Being creative is one of life’s greatest joys.
It can transport you to a new place within your imagination, and there, you can harness your power and let go.
You can focus, express yourself in a new form or medium, and relax into the creative process.
Art therapy allows you to make art, in whichever form you’d like. To represent your thoughts and emotions, supporting change and growth in a way you hadn’t explored before.
That’s why, at Kimberley Care Group, we’re finding new ways to work with our clients, and art therapy is one of them. To communicate through art and build our self-awareness in a safe and creative way.
Read on for the benefits of art therapy and why we’re not only talking about creating with paint on a canvas.
Can anyone engage in art therapy?
Art therapy is so important for all our clients, and art is a creative pursuit that should be explored by anyone. Even if you deem yourself as creatively inept. Everyone has a creative bone in their body.
It’s completely inclusive as a therapeutic strategy. And that’s what makes it so powerful.
Allowing us to connect through the medium of art. Regardless of your background, age, culture or social grouping.
It defies social orders. Much like how Picasso showed us that we don’t need to paint a face that’s perfect or realistic. There aren’t any rules.
Creating art allows us all to take some time – focus our energy onto something real, and malleable. If we’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed, it can bring our attention to something present and in the moment. A practice of mindfulness, in many ways.
What’s amazing about art therapy is, it’s never about the end result.
Sure, we can have goals. We can have ideas of what we want to create. But allowing ourselves to become fully immersed in the creative process allows you to explore, subconsciously, what’s in your mind and body at that exact moment.
That’s when your most impactful pieces will come to fruition.
The benefits
Backed by studies and anecdotal evidence, art therapy transcends the way we work with our clients.
Studies have shown that it can have a positive and beneficial impact on all of the following:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Mood and general demeanour
- Quality of life
- Coping mechanisms
- Cognition
- Distress
- Self-esteem
It’s almost too good to be true, right?
Leaning in on our creativity in art, then, shouldn’t be overlooked.
And, sometimes focusing on medical intervention more than therapeutic strategies in the care world can be more detrimental, especially when we’re avoiding other routes of communication, to channel emotion and find a sense of freedom.
The personal impact
In Australia, and especially the Kimberley, we have many cultures and people coming together.
Sometimes, though, it can be hard to find a way to communicate with one another if there are obstructions like language barriers or cultural differences. This is when finding a way to communicate, outside of our verbal language, is important.
Speaking to Cristina Mazzochi of Krisdonoma, we discussed the impact of art therapy on two of our shared clients.
Cristina says that, “creativity connects cultures.” Art therapy is a way to connect people together whilst showing and exploring their talents, which might otherwise stay hidden away.
Art is a medium to communicate; it’s about “finding an inner power,” as Cristina believes.
When Kimberley Care Group first started working with Cristina, we knew this would be a unique relationship. Her passion for Aboriginal people and their culture shone brightly; it’s also what made her fall in love with Broome.
Cristina, herself, has always been a creative person. From painting and writing from a young age, to learning how to create animation in an art academy. After her studies, she started working for Disney in Italy.
Yes, Disney!
So her love of storytelling and creating art – most prominently, animation – has been brought to the Kimberley. She works with all manners of art forms, and even dabbles in music therapy.
We feel pretty lucky to have her work with us.
*Jason’s story
Cristina started working with Jason this year and the evolution of his art skills has been exciting to witness.
Jason has a huge capacity to create across mediums, but has since found a passion for the interactive nature of animation.
With animation, he can choose the music and sound effects; create voiceovers with his own voice; style the background; choose the characters and, with Cristina’s technology and certain software platforms, the image on the screen can actually mirror what is happening in front of it.
So, if Jason creates a character, he can become fully immersed in this role. When he speaks, the character speaks. When he moves, the character moves.
This allows Jason to effectively communicate, quite dynamically, through what he creates.
At the start of his creative journey with Cristina, Jason’s art reflected a darker mood.
There was mention of demons and fire. His animation seemed to capture his rage that he was feeling at the time, which relates to how Cristina perceives art:
“Art is an expression of oneself.”
As he became more confident in his creative abilities, and learnt to express himself through his work, Jason’s work became softer. He began creating short animation clips about nature; about defending a native tree from pollution, industrialisation and over-population.
With his art, Jason is finding new ways to tap into his mind and his emotions. With this, his behaviours in his home have improved. He prefers a tidy space and has improved his personal hygiene – creating a better environment for himself. Taking pride in his physical environment.
Through channelling any rage into his music, Jason is able to communicate it more effectively – less physically – and come to terms with it more. This has made it safer for him, and those around her.
It’s been incredible to watch his creative process and Jason will be enrolling into a TAFE music course in 2023. Something he never thought he would do, and something we cannot wait to see.
We can’t wait to see what’s next for this budding artist, and thanks to Cristina’s encouragement and talent, his growth is exponential.
*Katie’s story
Katie can struggle to connect with others. Especially new faces.
Fair enough, right?
But, with Cristina, art has bridged the gap of distance. Katie became more comfortable with Cristina being around because of their shared love: art.
And, after establishing rapport and finding out which medium works best for Katie, they decided to create something for others to enjoy.
Through the Indigenous Publishing House, Magabala Books, Katie is now creating a book.
We won’t spoil the premise, but it’s about spirituality – connecting the two worlds: the spirit world and the world which we live in (for most of the time).
It’s something that Katie feels passionately about and wants to share it with the world.
Cristina and Katie are working together to design the characters and layout, whilst writing and adapting the story as they go.
This is something we are excited to read!
Key takeaways
Art is for everyone, and engaging with art is incredibly important for many – if not all – of our clients.
You can unshackle your creativity, release dopamine (the happy chemical) and find a new medium to communicate through.
It can be a healing process, as well as a creative one.
Art in all its forms: sculpting, painting, drawing, writing and animation, are things that can transform someone’s entire way of living. Working with each client can find a new artistic endeavour. For some, it’s about drawing whereas others prefer the interactive nature of animation.
Taking an individualistic approach to art therapy is what will see bigger results.
The benefits of art therapy are huge and it’s important to remember to just go with it. And, to do that, we need to be in a safe and supported environment.
Connect with an art therapy teacher who you can trust, and be comfortable with. Or simply find your own way to create art – on your own.
It’s about finding what works for you.
Through your creative journey, there might be some bumps in the road.
But, the road to self-discovery isn’t always going to be easy. Much like Cape Leveque road before they laid down bitumen.
Find a way to move past emotional roadblocks (what’s with all these road references?) and discover how to communicate not only with yourself, but with others, too.
At Kimberley Care Group, there isn’t one way to connect with someone.
We’re always finding new ways to engage with our clients.
Art therapy has been one of the most impactful ways of connecting with some of them, and we’re keen to discover more.
If you’d like to enquire about art therapy, and how to get the most out of your NDIS plan, contact us today.
*Names have been changed to protect the identity of our clients
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279641