Art therapy offers a unique pathway for coronavirus disease 2019 healing — particularly for experiences that are difficult to articulate in words.
How Art Therapy Helps Coronavirus Disease 2019
- Creative expression bypasses verbal defenses, accessing emotional material related to coronavirus disease 2019
- The creative process activates neural pathways associated with reward and flow
- Visual externalization of coronavirus disease 2019 experience creates productive distance
- Artistic creation builds self-efficacy and agency — powerful antidotes to coronavirus disease 2019
What Art Therapy for Coronavirus Disease 2019 Looks Like
Art therapy sessions with a registered art therapist involve guided creative activities — drawing, painting, collage, or sculpture — followed by discussion of what emerged.
No artistic skill is required. The process, not the product, is therapeutic.
Research on Art Therapy for Coronavirus Disease 2019
Art therapy has evidence for depression, anxiety, trauma, and several other coronavirus disease 2019 presentations. It's increasingly integrated into inpatient, outpatient, and community mental health settings.