Discussion 5: Benefits from Art Therapy

Excerpt from: Erin E. Carter. (2013). Creating a Mural Painting with Adults who have Developmental Disabilities. Unpublished master's project, Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas.

Benefits. Rubin (2010) stated that art therapy normalizes experiences because art is a natural occurrence that takes place in common settings such as schools, churches and community centers. Given that art therapy embraces the creative process and not just the product, the inclusion of art making and the creative process distinguishes art therapy from traditional talk therapy. Rubin (2010) suggested art therapy may be less threatening than other forms of therapy. Art provides a bridge between the client and the therapist and assists in the healing and communication process; consequently, art therapy can make accessing painful experiences easier. This is also often true of memories from events that have occurred before development of language. Art therapists encourage clients to use many mediums for the release of feelings and emotions. Art making can also create deep pleasure through the act of touching, shaping and manipulating materials (Rubin, 2010). Since art therapy can be a form of reflection for individuals seeking personal growth, clients gain therapeutic benefits through self-expression (American Art Therapy Association, 2012).

Promoting communication. Art therapists can help clients achieve developmental growth by addressing age-appropriate art and fine motor skills. Parents, teachers, and others who work with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) commonly use visual cards and movable icons to communicate (Ben-Arieh & Miller, 2009). Art therapy can and does work in similar ways; it provides opportunities for visual, non-verbal communcation when words fail. Martin (2008) engaged children with ASDs in art making in order to address deficits in communication and imagination; she postulated that art graphics could provide relief for children with verbal communication problems. For these children, verbal communication can be frustrating, overwhelming, too direct, or even non-existent. Consequently, the art therapist can create individual visual tools and art projects that address these frustrations and make socialization possible while building communication skills. Though much of Martin’s research was specific to individuals with ASDs, comparable techniques can be utilized with people with other developmental disabilities (2009).

Promoting social skills. Not only can art facilitate visual communication, art participation also provides opportunities for promoting and teaching social behavior. Since every individual has different behavioral traits, it can be difficult to determine the best treatment goals (Newman, 2012). Martin (2009) found that art therapy could play a significant role in the development of socially accepted communication skills; she wrote, “Integrating art into recreation and leisure activities can mitigate a client’s symptoms through developing socially appropriate skills; an art therapy environment can help a child with ASD make this transition much more successfully than an art education environment can” (p.188).

The sensory experience of art making with an art therapist is helpful for social skills such as project collaboration and imaginative play (Betts & Martin, 2012). Art helps individuals with disabilities achieve personal insight as well as insight into others. As a result, individuals develop skills in forming relationships with others through social interaction (Cheng & Got, 2008).