Please join us in congratulating Jay Singh, Simona Weinstein, Paul Bartlett, Rajat Aneja, Lachlan Glen and Sali Shayia.

Come join the fun and excitement, if you haven’t done so already, grab your tickets today to avoid missing out – https://www.developingauscommunities.com.au/gala-dinner.

Melbourne Disability Recognition Awards 2023
Sponsored by Easy Healthcare

The way it can lift your emotions or bring back memories? We use it for motivation, exercise, times of grief and times of celebration. 

Music has been around for centuries, and music is a part of our world, even if we don’t notice it. Imagine being able to harness the power of music to overcome or improve your quality of life and well-being.

While music therapy is a relatively new allied health profession, the evidence-based benefits of music have been universal across the world and through the ages.

Music therapy allows us to improve your health, both mentally and physically. It is a specialised program designed to improve health, functioning and well-being for clients of all ages.

It uses a range of techniques, including listening to music, discussions, playing instruments, singing, songwriting and more. Your music therapist tailors their program so you can get the most out of the therapy.

What does a music therapist offer?

A music therapist can guide your therapy based on your specific needs. The therapy can improve a wide range of ailments, both mentally and physically.

For individual therapy sessions, your music therapist will sit with you to establish your goals and needs, and may need to talk to your family, carers or other health professionals to ascertain the best understanding of your situation. 

They will then advise a treatment plan that works with you and your needs. This may be as simple as singing or listening to music, or a combination of different techniques.

There are also group sessions, which promote a sense of belonging and community, providing amazing benefits to those who feel isolated and alone. Indigo Therapy also conducts community outreach programs for clients who are not able to travel.

How long has music therapy been around for?

It can be argued that music therapy has been used as a healing implement for centuries dating back to the times BC. 

However, in Western Cultures, the use of music therapy as a recognised allied healthcare profession came from the aftermath of the two World Wars, when musicians would travel to hospitals and play music for soldiers with war-related emotional and physical trauma.

In Australia, the Aboriginal people used the didgeridoo as a healing tool and was believed to help heal broken bones, muscle tears and other illnesses. It is not known officially when the didgeridoo was developed. 

It was 1949 when music therapy began being used unofficially by the Australian Red Cross, before the key Australian body, the Australian Music Therapy Association (AMTA) was founded in 1975.

Benefits of music therapy

Deep down, we all know that music can help us feel emotionally better, remind us of wonderful memories in our lifetime and to help heal a heartbreak (Total Eclipse of the Heart anyone?).

But there is now strong clinical evidence that points to immeasurable benefits for our physical and emotional health and well-being. These benefits range from improving our mental health and moods. 

It is also known to improve speech, communication and social skills; along with physical body movement, co-ordination and physical function. 

Music therapy can also help memory, attention and cognitive function, as well as a range of pain management. 

This is why music therapy can be an amazing option for patients of all ages, from early childhood through to aged people or those in palliative care.

Reducing anxiety

The sounds of music and the evidence surrounding music therapy have found that it can improve your anxiety or stress levels, regulate your mood and energy and increase motivation.

It can also help those on the Autism spectrum or other disorders, by allowing them to manage their anger and frustrations and manage challenging behaviour. This is especially worthwhile with children who relate exceptionally well with music therapy. 

Expressing trauma

As it was discovered during the World Wars, and even used by Florence Nightingale from the Crimea War, music therapy has long been used, as a way, to heal trauma and grief.

There are many disorders relating to trauma and PTSD and music therapy can perfectly align with other healthcare providers to assist in the healing or improvement of these conditions.

Research also found music therapy affects and improves the body’s ability to deal with pain, by reducing the pain perception and allows the right conditions for a faster recovery after medical procedures.

Encourages memory recall

Who would have thought that music therapy can actually improve your memory, attention and cognitive function?

What an amazing therapy for older people suffering from dementia or other disorders, with the added benefit of improving their sense of emotional wellbeing. Who doesn’t love a good sing-a-long?

It does make sense when you can hear a song that takes you back to a certain time of your life, both good and bad. 

Music therapy increases the functions of self awareness, inhibition, non-verbal and verbal working memory and problem solving.

Improves speech and communication

Speech, communicating and social skills are all added benefits of music therapy.

 Specifically in the areas of verbal and non-verbal communication, physical speech function, increasing social interaction and independence and becoming better at finding positive and new ways to deal with situations.

