Artwork can provide a direct route to the heart of emotional matters. Engaging the imagination, within a therapeutic relationship, can both show where conflicts lie and spur freer and more creative living. Often suggested to those for whom verbal therapy would be too taxing, art therapy may also be a good choice for highly verbal clients, who could benefit from working with images, figurative or abstract, as well as intellect.

 

Art therapy isn’t a place for making museum-type art. Most adults haven’t touched art materials since grade school. Once they pick up a marker or a pair of scissors, however, many feel a sense of inner connection.