The Therapeutic Benefits of Art

The overarching mission of any human service worker is to enhance the well-being of the individuals served.  Art is a highly effective tool you can use to benefit your clients as whole people; one does not have to be an Art Therapist to enjoy and share the benefits of the creative process.

Using art, you can increase the physical, emotional, and social well-being of your clients.  Creating art benefits people physically by: developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, distracting from pain, reducing cortisol levels, and leading to better vital signs overall.  Emotionally, the artistic process helps to:  improve behavioral difficulties, facilitate expression, raise self-efficacy and self-esteem, decrease negative emotions, and increase positive emotions.  Art making enhances social well-being by:  increasing group cohesion and community connectedness, encouraging communication, facilitating respect and bonding with peers, diminishing loneliness and isolation, and improving relationships.

Personally, I use art to help myself relax, to ease the experience of difficult circumstances, and to connect with others.  Professionally, I have used art to: welcome new clients to a group, bond more easily with others, ease transitions, resolve conflicts between clients and bring people closer together, enhance holiday celebrations, and beautify the program area.  I also use art to create games and recreational activities with my clients, and for them to enjoy.

You do not have to be an art therapist, or even an artist, to enhance the well-being of others through the creative arts.  Art does not have to be aesthetically pleasing or “pretty” to be good.  There is no “right” or “wrong” in art.  Do not be afraid to experiment.  Relax, create, and ENJOY the endless benefits of art!