Improves physical movement

This type of therapy improves body movement, co-ordination and physical function, which can benefit all ages, particularly as we get older and our movement starts to become impaired.

It is known to improve our gross motor function and our fine motor function skills, along with improving balance, physical independence and respiratory muscle strength and control.

It can also help regulate bodily functions such as heart rate, blood pressure and breathing, as well as helping sleep.

When should you see a music therapist?

There are a wide range of reasons that could benefit you from seeing a music therapist, across a wide range of fields. 

But to give you an example, music therapy can benefit those who suffer a neurological injury, degenerative conditions or developmental delays, such as speech, language or voice problems.

Those with intellectual disabilities, dementia, and neurodevelopmental disorders, along with bereavement, adjusting to a disability and trauma are also found to benefit from music therapy.

Even those undergoing cancer treatment, chronic pain conditions, burns and physical rehabilitation can also benefit.

Because there are such a wide range of benefits, the best way to see how music therapy can help you is to meet with a music therapist to discuss your situation. 

They will be able to outline how they can help and work on a plan suited to your situation.

Are music therapists qualified?

At Indigo Therapy, our music therapist, Ronen, is a musician and a qualified counsellor. He is passionate about his work and helping others. 

There is nothing better than having your condition healed or improved by someone who actually cares and is amazingly talented.

Where is music therapy used?

Music therapy can be used in a wide range of situations as described above, and they can be individual sessions, group sessions, or part of outreach community therapy as well. 

Please view our music therapy services for more information.

What happens in a music therapy session?

Well a music therapy session can vary widely, based on the type of session (individual, group, community) and your individual situation.

It can involve group singing, which always makes people feel better, or listening to music, discussions, playing instruments and even songwriting.

As you can imagine, the sessions are also tailored to the age of the clients. 

For example, it will be much easier to relate with an adolescent using music they resonate with, as opposed to an aged person with dementia, who may prefer to listen to music from their younger years.

Music therapy case study

To give you a perspective on the benefits of music therapy, we present an amazing piece of music, which was produced and released publicly, by one of our clients.

The 51-year-old had previously been a model for Chanel and also worked as a personal clothing designer. Her creativity doesn’t stop there, however, as she has completed numerous Bachelors and Masters degrees, and has a passion for history and science. 

Not only is she extremely talented, but she found a way to express her emotions through music and release it to the world.

Music therapy helped her to adjust to her new life wheelchair-bound due to a stroke a few years ago, which left her paralysed on her left side.

The song, Slan Dor, which is Norwegian for dragonfly, provided her with an outlet to express her emotions relating to her new life situation.

Published with permission.

Book a music therapy session with Indigo Group today

Now that you understand what music therapy is all about and how it can possibly improve both your physical and mental wellbeing, Indigo Therapy is the place to go with all ranges of programs available to suit your individual needs. 

You can contact Indigo Therapy through their music therapy services. Let the music begin!

https://vimeo.com/559579472  Password: reconnect001

Recreational supports work closely with your existing support team so that you can achieve your NDIS goals. The therapies, whilst categorised as non-clinical are evidence based and highly researched. 

CHAPTERS TO THE WEBINAR: 0:00 Welcome to the webinar. 0:24 Welcome Tanya Kovacs from Together We Can International 5:19 Welcome Carlin McLellan from Play Anything 9:35 What qualifications are needed as a non-clinical therapist 10:45 Welcome Simona Weinstein from Indigo Art Therapy 17:15 The science and research behind creative therapy 18:15 Welcome Dean Mighell  from Path of the Horse 26:00 Welcome Peter Wilson from Determined2 35:15 What do non clinical supports offer that clinical supports sometimes can’t? 41:09 How non-clinical therapies support non-verbal participants 42:20 Q&A – How and where you can access these services.

And then it got me thinking some more. What does self-determination look like? And, one of the first examples of determination I read struck a chord with me. It said, it’s about deciding to run a marathon without asking anyone their opinion. Exactly! Like the morning I decided to see how far I could run, so I ran, and I ran, and yes I am starting to sound like Forest Gump. But that’s just it. I kept going. And when I returned home I was curious to see how far I had run. 19 km. Just like that. No warm up. No 5 week training course. A few weeks later I was running a half marathon. What would have happened had I rung a trainer or friend to ask if I should run 19 kilometres this morning if I had never even run a kilometre before?

