Art Therapy (Essay Sample)

Art media Review
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Introduction
Art therapy is simply defined as the form of psychotherapy that is used to improve patients’ mental, physical and emotional well being by allowing them to express themselves through art such as drawing, painting and other forms of creative expression (Betts, 2006). This is especially the case when patients have a hard time expressing themselves or understanding their motions. Art provides a subconscious way of having them express these feelings or motions which could result in improved self awareness and esteem, management of feelings and behaviours and reduced stress for the patient. Acrylic painting is one of the mediums of expression used in art therapy and it basically involves painting using acrylic paints, fast drying paints that contain pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion.
History of Acrylic Paint in Art Therapy
The history of acrylic paint is found in the later stages of the discovery and study of art therapy as a form of therapeutic treatment in psychology. Art therapy was explored in the late eighteenth and early twentieth centuries when doctors began to understand mental illnesses (Slayton et al., 2010). Before then mental illnesses were attributed to sorcery or demonic forces. During these periods researchers and psychologists began to view art as a medium of expression for patients who had a difficult time expressing themselves due to mental illness.
Art therapy was then born as a psychotherapeutic medium alongside talk and counselling. This led to the humanization of mentally ill patients and psychoanalysts began to look into therapeutic standards of diagnosing, assessment and research. The psychic process that they focused on was the patients’ placement of inner images into the outer world. While this process had been done using speech before, this group learnt that it could be done through other forms of expression such as art and thus art therapy was born. This therapeutic method of treatment has evolved over the years to include drawing and painting, including acrylic painting as a one of the artistic forms of expression. Art therapy stresses the focus on patients being interpreters of their own expressive work and bases this as one of the ways in which these patients are able to deal with their psychological issues.
Uses of Acrylic Paint in Different Populations
Art therapy was pioneered by Edith Kramer and Margaret Naumburg the United States (Reynolds, 2000). It was first referred to as art therapy in the 1940s and over time it was used on different populations depending on various demographic variances to treat mental and psychological issues. Art therapy for children has been found to be quite effective. This is especially because children and young people find it difficult to express themselves in words as clearly as adults would. This has especially been helpful in getting traumatized children to express themselves. It has also been found to be particularly helpful to patients who are too mentally ill to express themselves in speech coherently. In such cases, the patient may be trying to communicate but only managing to mumble gibberish and incoherent chatter and art therapy could be one way to allow them to express themselves.
Acrylic art therapy for adults is usually aimed at helping them understand things about themselves they may not have comprehended. It is therefore considered more beneficial to the patient than it is to the therapist as it enables the patient to see themselves in a new light and probably explain some things about themselves. Acrylic art therapy has been used on mentally ill patients but can also be used on normal individuals who may be trying to understand themselves. It is certainly helpful in normal individuals as it acts as a self revelation medium.
How Interventions are designed using Acrylic paint during Art Therapy
One of the adult interventions designed for adults is the creation of masks. The patient is allowed to create a mask using acrylic paint that represents their subconscious hero or the face they do not mind showing to the world. This then allows them to relay information that they find uncomfortable relaying such as traumatic experiences. This is often the case for people who mask their feelings and experiences by taking on an acting role in real life or in their head. This intervention allows for them to deal with the issues that have been bottled up without necessarily feeling vulnerable.
Collages are also used as an intervention medium for many patients. This form of intervention deals with assembling different images that creates a whole. This intervention can be used with patients whose life seems like a puzzle. It helps them sort if fit the pieces together. It is also used with patients who are uncomfortable with using other art forms such as drawing or moulding. Creating together is a form of group intervention where a group of patients collectively paint to create a whole. This form of intervention works for such cases as groups that need to learn how to work together such as families and in some cases in work places.
Effects of Acrylic Painting
Acrylic painting impacts the patient in the form of self discovery. Often, some mental illnesses and disorders such as depression and stress could stem from an imbalanced view on what is going on. Often, the patient’s subconscious has the whole picture in perspective but has a hard time relaying this picture to the person’s mind in full (Oster et al., 2006). They end up overemphasizing some parts, underemphasizing others and not seeing others all together. Acrylic painting under art therapy can be used to show the therapist and patient the condition of their mind. It could display the jumble or the incompleteness in comprehension and therefore help them take the right direction in healing. This is usually because human beings relate with art through emotions, making art a great medium of expression.
Acrylic painting also impacts other people apart from the patients or therapists. It could be used as a way of understanding others and could therefore explain away awkward situations such as are common with mental disorders. As viewers question the thoughts and mind set behind paintings they are allowed a peak into someone else’s world and this creates a sort of awareness about our diverse cognitive variations. Art not only opens up the painter’s mind but the viewer’s as well. In art therapy, acrylic painting could bring something to the therapist’s attention that they had not known previously. It could also better direct their line of questioning and intervention bringing about more effectiveness in results.
Possible Emotional Responses to Acrylic Paint in Art Therapy
Acrylic art therapy has been shown according to psychologists to improve social skills. This is because it allows expression from people who otherwise are not very good at it. Acrylic painting in art therapy helps with people who are shy or withdrawn and who have difficulties in social functioning. Acrylic painting has also been known to affect the peacefulness that the painter experiences as some colours balance serenity and stimulate resulting in creative stress dealing. The calming effect results in better psychophysical functioning in the body, which is why this form of therapy results in the overall well being of the person applying it. Acrylic painting usually uses the effects of colour to communicate the user’s condition. For instance, when one is feeling blue they may choose dull colours subconsciously even in painting what they interpret as happy conditions.
Acrylic painting can be used to set the mood during therapy and also outside of therapy. For instance some colours such as white, pink and brown among others have been known to result in a peaceful and serene feeling. Acrylic painting can be used to create an atmosphere of friendship, calmness, wisdom, spirituality, comfort, warmth, agitation, fear, frustration, intensity, happiness, sadness and anger among many other emotions through the creative play of colours. Some of the emotions elicited by therapy patients during acrylic painting in art therapy include dissociation, blaming, revulsion, numbing and fascination among other feelings. These are usually important in giving the therapist a mental picture of the issues at hand especially in cases where the patient is unable to express themselves coherently.
Assets and Liabilities of Acrylic Paint
Acrylic painting has the advantage of diversity. The user can express their thoughts as diversely as they want to and this could be in form of known forms or abstract forms. Either way, it has so many ways of interpreting the emotion and thought process behind the painting. This can be done by studying such things as the intensity in the brush strokes, any signs of chaos, signs of intensity and complexity, the choice of colours and the openness or how closed a painting is. This asset allows for one of the best forms of art therapy due to the ability to diversely express many different emotions. It also has the advantage of not necessarily requiring skill.
However, this is often a disadvantage for patients who are uncomfortable using brushes and painting to express themselves. In such cases, insisting on painting could add to their distress. However, in...