Western Sydney, the creation of art for healing purposes dates back thousands of years to the practices of First Nations people around the world. Art therapy uses creative processes, primarily visual arts such as painting, drawing or sculpture, with a view to improving physical health and emotional well-being.
When people experience serious physical or mental illness, it can be challenging to put their experiences into words. Art therapists help people explore and process overwhelming thoughts, feelings, and experiences through a contemplative art-making process. This differs from art classes, which often focus on the technical aspects of the artwork, or the aesthetics of the finished product.Art therapy can be used to help treat a wide range of physical and mental health conditions. It has been linked to benefits including improving self-awareness, social connection and emotional regulation, while also reducing levels of distress, anxiety and even pain. In a study published this week in the Journal of Mental Health , we found that AR therapy was associated with positive outcomes for children and adolescents in a hospital-based mental health unit.
While a person's participation in talk therapy may sometimes be influenced by the nature of their illness, verbal reflection in art therapy is optional.
Where possible, after completing an artwork, a person can explore the meaning of their work with an art therapist, translating the unspoken symbolic content into the form of verbal reflection.However, because the talking component is less central to the therapeutic process, art therapy is an accessible option for those who may not be able to find the words to describe their experiences.
Art therapy has supported improved mental health outcomes for people who have experienced trauma, people with eating disorders, schizophrenia, and dementia, as well as children with autism.
Art therapy has also been linked to improved outcomes for people with a variety of physical health conditions. These include lower levels of anxiety, depression and fatigue in people with cancer, increased psychological stability for heart disease patients, and improved social relationships among people who have experienced traumatic brain injury. Art therapy improves the mood of patients in hospital. and has been linked to improving anxiety levels and reducing pain, fatigue and depression in palliative care patients.Mental ill health is a major challenge for our society, including children and youth. While most care takes place in the community, a small proportion of young people require hospital care to ensure their safety.
In this environment, practices that impose even more restrictions, such as solitary confinement or physical restraint, may be used as a last resort to ensure immediate physical safety. However, these "restrictive practices" are associated with negative effects such as post-traumatic stress for patients and healthcare professionals. Of concern is that staff report a lack of options to keep patients safe.However the elimination of restrictive practices is a major objective of mental health services in Australia and internationally.
Our research looked at over six years of data from a child and adolescent mental health hospital ward in Australia. We sought to determine whether there was a reduction in restrictive practices during the period when art therapy was offered on the unit compared to the period when it was absent.
We found a clear association between the provision of art therapy and reducing the frequency of confinement on the unit, physical restraints and injections of sedative drugs. We do not know the exact reason for this. However, art therapy has reduced levels of acute distress among patients, making them less likely to risk harming themselves or others, and less likely to use restrictive practices by staff to prevent this. Can.As noted, hospital admission involves a number of therapeutic interventions, including conversation-based therapies and medications. Confirming the effect of a therapeutic intervention requires controlled clinical trials where people are randomly assigned to one treatment or another.
Although our study was an observational study, randomized controlled trials support the benefits of art therapy in youth mental health services. For example, a 2011 hospital-based study found a reduction in post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among teens randomized to trauma-focused art therapy compared to a “control” arts and crafts group. In previous research we found That art therapy was considered the most useful group therapy intervention compared to other talk-based therapy groups and creative activities by adolescents in hospital-based mental health care.In research not yet published, we are talking to young people to better understand their experiences of art therapy, and why it can reduce distress in a person accessing art therapy in an acute mental health service. Young shared:
[Art therapy] is a way to express your feelings in a way that doesn't involve judgment […] It allowed me to release a lot of things that were bottled up and things that I can't explain through words. The growing research showing the benefits of art therapy for both physical and especially mental health highlights the value of creative and innovative approaches to treatment in health care.
There are opportunities to expand art therapy services into a range of health-care settings. Doing so will allow greater access to art therapy for people with a variety of physical and mental health conditions.(talk)rup
When people experience serious physical or mental illness, it can be challenging to put their experiences into words. Art therapists help people explore and process overwhelming thoughts, feelings, and experiences through a contemplative art-making process. This differs from art classes, which often focus on the technical aspects of the artwork, or the aesthetics of the finished product.Art therapy can be used to help treat a wide range of physical and mental health conditions. It has been linked to benefits including improving self-awareness, social connection and emotional regulation, while also reducing levels of distress, anxiety and even pain. In a study published this week in the Journal of Mental Health , we found that AR therapy was associated with positive outcomes for children and adolescents in a hospital-based mental health unit.
While a person's participation in talk therapy may sometimes be influenced by the nature of their illness, verbal reflection in art therapy is optional.
Where possible, after completing an artwork, a person can explore the meaning of their work with an art therapist, translating the unspoken symbolic content into the form of verbal reflection.However, because the talking component is less central to the therapeutic process, art therapy is an accessible option for those who may not be able to find the words to describe their experiences.
Art therapy has supported improved mental health outcomes for people who have experienced trauma, people with eating disorders, schizophrenia, and dementia, as well as children with autism.
Art therapy has also been linked to improved outcomes for people with a variety of physical health conditions. These include lower levels of anxiety, depression and fatigue in people with cancer, increased psychological stability for heart disease patients, and improved social relationships among people who have experienced traumatic brain injury. Art therapy improves the mood of patients in hospital. and has been linked to improving anxiety levels and reducing pain, fatigue and depression in palliative care patients.Mental ill health is a major challenge for our society, including children and youth. While most care takes place in the community, a small proportion of young people require hospital care to ensure their safety.
In this environment, practices that impose even more restrictions, such as solitary confinement or physical restraint, may be used as a last resort to ensure immediate physical safety. However, these "restrictive practices" are associated with negative effects such as post-traumatic stress for patients and healthcare professionals. Of concern is that staff report a lack of options to keep patients safe.However the elimination of restrictive practices is a major objective of mental health services in Australia and internationally.
Our research looked at over six years of data from a child and adolescent mental health hospital ward in Australia. We sought to determine whether there was a reduction in restrictive practices during the period when art therapy was offered on the unit compared to the period when it was absent.
We found a clear association between the provision of art therapy and reducing the frequency of confinement on the unit, physical restraints and injections of sedative drugs. We do not know the exact reason for this. However, art therapy has reduced levels of acute distress among patients, making them less likely to risk harming themselves or others, and less likely to use restrictive practices by staff to prevent this. Can.As noted, hospital admission involves a number of therapeutic interventions, including conversation-based therapies and medications. Confirming the effect of a therapeutic intervention requires controlled clinical trials where people are randomly assigned to one treatment or another.
Although our study was an observational study, randomized controlled trials support the benefits of art therapy in youth mental health services. For example, a 2011 hospital-based study found a reduction in post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among teens randomized to trauma-focused art therapy compared to a “control” arts and crafts group. In previous research we found That art therapy was considered the most useful group therapy intervention compared to other talk-based therapy groups and creative activities by adolescents in hospital-based mental health care.In research not yet published, we are talking to young people to better understand their experiences of art therapy, and why it can reduce distress in a person accessing art therapy in an acute mental health service. Young shared:
[Art therapy] is a way to express your feelings in a way that doesn't involve judgment […] It allowed me to release a lot of things that were bottled up and things that I can't explain through words. The growing research showing the benefits of art therapy for both physical and especially mental health highlights the value of creative and innovative approaches to treatment in health care.
There are opportunities to expand art therapy services into a range of health-care settings. Doing so will allow greater access to art therapy for people with a variety of physical and mental health conditions.(talk)rup
