What Is Expressive Arts Therapy?

People who are experiencing mental health issues may have a difficult time interpreting or describing how they are feeling. Through expressive arts therapy, they can learn more about themselves and share what they are feeling in a therapeutic context.

If you're considering this therapy or it has been recommended to you, it's helpful to understand the types available and how it can help. Keep reading to also learn what research says about expressive arts therapy's effectiveness, along with things to consider when determining if it is the right therapy for you.

Types of Expressive Arts Therapy

The International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA) explains that expressive arts therapy is a multimodal approach, combining several expressive arts—movement, writing, music, and more—"to foster deep personal growth and community development." As a multimodal therapy, it draws on a few different types of single-modal approaches.

Four types of creative arts often used in expressive arts therapy include:

• Art therapy: This approach involves utilizing visual arts such as drawing, painting, and sculpting to work through emotions, thoughts, or experiences. 
• Dance therapy: This type of therapy uses physical movement and dance to help people cope with mental health symptoms such as anxiety, stress, and depression.
• Music therapy: This approach utilizes listening to or creating music to help improve mood and ease anxiety. 
• Writing therapy: This form of therapy involves exploring thoughts and emotions through writing approaches such as journaling or creating poems or fictional stories. 

While each of these therapeutic modalities can be used on its own, expressive arts therapy is an integration of several approaches together, sometimes in the same session. It can also be incorporated into other therapy methods and integrates well with several approaches.

Expressive Arts Therapy Techniques

This type of therapy focuses on the creative process. So, expressive arts therapists may draw on a wide variety of techniques to create a treatment best suited to the individual's needs. Such techniques can include:

• Creating sculptures, collages, or memory books
• Dancing or other forms of movement
• Drama or improvisation
• Journal writing, or reading or writing poems, stories, or songs
• Listening to or creating music
• Painting, drawing, or sketching

In addition to utilizing the healing properties of self-expression through art, professionals trained in expressive arts therapy also incorporate other types of therapy into their client sessions. They might pull techniques from psychodynamic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and mindfulness-based approaches.

What Expressive Arts Therapy Can Help With

Expressive arts therapy can be used with both adults and children and may be beneficial for several different mental health conditions. Some conditions or concerns it can help with include:

• Anxiety
• Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Bereavement or grief
• Brain injuries
• Chronic medical conditions
• Depression
• Developmental disorders
• Eating disorders
• Emotional issues
• Interpersonal issues
• Low self-esteem
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Stress

Benefits of Expressive Arts Therapy

The use of the expressive arts can augment talk therapy by allowing people to use strategies that work best for them. For some people, talking about their experiences may be the preferred form of self-exploration. Others, however, might benefit more from activities such as drawing a picture or writing in a journal. 

The IEATA shares that expressive arts therapy can help people improve creativity, gain clarity, and achieve deep healing. Plus, many art activities are suitable for a wide variety of individuals and can often be employed in any setting with only minimal supplies. 

One review found that expressive arts therapy has been used in a wide range of contexts. It has been implemented in community centers, as well as with people who are homeless, immigrants, cancer patients, patients in dementia care, and patients in hospice care.

Expressive Arts Therapy Effectiveness

Several pieces of research suggest that expressive arts therapy is effective in a variety of ways.

• A 2021 review concluded that this approach helped improve collaboration between patients, their families, and healthcare professionals in adult health and nursing care.
• A 2019 study found that art therapy was linked to improved cognitive functioning in elderly adults with mild neurocognitive disorders.
• A 2016 review reported that hospitalized children were calmer and seemed less stressed after expressive arts therapy sessions, also experiencing improvements in mood.

More generally, art-making has been found to have several positive mental health effects. For instance, a 2020 study found that engaging in a coloring activity helped reduce anxiety and improve mood in older adults.

If You're Considering Expressive Arts Therapy

If you are thinking about trying expressive arts therapy, you don't have to have training or experience in the activity you're doing. You also don't have to be good at that art form. This therapy is not about what you are creating; it is the process of creating that matters.

Expressive arts therapy isn’t the same as taking an art class. Your focus isn’t on learning artistic techniques but on the inner emotional experience as you engage in the artistic process, either in a receptive (such as listening to music) or creative (such as making art) manner.

That said, expressive arts therapy isn’t right for everyone. For example, it might not be a good fit for people who are skeptical or unwilling to participate in the creative experience. It may also not be appropriate for individuals with certain psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia.

Getting Started With Expressive Arts Therapy

If you are interested in trying expressive arts therapy, here's how to get started:

• First, find a therapist: Your first step is to find a therapist with training and experience in the expressive arts. You could ask your care provider for a referral or use an online therapist directory to find a local professional.
• Check with your insurance: Check with your insurance provider to see if your policy will cover the treatment and, if it does, to what extent. This treatment is more likely to be covered by insurance if provided by a certified psychologist or psychiatrist.
• Know what to expect: During an expressive arts therapy session, a therapist guides you through a process of exploring what you are feeling using an expressive art activity. They may have you work through multiple activities or you might focus on a specific form of expression, such as writing or dance.