With the city of Downtown Phoenix being surrounded by the arts, how does doing it impact people? Art therapy is an effective treatment for persons experiencing mental health struggles and/or impairment such as: developmental, medical, educational, social or psychological (Art Therapy Credentials Board Inc.). A goal in using art as a form of therapy, as described by the Art Therapy Credentials Board Inc., is to improve the client’s functioning and their personal well-being. Art therapy is not just painting. There are many different types of art therapies, such as drawing, dancing, writing, etc. (Cherry. 2022.). Art therapy is a unique form of therapy because it is a personal experience that allows a person to engage with the arts by tapping into their own creativity.
Arizona State University Alumni, Alex Clapham, is a graphic designer. She said that she has used design and traditional design work as a form of therapy to help her in stressful times, “I’ve always been a fine artist, but when I design, I attach to it very strongly because I felt like design is a way to communicate a lot of things that traditional painting, that I usually do, can’t. I feel like it’s an outlet for me to make myself feel calmer and better in that moment, but also know that I’m doing something for the benefit of other people and communication of ideas to other people.” She compared graphic design to scrape booking, saying, “You’ll drag and drop things into Adobe Illustrator and put them together, you know, use the type tool and just add a bunch of things on top of each other and play with texters where all of the things that I would be worried about that day just kind of float away because you’re just transfixed in your screen and all the possibilities of what you can do in the program.”
Created By Alex Clapham.
Dyaln Cagley, an artist from Minnesota, shared that she is diagnosed with depression, anxiety and ADHD. She said that she uses the art form of drawing as her therapy. She tried digital art and painting but didn’t enjoy it; she found that drawing (with pencil) came more natural to her. Cagley said that art has given her a space to put her energy into something beneficial, “When you’re doing any form of art you kind of get in the zone. There’s a lot of focused required so it brings you down form what you’re dealing with and there is a space to just breath and you can use art to vent out emotions and frustration.” She said that the best art comes from artist who are going through something because they’re relatable. She mentioned her realism drawing of Gerard Way and that this drawing was when she was practicing realism work, putting in hours to try and decompress and work on this painting and not focus on anything else. Cagley recommended for others to use art since she feels that it’s human to create and is also part of our well-being.
References:
Art Therapy Credentials Board Inc. (n.d.). WHAT IS ART THERAPY?
Alex Clapham. Graphic Designer. (980) 335-7326.
Cherry, Kendra. (Nov. 8, 2022). What Is Art Therapy? Verywell Mind.
Dylan Cagley. Artist. (763) 898-7425.
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