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Other common
name(s): creative arts therapy, expressive arts therapy
Scientific/medical
name(s): none
Description
Art therapy is used to help people manage physical and
emotional problems by using creative activities to express emotions. It
provides a way for people to come to terms with emotional conflicts,
increase self-awareness, and express unspoken and often unconscious
concerns about their illness and their lives. "Expressive arts therapy"
or "creative arts therapy" may also include the use of dance and
movement, drama, poetry, and photo therapy, as well as more traditional
art methods.
Overview
Many clinicians have observed and documented significant
benefits among people who have used art therapy. Art therapy has not
been studied scientifically to find out if it has value for people with
cancer.
How is it promoted for use?
Art therapy is based on the idea that the creative act can be
healing. According to practitioners, called art therapists, it helps
people express hidden emotions; reduces stress, fear, and anxiety; and
provides a sense of freedom. Many art therapists also believe the act
of creation influences brain wave patterns and the chemicals released
by the brain.
Art therapy has been used with bone marrow transplant
patients, people with eating disorders, emotionally impaired young
people, disabled people, the chronically ill, chemically addicted
individuals, sexually abused adolescents, caregivers of cancer
patients, and others. Art therapy may also be used to engage and
distract patients whose illnesses or treatments cause pain.
Artwork may also be used as a diagnostic tool, particularly
with children, who often have trouble talking about painful events or
emotions. Art therapists say that often children can express difficult
emotions or relay information about traumatic times in their lives more
easily through drawings than through conventional therapy.
What does it involve?
People involved in art therapy are given the tools they need
to produce paintings, drawings, sculptures, and many other types of
artwork. Art therapists work with patients individually or in groups.
The job of the art therapist is to help patients express themselves
through their creations and to talk to patients about their emotions
and concerns as they relate to their art. For example, an art therapist
may encourage a person with cancer to create an image of themselves
with cancer, and in this way express feelings about the disease that
may be hard to talk about or may be unconscious.
In another form of art therapy, patients look at pieces of
art, often in photographs, and then talk with a therapist about what
they have seen. A caregiver or family member can also gather artwork in
the form of photographs, books or prints, and give the patient a chance
to look at and enjoy the art.
Many medical centers and hospitals include art therapy as part
of inpatient care. It can be practiced in many other settings, such as
schools, psychiatric centers, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs,
prisons, day care treatment programs, nursing homes, hospices,
patients' homes, and art studios.
What is the history behind it?
The connection between art and mental health was first
recognized in the late 1800s. In 1922, a book titled Artistry of the Mentally Ill
aroused interest in the subject and caused the medical community to
examine the diagnostic value of patients’ creations. Some
practitioners realized that art might be valuable for rehabilitating
patients with mental illness.
In the 1940s, ideas from psychoanalysis and art were combined
to develop art as a tool to help patients release unconscious thoughts.
Patients’ creations began to be considered as a type of
symbolic speech. In 1958, at the National Institute of Mental Health,
an artist named Hana Kwiatkowska translated her knowledge as an artist
into the field of family work and introduced methods of evaluation and
treatment techniques using art therapy.
In 1969, the American Art Therapy Association was established.
The organization now has more than 4,500 members and, along with the
Art Therapy Credentials Board, sets standards for art therapists and
educates the public about the field. Registered art therapists must
have graduate degree training and a background in studio arts and
therapy techniques. More recently, several groups specializing in
various kinds of art therapy, and expressive art therapies in general,
have been established.
What is the evidence?
Numerous case studies have reported that art therapy benefits
patients with both emotional and physical illnesses. Case studies have
involved many areas, including burn recovery in adolescents and young
children, eating disorders, emotional impairment in young children,
reading performance, childhood grief, and sexual abuse in adolescents.
Studies of adults using art therapy have included adults or families in
bereavement, patients and family members dealing with addictions, and
patients who have undergone bone marrow transplants, among others. Some
of the potential uses of art therapy to be researched include reducing
anxiety levels, improving recovery times, decreasing hospital stays,
improving communication and social function, and pain control.
Are there any possible problems or
complications?
Art therapy is considered safe when conducted by a skilled
therapist. It may be useful as a complementary therapy to help people
with cancer deal with their emotions. Although uncomfortable feelings
may be stirred up at times, this is considered part of the healing
process.
Relying on this type of treatment alone and avoiding or
delaying conventional medical care for cancer may have serious health
consequences.
Additional Resources
More information from your American Cancer
Society
The following information on complementary and alternative
therapies may also be helpful to you. These materials may be found on
our Web site (www.cancer.org)
or ordered from our toll-free number (1-800-ACS-2345).
References
Expressive arts therapy. Arts in Therapy Network Web site.
Accessed at http://www.artsintherapy.com/whatis.asp?id=269 on May 30,
2008.
Kirk K, McManus M. Containing families' grief: therapeutic
group work in a hospice setting. Int
J Palliat Nurs. 2002;8:470-480.
The National Expressive Therapy Association Web site. Accessed
at http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/museum/5408/index.html on May 30,
2008.
National Institutes of Health. Alternative Medicine: Expanding
Medical Horizons: A Report to the National Institutes of Health on
Alternative Medical Systems and Practices in the United States.
Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 1994. NIH publication
94-066.
Noice H, Noice T, Staines G. A short-term intervention to
enhance cognitive and affective functioning in older adults. J Aging Health.
2004;16:562-585.
Walsh SM, Martin SC, Schmidt LA. Testing the efficacy of a
creative-arts intervention with family caregivers of patients with
cancer. J Nurs Scholarsh.
2004;36:214-219.
Note: This information may not cover
all possible claims, uses, actions, precautions, side effects or
interactions. It is not intended as medical advice, and should not be
relied upon as a substitute for consultation with your doctor, who is
familiar with your medical situation.
Last Medical Review: 11/01/2008
Last Revised: 11/01/2008
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