What is it?
Art and Healing is a field in both the art world and medical world. When using the word art, it means all of the types of art. Art therapy and expressive art overlap art and healing, both fields of which use art in healing. These fields tend to concentrate more on the therapy aspect. But in art and healing, the artist is you. Healing through art requires no training, and the creative process in itself heals. Artists and medical enthusiasts alike have realized that art can be therapeutic and have its own healing properties. |
True healing is not merely waiting for time to heal, but it is creating opportunities where healing takes place. The process of mending can make one stronger.
Healing Through Art
We as humans demonstrate health-seeking behavior. As seen throughout history, when there is suffering, humans have the natural tendency to alleviate pain (mental, physical, etc) by expressing themselves through music, art, poetry, and other various modalities. Us humans seek healing through creativity, because human beings are innate creators. Each one of us is born with the capacity to make sense of the world through imagination, play, and expression. We have natural image-making abilities. This can be seen in babies: before they are able to speak or write, babies and young children use images and their imagination to make sense of the world around them.