Why Art Therapy?
Being creative helps us solve problems. There are times that we get too caught up with words and and verbal dialogue. Creating something can help us to regain focus and reach a deeper understanding.
My approach to therapeutic work is rooted in the belief that change can occur when a person is provided a safe space to explore their struggles and create solutions. By utilizing art materials and verbal processing, I am able to assist you in a self-directed process to increase your personal awareness and understanding. No formal art training is required for participation in art therapy; the focus of the art making is about thoughts, feelings and the process of creating.
In my practice I have found art therapy to be extremely helpful for clients that have not had success with other more traditional therapies. Art therapy stimulates bilateral brain activity in that it employs both artistic expression (the "right brain") and in the verbal processing of work; more objective analysis (the "left brain"). This makes the practice beneficial to a variety of populations in many areas of life.
The following link provides the American Art Therapy Associations definition of art therapy http://www.arttherapy.org/upload/whatisarttherapy.pdf.
The works above are examples of the types of work that could be created in art therapy.