Mindfulness-Based Expressive Arts
You don’t have to be an artist or someone with any experience in the arts what-so-ever to benefit from expressive arts therapy, just a sense of curiosity and an open willingness to explore. Since Art is a universal language, Expressive Arts Therapy can be engaged by anyone, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or cultural identity.
Expressive arts help us connect with parts of ourselves that traditional talk therapy may not so easily reach. Art-processing provides a tactile experience that induces body sensations and emotions; it increases positive affect when compared to verbal processing (Czeamanski-Cohen & Weihs, 2016). Engagement in expressive arts therapy allows clients to explore deep and often hidden feelings. In a therapeutic setting, the art-making process can facilitate and support the release of difficult emotions such as sadness or anxiety. This release results in a more relaxed nervous system and a sense of catharsis.
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