What is Creative Arts Therapy?
When people think of therapy, we often picture sitting on a couch and talking to someone, maybe with a tissue in hand. Talk psychotherapy is one effective form of support, but there are others as well. Creative arts therapies not only support social and emotional wellbeing, but they also support physical, cognitive, communicative domains. Trained music and art therapists have a long history of supporting patients, including World War II veterans, individuals in psychiatric institutions, non-speaking people, and children using mediums like music, art, and movement to support their clients’ self-exploration and self-expression. (To learn more about what to expect from music therapy specifically, check out our post What to Expect from Music Therapy.)
Music and art modalities are non-threatening ways for clients, regardless of musical or artistic ability, to develop a trusting relationship with a new therapist. Engaging in a fun, shared creative activity can jumpstart building a healthy therapeutic relationship and ease fears about coming to therapy. The symbolic nature of creative arts activities provides verbal, aural, visual, and physical outlets to express thoughts, emotions, and experience, regardless of age and ability. But, how does it work? Curious about art therapy? Read our post What Is and Isn't Art Therapy?
Engagement in music and art experiences activate multiple parts of your brain, including motor control and sensory centers, language centers, and emotional response centers. Painting a family portrait gives clients the opportunity to share their thoughts using colors, textures, shapes, and placement of members on the page, speak with their therapist about what they are drawing, and uncover patterns, feelings, and relationships through that imagery, all while practicing fine motor control and purposeful movements. In a music therapy session, playing a drum back and forth with a therapist gives clients practice taking turns, simulating conversation, engaging in non-verbal social play, refining gross and fine motor movements, sensory feedback about their actions, and opportunities for emotional expression. Even in play-centered experiences, clients are engaging in the therapeutic process and making progress toward their individualized goal areas.
Creative arts therapies can be emotional, difficult, and draining, too. Music and art can express the full range of human emotions, from excitement to anger to deep sadness. Your therapist is here to support any and all events that emerge in therapy sessions without judgement. So, even when it may just seem like fun and games playing instruments, writing songs, making art, and creating stories; it is all to support a client’s individual development. Creative and expressive arts therapists are trained professionals who can help nurture you or your loved ones areas of creative interest to create a valuable relationship for personal growth.
At The Sonatina Center, our team of board-certified music therapists and licensed counselors use creative arts therapy to support children and adults across a wide range of needs and goals. Whether you're navigating a specific challenge or simply looking for a different kind of support, creative arts therapy might be exactly what you've been looking for.
We also offer creative arts therapy services specifically for adults — read more in Creative Arts Therapy for Adults.
Ready to learn more? Contact us here to find out which of our services might be the right fit for you or your family.