Retreat Into Art | Art Psychotherapy Bristol | Art Wellbeing South West | Creative Therapy

Addiction can take many forms including substance misuse (food, drugs and alcohol), or behavioural addictions (gaming, gambling or sex).

As addictions have a strong link to anxiety, art therapy can benefit people through the same techniques used by people who suffer with anxiety.

Feelings of shame are prevalent in people with addictions. This shame often stems from two primary areas:

• Shame from trauma experienced, (conscious or unconscious), which is often the precursor to addictive behaviour; behaviours developed to mask the shame.

• Shame resulting from our own addictive behaviour and our dysfunctional family systems.

In both of these cases, art therapy can assist in exploring feelings of shame.

HOW ART THERAPY CAN HELP REDUCE SHAME

• Helps to develop a language for the self
• Provides safety and containment for raw and unprocessed feelings
• Teaches self-reliance
• Discussing shameful feelings can be painful, so art therapy allows a person to explore the feelings without needing to express the shame verbally.
• Verbal expression of shame can often be confronting which can result with a person avoiding any discussion surrounding these feelings.
• Art therapy techniques can assist as a self-control method, by acting as a distraction to the obsession of addictive substances and maladaptive behaviour.

Anger is often thought of as a volatile emotion that results in an outward expression of rage, possibly violence.

This can be the case in some situations; however, anger can also be expressed in a quiet and deceptively destructive manner through avoidance, resistance, and silence.

Consequently, it may be easy to address issues around anger when outwardly expressive, however, for some clients, it can take deeper exploration to discover the impact of personally held anger.

Anger is an emotion that is experienced across all ages and the manifestation of anger can differ across age groups as individuals develop more knowledge about social norms and healthy expressions of anger and frustration.

The development of anger can stem from a wide variety of life experiences.

Anger can be short lived due to a spontaneous event such as someone cutting you up in traffic or your dog chewing your favourite walking shoes. However, anger can also be pervasive and enduring due to long term events.

Although anger may prove to be an impetus in some situations for positive change, it’s not ideal for anger to be the default emotion that a person experiences in situations.

If anger is the prevailing emotion for many of their situations, this will be an area needing further exploration beyond coping techniques for isolated incidents.

HOW ART THERAPY CAN HELP MANAGE ANGER

• A helpful channel for angry emotions
• Helps bypass verbal communication of the reason behind anger.
• Develops mindfulness skills to cope with high conflict situations.
• Develops additional communication skills linked to the creative process.
• Artwork can provide a ‘container’ to store the emotion of anger.
• Creating art can channel the energy that anger requires into art.
• Validates feelings.
• Gives a physical manifestation of the emotions of anger.
• Creating symbols and metaphors for anger
• Discovering hidden feelings of anger in complex situations
• Developing problem-solving skills to delay anger.

(Art Therapy Resources 2023)

Anxiety refers to thought and behavioural issues that result from excessive fear.

Fear is best described as an emotional response to a real or perceived threat, whereas anxiety focuses on the anticipation of a future threat.

Anxiety may often be described by words such as stress, worry or nervousness.

Every day we live under some level of pressure where anxiety can sometimes help us to prepare for difficult or stressful times. We can often regulate the feeling of anxiety through relaxation techniques, hobbies, exercise, entertainment or talking with someone.

In a best-case scenario, the feelings of anxiety are short lived, and we return to our normal day to day routines without any major disruption.

However, in some cases, these levels of anxiety are more intense and prolonged and as a result, the effect on our lives becomes more disruptive and abnormal.

Anxiety is classified as a disorder once the symptoms of anxiety become chronic and disrupt our ability to function in our daily lives.

BENEFITS OF ART THERAPY FOR ANXIETY

• Calms the nervous system
• Acts as a distraction
• Interrupts rumination
• Encourages focus on one thing
• Increases self-esteem from the act of creating something
• Reduces over-stimulation from external sources
• Provides tactile stimulation
• Venting, releasing stress
• Useful when verbal expression is limited
• Encourages "play"
• Art activities can be undertaken outside of therapy when situations arise

(Art Therapy Resources 2023)

Depression extends beyond a few days of sadness and can often be experienced over weeks, months or years.

As a result depression often negatively impacts a persons ability to function in work, school, family and social life.

Depression symptoms can often manifest differently for people.

For this reason, art therapy provides an alternative to treatment where sufferers have previously been resistant to talking therapies.

Depression sufferers may have verbally expressed concerns to loved ones and received messages that feel like a judgement of their feelings.

