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Art Therapist
Uses creative art-making to improve mental health, emotional well-being, and cognitive function.
Did you know?
In a 2016 Drexel University study, about 75% of adults had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol after just 45 minutes of making art.
How subjects help
- Art & Design: Guide someone to paint, draw or sculpt feelings that are hard to put into words.
- Psychology: Notice what a person's artwork reveals about their feelings and use it in therapy.
- Biology: Understand how stress affects the body and how calm creative work can ease it.
- Communication: Help a client talk about their artwork and what it means to them.
A famous name
Margaret Naumburg: Psychologist known as a founder of art therapy in the United States.
Try it yourself: Choose colours for a feeling
- Draw three small squares. Fill one with colours that feel calm, one that feel exciting, one that feel cosy.
- Show them to someone without telling them which is which. Can they guess?
- Now plan colours for a room where people should feel calm, like a waiting room. Draw it.
- Why do you think people feel differently about the same colour?
Painters, colour consultants and art therapists all use colour on purpose: to change how a space feels, or to help people show feelings that are hard to say.
Also try: Build a rubber-band instrument.
Known for it in
USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Israel