Art Therapy
Art therapy is another form of complementary therapy that goes hand-in-hand with conventional treatment methodologies. By creating art, it helps the patient with emotions, physical, mental and spiritual healing. Thoughts and feelings can get liberated and self-esteem can be built through art.
Whether it’s poetry, drawing, painting, carve, or hand-crafted artwork, Art therapy also allows patients to practice meditation and build relationships with people through talking while working in art. We believe that everyone is a potential artist and has the ability to be creative without any constraints, criticism or judgement.
Patients are free to express themselves through visual artistic expression or appreciation. Art therapy can be done regardless of venues. It can be in art studios, or in hospital beds as long as patients are comfortable to express their hidden emotions and at the same time benefit from the art they practice.
What It Does
According to cancerconnect.com, some Art therapists view the act of creating as the primary goal. In particular circumstances, however, creativity may be less important than gaining insight or expressing feelings.
Images are mental illustrations or inner messages sent by individuals to themselves. Art offers an opportunity to contact oneself through the senses and to create a tangible record of sensations, perceptions and feelings.
In addition to helping the patient, Art therapy can also help those who work with patients. The visual images the patient creates provide a tangible, permanent record of the patient’s state of mind at that time and allow the therapist, artist, nurse, or educator to access the patient’s emotions.
Art therapy offers cancer patients an outlet from expression, a source of empowerment, a strong form of support that can promote a more fluid healing journey. The creative process can be a powerful source of comfort and strength while facing illness.
Principles
The principle of Art therapy is to create a visible item as a form of expression for patients to communicate their inner emotions, which is a key factor in the healing process.
Many research studies show that during times of severe stress or life-threatening circumstances, encoded memory visually and through sensory channels, bypassing the conscious or verbal systems in one’s memory. Art therapy acts as an alternative outlet for such nonverbal memories and feelings to surface so that they can be confronted and hopefully managed.
The other principle behind this therapy is that the beauty of creative works gives an uplifting and refreshing sense to the patients. The artwork elicits powerful emotions in patients. Part of that power is distraction and the ability to remove one mentally from the constraints of physical or emotional pain. This helps to contribute to healing by reducing stress and enhancing patients’ well-being.
For cancer
Art therapy offers cancer patients an outlet from expression, a source of empowerment, a strong form of support that can promote a more fluid healing journey. The creative process can be a powerful source of comfort and strength while facing illness.
Art therapy was found to support children and parents during painful procedures for leukemia treatment. It had a lasting positive effect on women dealing with breast cancer and its therapy. In addition. other studies also showed that it decreased depression and fatigue in women undergoing chemotherapy. Therefore, Art therapy can provide plenty of benefits to patients’ lives.
