Expressive Arts Therapy

What Is Expressive Arts Therapy

Based on the theory that humans have an innate desire to create and be creative, expressive arts therapy is the practice of combining psychology and the creative process in order to foster growth, healing, and recovery. Unique in its approach, expressive arts therapy relies on the utilization of multiple arts forms, commonly referred to as intermodally, as a tool to initiate progress in therapy. Unlike art therapy, expressive arts therapy combines the benefits of multiple art forms like music, theater, dance, poetry, painting, and other artistic forms in order to explore, observe, and learn throughout the therapeutic process.

In practice expressive arts therapies can look very different as they are often contingent on the interests and drives of the patient with their therapist as a guide towards progress. That being said, at the core of all expressive arts therapies is the concept of “poiesis.” This concept, derived from the Greek word for poetry, refers to the process of changing your focus from the “real”  world towards the imaginative, creative, and emotional “realms” in the pursuit of making art in order to access the internal self. Expressive arts therapists understand that a lot of art comes from a deep emotional place and that through creation, the path to expression and healing can be easier to access. The creative process can also be the road to recovery. 

Expressive arts therapy is so compelling because when practically applied, it can look dramatically different from patient to patient. Every person’s path to recovery is unique and the more specifically and personally tailored their care is, the better their chances of experiencing lasting change.

Expressive Arts Therapy in Process & Practice

Despite the well researched benefit of expressive arts therapies, it can be difficult to conceptualize what exactly it is that happens in expressive arts therapy that is so beneficial. 

Although expressive arts therapy can differ drastically from practice to practice, there are underlying structures that frame the practice of this therapeutic approach. 

In expressive art therapy, a patient is encouraged to create in the medium of their choice or across multiple artistic mediums. As they create, their therapist is mindful of their process, their behaviors, and impulses, and encourages discussion about the experience of creation while also testing the waters for conversation surrounding more serious topics. Because expressive arts therapy is hinged on the idea that art is an extension of the mind’s deeper emotions, thoughts, and experiences, it is important for the therapist to not only pay mind to their patient, but also to the creative output of the individual. 

Throughout the process of creation, the therapist encourages their patient to communicate their feelings and frustrations with the creative process, and that can be used to open up larger discussions highlighting the greater problems and issues that the patient might be dealing with. Much as expressive art therapy is based on the idea that the process is just as, if not more, important than the conclusion. The goal of expressive art therapy is to use the creative process as a way of accessing topics, feelings, and conversations that might otherwise be difficult to approach, and then utilize the creative process as a road map for therapeutic recovery. 

Additionally, by giving patients the opportunity to create while engaged in therapy, it can distract them from the stigmas they might feel about engaging in traditional talk therapy, and can instill a sense of pride, control, and ownership in their therapeutic process as it is their creative process that drives the sessions and produces the end result of a work of art and ideally, progress towards recovery. In fact, as a way to communicate and explore together. A benefit of creative arts therapy is that it does not require the therapist or the patient to have high levels of artistic skill. The learning process as well as the creative process and how the patient navigates through those processes are the true focus of the expressive arts therapy, not the end result.

Differences From Expressive Arts Therapy And Other Therapy Methods

Expressive arts therapy is fairly unique as a method of mental health care. It differs from other therapeutic models drastically in the fact that it does employ the creation of art as the primary vector of communication and patient discovery. What’s more is that expressive arts therapy utilizes the process of creation as a vehicle for discovery and discussion. This means that while the therapist may touch on topics, or use what the person is creating to ask questions and discuss difficult things, the course of therapy is largely reliant on the creative process and where it takes the conversations and what is uncovered. 

With many therapeutic processes that rely on patient guided discussion, there is an element of the therapists more or less guiding where the conversation goes in order to get to the root of the problem. In expressive arts therapy, the journey towards discovering the root of the patient's issues are just as important as the final outcomes itself. By focusing so much on the journey to self discovery, patients can learn more about what they can do personally to express and even address their own issues moving forward without clinical help. By making the process of healing and the artistic process parallel, it gives patients a structured learning opportunity to develop the skills they need to maintain their recovery. 

It should however be noted that expressive arts therapy does have a close relative in the more commonly known “arts therapy.” While they sound extremely similar, “art therapy” and “expressive arts therapy” are distinctly different practices. The most distinct difference between them is the multimodality of expressive arts therapy. Most art therapy practices focus around a single mode of artistic expression, i.e.: paint, dance, poetry. 

With expressive art therapy patients have the option to flow between different modalities, exploring and trying different mediums in order to express themselves. This allows the benefits of the different mediums to be available to the patient and for the therapist to have different ways to broach what unique issues the patient might be dealing with.

The Limitations/Downsides of Expressive Arts Therapy

While expressive arts therapy has many benefits, it is not a cure-all and, like any therapeutic model, will not fit the needs of all people. Furthermore, while expressive arts therapy is useful as a method of emotional exploration, it does not address problems that also have a physical element such as addiction.

It can be extremely useful to pair expressive arts therapy with other therapeutic programming in order to assure that all patient needs are met. There is also debate in the research space about the value and validity of qualitative results in comparison with quantitative data, that is, results that are not based on numerical data. Most studies attesting to the validity of expressive arts therapy are based on qualitative data which is contingent on researching interpretation and therefore is slightly more prone to bias.