What makes up self-determination? Freedom, authority, support, responsibility and confirmation. It’s having that freedom to choose. Some of us are lucky enough to have many elements of freedom. Others need to imagine a world of freedom in their mind until it actualises. It’s having authority or control over certain aspects of our life. We need support along the way. We need to exercise responsibility as we determine our pathway, and more importantly when we achieve success. Finally, when our path is confirmed by those around us we have self-determination. 

It brings positivity. Self-determination affects us as individuals, our families and our communities, the more we practice it that more likely we are to make the right decisions.

 How do you achieve it? Know what you want. Set those goals. Aim for the stars. Know your strengths. Play to your strengths. Design strategies to reach your goals. Work hard. Persevere. And remember to bounce back.

And this brings me to my dearest year 12’s. You all know I adore you. I see shining pathways ahead that you probably haven’t even imagined yet. I’ve been hearing ATAR, SHMAYTAR, SACS, SHAMCKS. Will there be exams? Will we have to do it again in 2021? This was our last year to be together, what about camp, what about captaincies, what about our common room, I have no routine, I need to see my friends.

Self-determination my friends. Self-determination. Forget the rule books. Forget the old ways that say we need to play the game and study for the ATAR, get the most amount of points we can. Let’s go back to studying because we can. Because we are privileged enough to live right now. Let’s exercise our brain muscle which will put us in good stead for tomorrow. Determine your own pathway. Carve out something different. It’s your turn to shine. Which other year 12 student in the global history of the world has had a chance to write their final year of school with this amount of freedom, this much opportunity for authority over their own schedule, this much support from their schools and the worldwide community, this much responsibility without a formal structure, and this level of global confirmation when your achievements can be witnessed by millions and millions on tik-tok, or insta ☺. You are the self-determiners of 2020. Don’t wait for the old-school system to catch up. Run with it!

PS I am also talking to myself and the other 8 billion people in the world

There is more and more research every day about what happens in our brain when we are doing creative activities. I am so looking forward to the findings that will continue to come out of the research centres of creative art therapies around the world, like the one at Melbourne University. Even without reading all the stats, every day without fail I hear of the life-changing effects that art therapy is having on people’s lives. There are major effects on our development in all areas of life, from childhood to old age. And that is really exciting!

Young brains, art therapy and improved studies

We talk about children as being sponges and absorbing it all. They look, they learn. They hear, they learn. They feel, they learn. Yes, Alanis Morrissett, you were right. And when they have art therapy, they evolve. Full stop. When it comes to young learners, there is a very telling study that was published in 1999. It is called “Champions of Change: The impact of Arts on Learning”. It was conducted by the former New York Times’ education editor, Edward B Fiske, as well as the United States Department of Education. Incredibly, their research found that learners did better in other subjects as a result of their engagement with the arts. I recall when my children were very young, we would often discuss how when they succeeded in different creative activities their academic studies improved as well. The study categorically said that “Students with high levels of arts participation outperform ‘arts-poor’ students by virtually every measure.” 

Let us think for a moment about offering art therapy to children in poorer communities, who may not have access to better education or resources. What would happen to them if they engaged in art therapy on a regular basis? The study said that “high arts participation makes a more significant difference to students from low-income backgrounds than for high-income students. The study found clear evidence that sustained involvement in particular art forms, music and theatre, are highly correlated with success in mathematics and reading.” With this clear finding, I feel art therapy needs to be included as part of the curriculum and as mainstream as English. Imagine the NAPLAN results then.

“It’s amazing how the different strokes make me feel different; the calming wavy strokes, or the circles that make me feel I am not going anywhere, rising strokes feel like an escape, dots feel like little steps, challenges are the empty space between each step. The step itself acts as an anchor.” 

Ms R, Indigo Art Therapy, Melbourne, March 2020.

Art therapy; is it left or right?

One of the main concepts that came out of the study was that “while learning in other disciplines may often focus on the development of a single skill or talent, the arts regularly engage multiple skills and abilities. Engagement in the arts whether the visual arts, dance, music, theatre or other disciplines nurtures the development of cognitive, social and personal competencies.” This idea is because art therapy uses the right side of the brain more than the left side. The right side is holistic, considering the whole picture, flexible, and can look at a situation from a different perspective. The left side is detailed, analytic, structured and fixed. “This is the way I do things, and don’t tell me another way”

Up until recently, research papers would suggest that people were either more “right-“or “left- brain”. The difference between being right-brained versus left-brained was that the former tended towards creativity and free-thinking and the latter tended towards quantitative and analytical thinking. Current research suggests that actually we all engage both sides of our brain at different times. It really does not matter what our personality or preference is. It means that being “left-brained” doesn’t necessarily describe someone as uncreative or unlikely to benefit from developing one’s creativity.

