Art Therapy Ideas for Substance Abuse Recovery and Behavioral Health TenEleven

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• When we go through something painful, whether it’s as intense as losing a loved one or as everyday as not accomplishing a professional goal, our brains and bodies sometimes do things with that pain without us even knowing it.
• Often, those who think themselves the most artistically challenged produce the most introspective, insightful pieces.
• There is a growing body of research that indicates that therapists can utilize creative interventions to help clients learn and generalize DBT skills.
• Click here to contact one of our caring Admissions Counselors for a free and anonymous assessment.
• In the TED Talk below, How Photography Saved My Life, Bryce Evans explains how therapeutic photography helped him recover from depression and anxiety.
• The article will also introduce training programs and degrees in expressive arts therapy and present a brief review of some of the best books on the subject.

How Art Can Help in Addiction Recovery

Creative Mindfulness “suggests a way of working therapeutically that is as containing and structured as DBT and as creative, embodied, and multi-sensory as expressive arts” (p. 235). These clinicians incorporated improvisation into their work, a tool that can be simultaneously playful, experiential, and grounding, ultimately producing substantial new insights for clients. Developing ways of coping with cravings, negative emotions, and addictive triggers is often critical to a client’s recovery. Alongside a licensed art therapist, they can not only identify these problematic feelings and ideas but find ways to deal with them so that they no longer motivate the individual toward addiction. Treatment providers have used art therapy in addiction treatment since the 1950s.

• Many people with SUD experience denial, and many who complete treatment are unsure regarding the work they need to do to maintain recovery.
• Furthermore, as someone works to bring emotions to the surface, they feel safe being expressive and feeling understood.
• However, the Barriers to Recovery exercise helps clients move from the contemplation stage into the preparation stage.
• With thank you cards, participants can also paint, draw, or even craft their cards to put a more personal touch on them.

Treatment Process

You don’t need special tools or a deep understanding of the arts to get started in an art therapy program for substance abuse disorders. To start art therapy and really have the program make a difference, patients need to be committed to getting clean and staying sober. Facing the possibility of life without drugs and alcohol can be scary, but it is the best way for you to move forward. Research indicates that integrating art therapy into established psychotherapy forms, such as cognitive-behavioral therapies, can have significant positive effects on client well-being. Though this study did not specifically discuss DBT, it demonstrated that implementing mindfulness, a core component of DBT, can assist individuals who are facing significant physical and emotional stressors.

Addiction Recovery and Art

When you take part in art therapy, you can reduce stress and express your emotions positively and safely. If you have a hard time quieting your mind or thoughts of your substance abuse, art can help you slow down the world and make you feel present. DBT has now been integrated with https://ecosoberhouse.com/ other expressive art therapies, including drama and music. Art therapists Karin von Daler and Lori Schwanbeck (2014) were instrumental in this expansion when they developed Creative Mindfulness, an approach to therapy integrating various expressive arts therapies with DBT.

Art Therapy for Addiction: Benefits, Techniques, How to Find a Therapist

Ruth Davey, the founder/director of Look Again has made a short video to give a taste of mindful photography and its benefits. This activity can be conducted with individuals or in a group and was devised by music therapist Paula Higgins. For this activity, you will need space for clients to sit or lie down, yoga mats or cushions for them to lie on, and a device that can play music either using the video below or your art therapy for addiction own source. This exercise should begin with a brief mindful breathing exercise for each participant to relax and register their stress levels. Then, encourage them to make marks with colors that represent their feelings and draw and paint their problems away. Self-portraiture using a range of materials can be very cathartic, and a series of self-portraits can reflect how a client sees themselves changing over time.

• Some choose to categorize art therapists with other types of therapists, while others require licensing standards for art therapists.
• This means that it is not a standalone treatment for addiction and should be used alongside other therapeutic approaches, such as CBT or a 12-step program.
• When used alongside evidence-based practices, it can help clients explore their feelings, handle stress, depression, and anxiety, and visualize themselves in a successful recovery.
• After assessing that she was just not ready to go there, I gently introduced the wall metaphor into the session.
• Use our resources and the power of art as a means of managing this challenging situation and find joy in the process.
• I have suffered for years from depression, anxiety, panic disorder, and PTSD.

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Bridging DBT with the arts for deeper understanding.