Finding healing through creative expression

By using a variety of artistic methods, Art Therapy can provide people with a creative way to improve physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

Art Therapy is a therapy that employs creative expression to foster healing and improve mental health through disciplines including; drama, dance and movement and more instead of more traditional therapy techniques.

Local Allied Health Practitioner and Art Therapist, Michelle Buggy, said the art making process can offer the creator a way to develop, explore and express a sense of self​ in order to create a renewed sense of confidence, effectiveness and self-regulation.

As an Art Therapist, Acceptance and Commitment Therapist, Skills based Dialectical Behaviourial Therapy Counsellor, Psychotherapy Educator and Practising ​trauma informed EMDR psychotherapist, Ms Buggy works in both individual therapeutic psychotherapy and as a group facilitator at Torquay Medical Hub.

“An Art Therapy session can include anything from painting, drawing, sand play and figurines, working with clay to carving, sculpting, doodling and scribbling, or making collages,” Ms Buggy said.

“As a Creative Arts therapist I use visual art-making and experiential modalities to foster improved physical, mental and emotional well-being.

“Each session is tailored to the individuals’ needs, hopes and their sense of safety and personal inquiry.

“Creative Art therapy facilitates active artmaking creative process along with applied psychological theory, to connect with individuals personal lived experience, perspective, and narrative in order to assist in making sense of it with a client centred focus.”

The therapy itself focuses on the process, rather than the product, and is particularly helpful for people who cannot verbalise feelings due to developmental, cognitive or other conditions.

There are many reasons why a person might benefit from seeing an arts therapist, including:

• to express feelings that may be difficult to verbalise
• to explore their imagination and creativit
• to develop healthy coping skills and focus
• to improve self-esteem and confidence
• to increase communication skills
• to share in a safe nurturing environment
• to improve motor skills and physical co-ordination
• to identify blocks to emotional expression and personal growth.

Ms Buggy said art therapy is the perfect proof of the old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words,” reflecting on the powerful effect the arts and creative expression have on human understanding and communication, and the importance of visuals on developing self effectiveness, self-confidence and emotional regulation, and is especially helpful for kids too young to verbalise their thoughts and feelings.

“Art can cut through cognitive barriers and ‘stuck’ thoughts and feelings that inhibit personal freedom and directly access and free problematic issues in a new way.

“Art therapy provides individuals facing physical, emotional, and cognitive challenges with new pathways toward understanding and self-expression, in a way that can defy description as it comes from a ‘felt’ and ’embodied’ understanding. This can be a lifeline when things don’t make sense in the mind.”

Art therapists can be found in range of health settings from private practices, to community health, hospital, disability sector or aged care to educational, rehabilitative, or mental health facilities, with a number of local programs and places to access art therapy including

Other local art therapy programs include programs at Our Mindful Youth in Geelong, The Geelong Clinic, Inform emotion and Creative Hearts Therapy.Art Therapy is a form of therapy that is often used to increase self-regulation, process emotions and increase wellbeing through various art forms. Photos: SUPPLIED