A key factor in determining the underlying issues of a current state of depression is to explore how a person gives meaning to specific events and feelings.

What may be a tragic event in one person’s life may be viewed as an opportunity for growth to another person.

What makes this perception even more significant to the individual is how they are able to cope with the event.

These two key areas of meaning and coping play a significant factor in whether a person can recover from an event or retreat into behaviours that are relevant to depression.

HOW ART THERAPY CAN HELP WITH DEPRESSION

• Self-soothes
• Enables emotional expression
• Enables emotional regulation
• Helps with overwhelming emotions
• Helps diffuse negative thoughts
• Helps explore personal values
• Helps explore resilience
• Stabilises mood through relaxing art techniques and creativity

(Art Therapy Resources 2023)

Fear is a common emotion that we all experience at various levels.

Fear is essentially a response to a stimulus that we interpret (consciously or subconsciously) as a threat.

That threat can represent an immediate danger such as crossing the road or it can represent a future perceived danger, such as an exam for a course.

Fear begins in childhood and as children move through important developmental stages, they gain a new understanding of fears and how to control them.

This becomes an important learning phase for children as they transition to adulthood and develop strategies to cope with fears.

As noted by the above examples, fear can also be based on actual physical threats of danger such as traffic or an intangible threat such as the fear of failing an exam.

Our fears can be consciously available to us by clearly seeing the threat of traffic crossing the road, or it can be embedded in our subconscious based on an event that may have occurred 30 years ago.

HOW ART THERAPY CAN HELP MANAGE FEAR

• Identifying the fear
• Regulating emotions
• Encouraging resilience
• Calms the nervous system.
• Acts as a distraction from the fear source
• Interrupts rumination
• Encourages focus on one thing.
• Increases self-esteem from the act of creating something.
• Reduces over-stimulation from external sources.
• Provides tactile stimulation.
• Venting, releasing stress.
• Useful when verbal expression is limited.
• Encourages “play”
• Art activities can be undertaken outside of therapy when situations arise.

(Art Therapy Resources 2023)

Fatigue is generally considered as a diminished physical or mental capacity.

As fatigue develops, a person is more likely to make errors of judgment due to the disruption of attention that fatigue causes.

Within a mental health capacity, fatigue and stress interact closely to create dysfunction in both thinking and behavioural decisions.

While anxiety and stress may precede fatigue, often fatigue will cycle around to cause anxiety and stress as dysfunctional consequences occur.

Most of us may experience a sleepless night or activity packed day and this can make us feel tired, exhausted and run down.

This feeling is usually short lived and can be quickly remedied through rest.

Fatigue relates to a more enduring level of tiredness and exhaustion and is characterised by its effect on an individual’s ability to perform.

HOW ART THERAPY CAN HELP WITH FATIGUE

• Reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression
• Encourage coping skills.
• Help explore history and triggers behind the fatigue.
• Explore feelings of loss through art which may have occurred as a result of ongoing fatigue.
• Help explore frustrations with the physical experiences and limitations that occur as a result of fatigue.

(Art Therapy Resources 2023)

Resilience refers to the capacity we have to bounce back from difficult situations.

Resilience is not ignoring or suppressing the emotional effects of difficult situations, but instead, it is the ability to process emotions and thoughts and resume normal functioning despite difficult situations.

To be resilient means facing everyday stress as well as singular trauma events.

Trauma events can present as a distinct event; however, daily stress can develop and grow in intensity as we go about our daily lives.

For some people, this stress can build for a short period of time before an emotional break occurs.

For others, the accumulation of daily stress results in exhaustion and begins to change the fundamental beliefs a person has about their ability to cope with life.

Life is unavoidably difficult whether it be through traumatic events or daily stress.

To protect our overall well-being it is important to learn skills that will help us become resilient.

ART THERAPY CAN HELP AID RECOVERY AND ENHANCE AN INDIVIDUALS RESILIENCY THROUGH

• Self-expression
• Sense of autonomy
• Increased self-worth
• Increased self-esteem
• Facilitating creativity
• Individual support
• Group support

>Non-judgmental expression

(Art Therapy Resources 2023)

Below are 10 questions to explore your current levels of resilience.

