Creative Arts Therapy in Recovery

In creating art, you can learn how to overcome emotional roadblocks and express yourself when communicating with others. Hanes, who is the driving force behind the art therapy at Arcadia Trails, says incorporating expressive arts isn’t just a creative process for his patients — it’s vital to their recovery. It’s no secret that people have been using the arts for communication, self-expression, and healing for thousands of years, but it wasn’t until the 1940s that art therapy became a formal https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/how-art-therapy-can-help-in-addiction-recovery/ program. It all started with doctors noting that individuals living with mental illness often expressed themselves in drawings and other artworks, which led many to explore the use of art as a healing strategy. Through the creative process, individuals can learn to express their feelings and emotions in a safe and non-judgmental environment. This can help individuals to develop a better understanding of themselves and their own capabilities, which can lead to increased self-confidence.

We use a combination of addiction therapies, including creative arts therapy, to guide you along the path to living a healthy and sober life. CAM includes diverse treatments, such as art therapy, music therapy, hypnotherapy, acupuncture, and herbal remedies. The INTEGRIS Arcadia Trails Center for Addiction Recovery is the perfect setting for artistic expression. Situated among the gently rolling hills and oak forests between Lake Arcadia and Edmond on the medical campus of INTEGRIS Health Edmond, Arcadia Trails is Oklahoma’s newest and most advanced residential drug and alcohol treatment center. Addiction is holistically addressed, along with its co-occurring and compounding issues – mental illness and trauma – while incorporating the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Art therapy plays a key role in addiction treatment in many rehabilitation facilities to help aid in the recovery process.

How Art Therapy’s Freedom of Expression Helps Addiction Recovery

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need any background in art or natural artistic talent to benefit from art therapy. This form of addiction treatment focuses on the process of creating art, not the end result. You may feel inspired to experiment with different mediums and techniques as you progress in your recovery journey, but all you need to begin is an open mind and a commitment to staying sober.

Unlike many other substance abuse centers, Arcadia Trails uses practices ranging from art therapy and mindfulness practices to traditional therapy and group support. Most creative arts therapy sessions begin with a specific prompt, but they can also be free-form. An initial prompt helps participants jump into the creative process with a little help. Addiction impacts many parts of a person’s life, and it can be difficult to remember who you truly are when you’re facing the disease. Using expressive arts therapy can help you battle Drug and Alcohol Addiction to rekindle your old passions and reconnect to a truer version of yourself — who you were before addiction took hold.

The Impact of Art Rehabilitation Therapy for Addiction

Through these art therapy sessions, you learn coping skills and communicate feelings caused by addiction and trauma, which ultimately help you heal and enter recovery. First, the findings cannot be generalized to treatment programs located in Veterans Health Administration facilities or based in correctional facilities, since these were excluded from the study. These data are cross-sectional, restricting our ability to make causal arguments.

• Art therapy is an excellent tool for those struggling with addiction, as it helps to provide insight into one’s behavior, thoughts, and feelings.
• At The Raleigh House, we’re proud of both the environment we’ve created and our evidence-based treatment led by our experienced team.
• Our clients spend an hour to an hour and a half each week engaging in art therapy projects like clay, painting, drawing and various arts and crafts.
• There is a certain level of relaxation that is required in order to create something artistic.
• This includes cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, and motivational interviewing to provide a well-rounded treatment experience that gives our clients the best chance for a lasting recovery.

After living a life of chaos, destruction and constant let downs, Mark was able to make a complete turnaround that sparked a new way of life. At WhiteSands Treatment, we offer support to you in your homes or when you are out living in your daily lives. It’s easy to see why, for many of us, conventional therapy can at times be challenging. The material is not a substitute for qualified medical diagnoses, treatment, or advice. It should not be used to replace the suggestions of your personal physician or other health care professionals. One of our experienced intake professionals will contact you shortly to discuss your treatment and recovery options.

How Does Art Therapy Work?

In the United States, the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and the American Art Therapy Association set and maintain standards for art therapy education. Another organization, the Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB), monitors art therapists to ensure that they provide quality, ethical care. Professionals have used art therapy to help clients with a wide range of conditions, including emotional, physical, and psychological problems as well as with various diseases and disorders. With this method, the therapist aids the client in working out their inner thoughts, feelings, emotions, and experiences. It can also be used as an explanatory tool for a person to explain what they are thinking or feeling as they describe the artwork from the artwork’s point of view. If you are considering art therapy, call us at Cardinal Recovery and ask about our treatment plans.

Art therapy activities can be used to explore one’s feelings and emotions, and to express themselves in a creative and unique way. Art therapy can also be used to help individuals to explore their interests and passions, as well as to develop new skills and abilities. Through art therapy, individuals can find an outlet to express themselves and explore their creativity.

Many patients initially feel hesitant about exploring and addressing those issues in group therapy or in conversation. Art therapy uses artistic methods to treat psychological disorders and enhance mental health. Art therapy is practiced in mental health, rehabilitation, medical, educational, and forensic settings, as well as in private practices, workshops, and small group settings. Substance abuse disorders can be very difficult to struggle with, but there are ways you can achieve sobriety today and for the long run. Seeking treatment from experienced rehab and recovery professionals can increase your odds of kicking your old habits and preventing relapse in the future.

• Another organization, the Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB), monitors art therapists to ensure that they provide quality, ethical care.
• Over time, this promotes feelings of balance and control that enhance the benefits of other forms of substance abuse treatment.
• The average logged program size was 2.6, which represented 27.1 FTEs (the median was 12.5 FTEs), while the average age of a treatment program was 28.4 years.
• It is important to note that you do not need to consider yourself an “artist” or have any artistic training to enjoy the benefits of art therapy.
• Creative therapies, specifically, offer individuals multiple avenues of expression and healing.
• Many treatment centers offer their clients different types of therapy, such as individual, group, skills-focused, relapse prevention, and art therapy.

Oftentimes, this fosters an atmosphere of leisure that lends itself to more natural verbal processing. When there is no specific visual, people can find freedom in simply beginning; healing happens when they discover where this freedom of expression can lead them. Art therapy also has a way of helping participants uncover and address deep-seated feelings that they’ve pushed into their subconscious for years. It’s worth pointing out that art therapy can also be fun, even if you don’t consider yourself to be artistically talented.