DEFINITION Art therapy is an established mental health profession that uses the creative process of art making to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages. It is based on the belief that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and self-awareness, and achieve insight. Art therapy integrates the fields of human development, visual art (drawing, painting, sculpture, and other art forms), and the creative process with models of counseling and psychotherapy. It is in essence the marriage of art and psychology.
Although art therapists do not psychoanalyze art, they are skilled in the application of a variety of art modalities (drawing, painting, sculpture, and other media) for assessment and treatment. Several pieces of art are used to form an assessment based on elements within the art and its process. Art therapy is made up of two parts, the product and the process. The process has just as much value or more than the product itself. It is through the process that the healing occurs. The product becomes the visual expression of what occurred in the process.