I loved reading books and I read a lot throughout my childhood teen years, medical college, post-graduation, marriage, childbirth, new job, relocation, pandemic, and post-pandemic.

You get the picture right?

But drawing, doodling, and painting are something I rediscovered in 2020 with Tangi a creative social platform. It was one of Google’s experiments that met an untimely death (I personally felt it was a test for YouTube shorts), but that’s a discussion with not much going for it . Reels, shorts, and short-form videos are now the trend and I like watching the art ones. There I said it.

Art I feel connects at an intrinsic level. You either like doing a certain type of Art or you don’t. But everyone can be a little happier by doing a little doodle or painting flowers and leaves. We all did it as kids and we can do it again if we really want to. The most important part is starting.

Art Therapy has been used as a non-drug, medical complementary intervention with good results. This was a study that reviewed 413 articles [1]. Artists say art does help with their feeling of well-being.

Mental health issues helped were:[2]

• depression disorders
• anxiety,
• cognitive impairment
• dementias(mild and early on)
• Alzheimer’s disease,
• schizophrenia,
• and autism

It’s also useful in the case of :

• Patients who were severely ill
• Post-cancer treatment or extensive invasive surgery

Art Therapy helps patients open up and express more of their inner selves, fears, worries, insecurities, and deeper issues, which conventional avenues may miss. Mental health is a complex matter and unlike physically manifest diseases, clinical tests are not clear-cut.

While Pharmacologic treatment is the mainstay and you must always consult a registered doctor who is a mental health specialist/Psychiatrist for management tailored to your needs , this article is a means to explore the different research and scientific information available for complementary treatments.

All drugs have their pros and cons and the cons can deeply affect the quality of life of people facing mental health challenges.

The American Art Therapy Association says Art Therapy’s main functions :

• Improving cognitive and sensorimotor functions,
• fostering self-esteem
• Improving self-awareness,
• cultivating emotional resilience,
• promoting insight,
• Social skill enhancement helps reduce and resolve conflicts and distress.

Art Therapy is also said to help with language development and social skill enhancement in children with Cerebral Palsy.

Remember art Therapy can only be practiced by a licensed art therapist in the USA(atcb.org) and the UK(baat.org). I am not aware of Art Therapy licensing in India. Just knowing how to paint doesn’t make someone an art therapist.

But you can let art help you. Just start with a pencil or a pen and paper and doodle your name,a flower,a star a leaf, and go from there. Leaving you with a few of my art from 2022.This is part of CauseAchatter by Blogchatter.

References:

Art Therapy: A Complementary Treatment for Mental Disorders :https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8397377/

American Art Therapy Association https://arttherapy.org/about-art-therapy/Papangelo P., Pinzino M., Pelagatti S., Fabbri-Destro M., Narzisi A. (2020). Human figure drawings in children with autism spectrum disorders: a possible window on the inner or the outer world. Brain Sci. 10:398. 10.3390/brainsci10060398  list]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8397377/#B60