Everybody and anybody can get involved in creative art therapy and they will benefit from it because they will engage in the parts of the brain that will affect their outlook and behaviour in the long term. In fact, so much of the current findings say that even as adults, if we get involved in creative pursuits, whether by ourselves or in a group, the benefits are significant and tangible. A group of art therapy offers the “community” support, the normalising of an experience, the sense of belonging, the sharing component and the feeling of safety. If your art therapy space has all those offerings, behaviour modification can come as a result of that creative space.

There are so many other studies and investigations on the subject of how art therapy and different forms of creative activities impact us and our learning. They look at many ages, and not just young learners. They look at the impact of art therapy and art on different stages of life, as well as health conditions.

Art therapy loses the patient and finds the person

Activities like painting, sculpting, drawing and photography are not only relaxing, and rewarding hobbies, but they can lower your stress level and leave you with a feeling of mental clarity. As you engage in drawing or painting a repetitive pattern, or sew a line, the brain falls into a sense of predictability, which lowers our nervous system’s need to be on edge as it prepares to react to the next surprise event. This consequence lowers blood pressure, pulse and heart rate, and reduces anxiety. When cortisol levels drop, the fogginess of stress reduces, offering the brain a lot more capacity to decide with clarity. And that’s not just according to what the art therapy participants say. There have been studies using FMRI (Functional magnetic resonance imaging), which measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow. These studies suggest there is a lot more cognitive regulation of emotions, meaning people are able to think about controlling their emotions, and then they actually do control them. This can lead to psychological resilience and greater self-awareness in those people who engage in visual art-making.

In addition, art therapy has become quite a common therapeutic modality in the last 70 years, since it was formalised back in the mid-1940s. It still has a way to go, to become more mainstream but we are moving forward. Imagine a day when you approach your child’s class teacher with an issue and the first suggestion the teacher will make is “Here is the name of an art therapist around the corner”? That’s where I want to see art therapy going.

Research has also been done in a different area. It is in regards to the role art-making plays in those people who are dealing with illnesses such as cancer. Much of it has to do with creating a refuge from the intense emotions associated with illness. Separate to that is art’s ability to show carers and friends of the ill person what their body feels like during the illness. Sometimes we don’t have words to express those sensations. Sometimes a violent zig zag is a perfect way to describe the effects of the strong drug.

Art therapy works with neuroplasticity

But perhaps one of the most important reasons that we should engage in art and art therapy is neuroplasticity, also referred to as the brain plasticity. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change and develop throughout life, forming new pathways and connections. They say those that fire together, wire together. If through art therapy we can create new pathways repeatedly, then new behaviours and consequently relationships will form, improving people’s lives in the long-term.

Previously, the adult brain was thought to have developed by the age of 18, and not much would change after that. However, more recent research has taught us that even though it is more fixed than that of a child, it still has the ability to develop and in particular in areas that we choose to work on.

Those areas might include improving memory skills, learning a language or developing a new artistic talent. We are grateful that plasticity helps us recover from major acquired brain injuries like strokes and other brain events. It can also allow us to take advantage of it through learning completely new talents and ways of thinking and problem-solving. It is about making new connections physiologically, intellectually, emotionally and socially. 

Art therapy works. We learn. We practice. We evolve. Simple.

By NDIS registered art therapist Simona Weinstein. Art has been reproduced with permission. 

The young girl was a Year 10 student, relishing her social status in high school, but getting average marks, and only sometimes enjoying her teenage years. One afternoon, on school camp, she was rock climbing with her classmates. She needed to find the crevice in the rock above her to take the next step. Paralysed with fear, no amount of coaxing or gentle words could propel her forward. 

The teachers and students spent forever encouraging her to climb up. Finally whilst trying to convince her to take the next move, one teacher learned that her fear of heights was actually part of a general daily anxiety. She did manage to cross the rock crevice, but the emotions that were uncovered in that moment opened up a whole new chapter of self-discovery. 

