Creative Therapies
Using the arts is simply another way of expressing ourselves and the choice to do so is always yours.
Why use the arts in therapy?
Sometimes words can be restrictive and it may feel appropriate for you to explore or express a partcular issue or emotion using a more creative technique. This might include visual art, picture cards, drama, movement or play. In recognising the limits of everyday language and the fact that we experience the world through all our senses - not just one - the use of the arts if helpful to offer you full access to the different modes of sensory expression: visual (what we see), auditory (what we hear), kinesthetic (what we feel in our bodies).
A creative medium can connect talking and feeling in a very powerful way. This adds a depth and dimension to talking, thereby offering a different layer of insight into your issues. You don't have to do anything you are uncomfortable with or anything that makes you feel self concious. However, if you do feel like exploring your issues and emotions in a different way, or if you are struggling to articulate something with words alone, you can do some simple creative work. Sometimes seeing something on paper, or in movement is more meaningful than words.
The following creative methods are available for you to use:
Available for you to use will be:
Visual art materials (paints, crayons etc)
Sculpture with clay/playdoh
Drama including puppetry
Poetry and storytelling
Sand tray and miniature objects
Musical instruments
Dance, movement and bodywork and breathwork