1. Do I adapt to changing circumstances

2. Am I able to make decisions to deal with whatever problem comes my way

3. Am I able to see the humorous side of things in all circumstances

4. Do I become stronger from going through stressful events

5. Do I bounce back after illness or injury

6. Do I believe I can achieve goals despite obstacles

7. Can I stay focused under pressure

8. Am I discouraged by failure, then quit or avoid

9. Do I think of myself as a strong person when facing challenges

10. Am I able to handle unpleasant feelings?

(Art Therapy Resources 2023)

The word stress has become a common word to explain the heightened level of anxiety we experience in a given situation.

Typically, as the event subsides, so do our heightened emotions, and within a short time we are able to return to normal daily functioning.

The experience of trauma and stress as defined in the DSM-5, relates to more extreme traumatic stressors such as witnessing a death, or a physical threat to self or others.

Often in traumatic events, severe anxiety will develop along with other symptoms of dissociation.

A person experiencing this kind of acute stress often has difficulty concentrating, experiences recurring images, thoughts, and dreams, and can relive the distress when exposed to reminders of the traumatic event.

As with most psychological processes, individual experiences to the same event may vary between two people in both duration and intensity of the symptoms.

Many factors contribute to the emotional experience of a traumatic event including the nature of the event, previous life experiences, personality, coping skills and available support following the event.

Art Therapy can be useful for people who have experienced a traumatic event and are suffering from ongoing acute stress.

HOW ART THERAPY CAN HELP WITH STRESS

• Activities can facilitate memory reconstruction
• Aid in self-regulating sensory experiences.
• Provide relief from verbal communication
• Allow a person to explore self-expression through visual communication

(Art Therapy Resources 2023)

Art therapy has significant benefits for individuals who have experienced trauma. A trauma-informed approach to art therapy acknowledges the impact of past experiences on mental and emotional well-being, emphasizing safety, validation, and compassionate support.

Trauma-informed art therapy recognizes that healing must occur on multiple levels simultaneously. It’s not enough to address the surface symptoms of trauma; instead, therapists must delve deeper, exploring the underlying beliefs, emotions, and relational patterns that have been shaped by the experience of trauma.

This holistic approach to therapy emphasizes the interconnectedness of mind and body. It recognizes that trauma is stored not only in the brain but also in the body, manifesting as physical symptoms such as tension, pain, and somatic complaints. Through art therapy, clients can access these embodied experiences, using the creative process to explore and release stored trauma from their bodies.

Moreover, trauma-informed art therapy acknowledges the role of social and cultural factors in shaping individuals’ experiences of trauma. It recognizes that marginalized communities may face unique challenges and barriers to healing. As such, therapists must approach their work with cultural humility, acknowledging their own biases and strive to create a therapeutic environment that is inclusive and affirming for all clients.

At its core, trauma-informed art therapy is about creating a safe and supportive space where clients can explore their experiences, express their emotions, and begin the process of healing. It’s about empowering clients to reclaim their agency and rewrite their narratives by transforming their pain into resilience and strength. It’s also about fostering a sense of connection and belonging and reminding clients that they are not alone on their journey toward healing.

HOW ART THERAPY CAN HELP WITH TRAUMA

• Provides an opportunity to express through art
• A powerful alternative for processing and articulating complex emotions.
• Symbolism encourages clients to explore the meaning behind their creations and how it reflects inner conflicts, thoughts, and emotions.
• Symbols serve as bridges between the conscious and unconscious mind and offer a visual language through which clients can convey their innermost thoughts, feelings, and memories.
• Through the exploration of symbolism, clients can uncover hidden aspects of their trauma and gain insight into their experiences.
• Enables clients to construct cohesive narratives that reflect their lived experiences.
• Through the creation of visual narratives, clients can externalize their trauma and gain a sense of mastery over their stories.
• Allows clients to reframe their experiences, reclaim agency, and rewrite the narrative of their trauma in a way that empowers them.
• Offers grounding techniques for regulating emotions
• Anchors clients in the present moment
• Helps clients feel safe and supported
• Reduces feelings of overwhelm and dysregulation.
• Mindfulness practices, sensory exploration, and deep breathing exercises are additional examples of grounding techniques used to facilitate emotional regulation and stability.
• Offers a holistic approach to healing that recognizes the interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit.
• Integrates nonverbal expression, symbolism, narrative processing, and grounding techniques,
• Creates a safe and supportive space for clients to explore their trauma, express their emotions, and begin the process of healing and resilience-building.
• Activities can facilitate memory reconstruction as well as aid in self-regulating sensory experiences.
• Provides relief from verbal communication demands and allows a person to explore self-expression through visual communication

(Art Therapy Resources 2023)