When the girl returned to school the following week, she was offered art therapy with me. During the first session, the Year 10 girl sat opposite me in silence, half sliding off the chair with legs outstretched and arms obstinately crossed in front of her. She found it incredibly difficult to talk about her life, and I gifted her the quiet space. In the second session, I invited her to forage through a box of trinkets in the art cupboard and select any items that she felt comfortable working with. 

The art offered a different language, so she decided to engage creatively. She found an old unused key, a mini cardboard container with lid, some plaster gauze, glue and a paint brush. Her caged silence was softened with a touch of curiosity. For that whole session, she sat quietly playing with the key, twisting and fiddling with it, putting it in the container and taking it out repeatedly. I wanted to give her a space where she felt safe to stay silent, safe to explore and safe to experiment. I never judged her quietness or her actions. In the following 2 sessions, the teenager placed the key inside the little container, put the lid on top, wrapped the gauze around it many times, and then sealed her project by brushing layers of glue around it. Each layer of gauze was glued, dried and then covered over with more gauze. The “key” to her anxiety was safe and secure inside her trinket box, and no amount of words were going to access that clue. 

For the next 2 months, I stored the box and key for her. I was holding her secret, and she felt safe. This creative process extended further and each of her art works were further expressions of the same theme: hiding, secrecy and being disguised. I offered her plaster moulds of masks and fabric. She decorated the masks with black fish-net and other veils that concealed their true identity. This concealment was a clue to old buried memories; memories that were concealed because they were too painful to recall verbally. They were also a clue to part of her that she was too ashamed to expose to the world. 

The therapeutic art-making allowed her to gently access those parts and recall those memories. She creatively expressed shame, anger and sadness that she had bottled up years ago. Through the art she understood the origin of those feelings. Her busy social life kept her distracted from her pain and concealed her inward fears. The sculptures of the masked girls expressed her state of hiding and the constant fear of her real self being “discovered”. This Year 10 camper wasn’t aware that struggling to climb the rock was linked to an old trauma, though it did come to light when the unconscious sought expression through her sculptures. 

After 2 months of art therapy I was sitting opposite a young girl who had transformed from an anxious teenager with a superficial social life, to someone who was aware of her authentic self and the events that were informing her fears and behaviour. That awareness helped her overcome her anxiety and she found long-lasting inner peace and healing. 

 It was via a 5 minute drawing, that a 10 year old girl showed her mum how different she felt after 15 sessions, compared to how she felt prior to the start of art therapy. She said “I can’t explain it, but it just feels different in every way”. After she drew the picture in Figure 1, she was able to find the language, and said “it feels better with friends. At school I can concentrate better. I am not nervous anymore about seeing my other parent. I don’t worry about things. I can breathe better”. 

Figure 1

BEFORE ART THERAPY – A large looming moon, lots of sketchy stars, a busy mountain that hides half the flower.

DURING ART THERAPY – The black line she had to pass through to reach the other side of healing. The black line represents the challenging emotions she released during her sessions.

AFTER ART THERAPY – A smaller and bolder moon with less stars overhead, that are drawn more solidly, a mountain with clear straight lines, covered in grass that is growing and fostering the growth of 4 separate flowers.

Art therapy helped her make sense of the chaos in her life, find calming peace, and smile.

For more information about how art therapy can help you succeed, or to book a session, contact simona@indigoarttherapy.com.au or call 0420 672 753. www.indigoarttherapy.com.au

Ideas expressed in this article are for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

During the art therapy sessions that followed, the Grade 5 boy built weapons out of cardboard; slingshots, bows and arrows, guns and knives. He built “safe” spaces: cages, elevator shafts, protected rooms, guarded homes and towers. He needed to create a world separate to home where he was feeling consistently under threat from his brother who had a developmental disability. His brother was prone to violent outbursts and without wanting to bring negative attention to his already challenged sibling, he kept his fears to himself. He didn’t want to burden his parents. Eventually his behaviour was too violent and harmful to ignore.

Fast forward a few months after art therapy, the Grade 5 student became calmer, more affectionate, and opened up to his family once again. He was able to verbalise his worries and learn strategies to feel safer. School noticed. Six months later he was elected Primary School Captain!

I still get blank faces when I say art therapy. And it’s not surprising. Even the art therapists and psychologists can’t agree on what it’s all about. Yet it is important to understand what it involves, as it really is a beautiful process of healing and discovery.

