Art Therapy: do you need to be creative or talented?
One of the first things many people say when they find out I’m an Art Therapist is:
“Oh, I couldn’t do that, I’m not creative. I can’t even draw a stick figure.”
If this is you, I have good news for you!
You don’t have to be talented, know how to draw or see yourself as creative to benefit from art therapy.
It makes a lot of sense that this is the automatic response for so many people - as a culture, we’re pretty hung up on “producing results”, and there’s not a lot of space for adults to play. This is partly why art therapy can feel a bit uncomfortable at times. We’re not used to doing something where the point is the journey, not the destination.
The point of art therapy isn’t to create a masterpiece that will hang in the National Gallery, it’s to express externally some of what you’re feeling inside, so it’s visible in front of you and you can interact with it in new ways. You have full permission (and encouragement) to make images that aren’t ‘pretty’ - often our internal struggles are not pretty! And that is so okay and welcome.
It’s sometimes surprising for people that while what we create might not be pretty, it does feel deeply authentic and meaningful because it represents something real and true within us.
There is also no obligation to show anyone what you’ve created! It’s up to you what you do with your creations - some folk like to burn their work or throw it out, some put their images somewhere they can see them as a reminder of the insight they’ve gained, some like to keep them tucked away somewhere. If we’re working on Zoom and you don’t want to show me what you’ve created, you absolutely don’t have to.
Art therapy isn’t so much about how something looks, it’s a lot more about how it feels and what you learn about yourself and your experience of life while you’re doing it. Which means that nope, you don’t have to be talented or know how to draw.
If you can:
Be willing to try something new
Give yourself permission to play
Be open to maybe making things that aren’t ‘pretty’ (and maybe be surprised how much what you create speaks to you)
Be willing to give this ‘journey over destination’ approach a try
Then art therapy is for you!
Get in touch and book in a free 30 minute consultation to find out more :)