What Is Art Therapy?

“At therapy integrates all of the arts in a safe, non-judgmental setting to facilitate personal growth and healing. To use the arts expressively means going into our inner realms to discover feelings and to express them through visual art, movement, sound, writing or drama. This process fosters release, self-understanding, insight and awakens creativity and transpersonal states of consciousness.”
― Natalie Rogers

Art therapy offers a creative and clinically grounded approach to mental health that helps people express and work through emotions when words fall short. It focuses on the process of creating rather than artistic skill, making it accessible to anyone. Trained art therapists, who hold graduate-level education in both art and psychology, guide this work in settings such as hospitals, schools, mental health clinics, and community programs.

People use art therapy to explore trauma, depression, anxiety, grief, and more complex conditions like schizophrenia or dissociative disorders. Art therapy engages the mind and body in ways that traditional talk therapy often cannot. Through drawing, painting, or sculpting, people can access and externalize emotions and memories that may feel too overwhelming or unclear to articulate. These creative experiences often lead to deeper insights and more meaningful conversations, making the therapeutic process both expressive and grounded. Many also integrate art therapy with other approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Psychodynamics to meet each client’s specific needs.

Anyone can benefit from art therapy, regardless of age or background. You do not need to be an artist to participate. The act of creating offers a different way to explore your experiences, reflect on your emotions, and move toward greater clarity and self-understanding.