We can all create, and creating is very healing. In fact, creating can really be transformative. We grow as people when we become more aware, understand ourselves better and become more insightful. And to achieve these states we need to dig a little deep, often into our emotional states such as pain, anger, fear and joy. It is through this creative process that we can transform our emotions.  Our feelings and emotions are an energy source. Whether it’s movement, art, or music, our imagery and metaphors lead us into the subconscious, and shines a light on our blind spots. By enlightening the once dark parts of ourselves we learn new information and awareness that can inform our future behaviour. As we create, we affect how we feel and relate to the outer world. We learn to relate to other people and our surroundings, and become more integrated with the world around us.

During art therapy we engage psychodynamic theory. Most importantly it takes place in a safe and supportive space with therapists who are empathic and warm. They can help the art maker integrate the intellectual and emotional by taking time to reflect and evaluate these creative experiences.

Our kids often have a lot to integrate yet they haven’t developed the language to express how they feel. As our visual art is changed by our movement and body rhythm, kids can often express more emotion in one painting, after a movement exercise, than a two hour conversation trying to articulate what they are actually experiencing.

A mum wanted her child to overcome a major phobia that was borne out of a near-death experience. The child was 4 years old at the time of the trauma. He didn’t have the words to express his anxiety. By recreating the ordeal with paint and cardboard, the child faced their fears, learnt positive behaviour and is now totally cured of their phobia.

Meanwhile research into art therapy is gaining ground in Australia, as it catches up with the international world. The University of South Australia is currently exploring the benefits of art therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder. In hospitals around the world, stroke patients, palliative patients and chronically ill are all showing improved signs of well-being after sessions of art therapy.

If it wasn’t for the art therapy, our primary school captain might still be hanging out with the wrong crowd, roughing his way around the playground. Perhaps now he has painted himself a whole new pathway for life. 

Simona Weinstein is a qualified art therapist working with children and adults in the Bayside area. She is a local and international lecturer and author, works for the Victorian government and has donated many hours of art therapy for special needs groups. For more information visit www.indigoarttherapy.com.au

Mum says “he used to be so gentle and well behaved. Now he is caught up with the wrong crowd. The boys in his Grade 5 year are violent. They lie, misbehave and bully each other in the playground. I am not used to him distancing himself and I just can’t seem to connect to him. He won’t open up to me.”

What happened in the art therapy sessions?

During the art therapy sessions that followed, the Grade 5 boy built weapons out of cardboard; slingshots, bows and arrows, guns and knives. He built “safe” spaces: cages, elevator shafts, protected rooms, guarded homes and towers. He needed to create a world separate to home where he was feeling consistently under threat from his brother who had a developmental disability. His brother was prone to violent outbursts and without wanting to bring negative attention to his already challenged sibling, he kept his fears to himself. He didn’t want to burden his parents. Eventually his behaviour was too violent and harmful to ignore. 

Success that followed the art therapy

Fast forward a few months after art therapy, the Grade 5 student became calmer, more affectionate, and opened up to his family once again. He was able to verbalise his worries and learn strategies to feel safer. School noticed. Six months later he was elected Primary School Captain!

So, what is art therapy?

I still can get a blank face when I say art therapy. And it’s not surprising. Even the art therapists and psychologists can’t agree on what it’s all about. Yet it is important to understand what it involves, as it really is a beautiful process of healing and discovery. 

You can all create, and creating is very healing. In fact, creating can really be transformative. You grow as people when you become more aware, understand yourselves better and become more insightful. And to achieve these states you need to dig a little deep, often into your emotional states such as pain, anger, fear and joy. It is through this creative process that you can transform your emotions.  Your feelings and emotions are an energy source. Whether it is movement, art, or music, your imagery and metaphors lead you into the subconscious, and shines a light on your blind spots. By enlightening the once dark parts of yourselves you learn new information and awareness that can inform your future behaviour. As you create, you affect how you feel and relate to the outer world. You learn to relate to other people and your surroundings, and become more integrated with the world around you. 

During art therapy you engage psychodynamic theory. Most importantly it takes place in a safe and supportive space with therapists who are empathic and warm. They can help you integrate the intellectual and emotional aspects by taking time to reflect and evaluate these creative experiences. 

