3 Myths of Art Therapy: Busted

1. MYTH: Art therapy is only effective for children who are developmentally delayed. 

FACT: While art therapy can be beneficial for all ages and developmental stages it has a much wider application, in fact, according to the American Art Therapy Association (AATA), patients use art therapy as a means to explore their feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety, increase self-esteem, and more.    

2. MYTH: In order to participate in art therapy, a person must be skilled in drawing or painting. 

FACT: A person does not have to be a trained, skilled, or practiced artist to benefit from taking art therapy classes.  Art therapy is a creative way of looking at emotional disturbances and trauma and is meant to engage the imagination and problem-solving centers of the brain and is therefore beneficial to everyone and not just the practiced artist. 

3. MYTH: The Art that is created in an Art Therapy class reveals the deep emotional secrets of the artist. 

FACT: Art therapists are not mind readers or psychologists. While art can sometimes reveal certain aspects of the artist's psyche, it is not a tell-all. The artist remains the expert on his/ her/their own feelings and the creations that are made from those feelings are only readable and explainable by the artist.

Interested in Joining Acacia Wellness Center's Art Therapy Group? Give us a call at (208)-498-1760