PEOPLE NEED A LANGUAGE CALLED “ART THERAPY”

Often you have a lot to integrate yet you don’t have the language to express how you feel. As your visual art is changed by our movement and body rhythm, you can often express more emotion in one painting, after a movement exercise, than a two hour conversation trying to articulate what you are actually experiencing. 

Who is art therapy for?

Art therapy is not just for people who are mentally ill, but rather for children, adolescents and adults who are struggling with personal issues or just in search of personal growth. 

TYPES OF ART THERAPY: 

There are two basic ways in which an art therapist can approach the idea of art therapy:

Art Based Art Therapy

The first is art-based art therapy. In this approach the art therapist uses art as a means to relax you and in that calm space you may discover something about yourself. Art is used as a tool, an emotional journey to which discovery and healing are the end results. The art itself is healing and mirrors the emotional state you are in. It is a calming exercise and a therapeutic activity.

Therapy Based Art Therapy

The second approach focuses on the thought processes that that you go through whilst making the art. What are you consciously or unconsciously expressing through your art? The art therapist uses art as a window into the subconscious, and from there can attempt to figure out the underlying challenges you may be facing. It is a very beneficial mode of expression. 

What happens in an art therapy session?

1 ASSESS

During the first session the art therapist will find out what you’re going through, and gain any other background information you want to share. You and the art therapist will discuss some really specific aspects of your life that you want to change, and make a difference in. By measuring against your goals, you’ll know if you are heading in the right direction over the next few weeks.

2 BEGIN

The very first thing that needs to happen during the first session of treatment is for the therapist to establish a good rapport with the client. This rapport between the client and therapist is an important one because it allows for the development of trust in the relationship. 

Whilst you and your art therapist are establishing a rapport you’ll gently be introduced to processes and art materials that can be used in the creative process. There are so many different options based on the needs at the time in conjunction with what art materials you may wish to try at the time. 

A lot of people often pick up their first pastel or paint brush and say “oh my goodness, I haven’t done this since primary school!” And then those memories come flooding back. The art teacher may have judged the art work. The students may have commented negatively. And so the self-critic is born. Your art therapist will create a gentle space that encourages an exploration of that old self-critic. The art work becomes a partner in the art therapy process and you begin to create art for the therapy as opposed to aiming to complete an artistic masterpiece. You don’t need to worry about artistic accomplishment, but rather self-expression. An important aspect of this first artistic work is the reaction of the therapist to it. Encouragement, non-judgement and gentle acceptance is key.

3 PROGRESS

As the art therapy sessions progress, there is a tangible level of trust that has been established between you and the art therapist, and so the time is more directed toward achieving the goals that you may have set out initially. During this time, your art therapist reinstates direction and boundaries, both personally and professionally. Lastly, the mid phase of the treatment generally is when significant issues are treated.

Once again, there are many different techniques that are used in art therapy and knowing which one to use at what time is one of the skill of an art therapist. Each narrative is unique and each client is different, and so the art therapist will customise the art therapy for each individual person. 

4 END

As you come towards the close of your sessions, you and the art therapist will begin re-looking at the art that you have created throughout the sessions and talk about the progress that you have made. A beneficial technique is to continue adding to your visual diary, and create art around the feelings of ending the art therapy sessions. 

Research in the field of art therapy

Research into art therapy is gaining ground in Australia, as it catches up with the international world. The University of South Australia is currently exploring the benefits of art therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder. In hospitals around the world, stroke patients, palliative patients and chronically ill are all showing improved signs of well-being after sessions of art therapy. According to the American Art Therapy Association, the definition of art therapy, is that it is a human service profession that utilizes art media, images, the creative art process and patient/client responses to the created products as reflections of an individual’s development, abilities, personality, interests, concerns and conflicts. Wordy and in–depth. Defining art therapy can be a daunting task because it is an evolving science, and one which Melbourne just recently started using.

However, the rest of the world has been using this quantum leap in art therapy for decades. It is gently powerful and must become mainstream. Although the idea of self-discovery through art is an old one, the concept of art therapy is relatively new here in Australia. For years, artists of all kinds have been growing, learning and expressing themselves through their respective art mediums, but only until the last few years, have therapists turned to the arts as a potential tool for healing. 

Outcomes of art therapy

If it wasn’t for the art therapy, our primary school captain might still be hanging out with the wrong crowd, roughing his way around the playground. Perhaps now he has painted himself a whole new pathway for life.