Art therapy can give people a voice, develop social skills, assist in relaxation, and much more. Art therapy is defined by the dictionary as “a form of psychotherapy involving the encouragement of free self-expression through painting, drawing, or modeling, used as a remedial activity or an aid to diagnosis”. As stated on the Huffington Post, art therapy exercises are often meant to emphasize the process, not the result, of the project. The following are some therapeutic art projects that you may want to begin to help you connect with your feelings and express yourself:
- Draw or paint your emotions. You don’t have to be an artist by any means. Sometimes just expressing yourself through paint, markers, colored pencils and more can be a wonderful way to identify how you’re feeling.
- Design a postcard you will never send. If there’s someone you’re upset with but never got to express you how feel, you could decorate a postcard, even if you never plan to send it. You could express yourself in the ways they hurt you and tell them about how they make you feel. This could be a wonderful way to release your emotion.
- Decorate a shoebox. On the outside of the shoebox, decorate it as everyone else sees you. On the inside, decorate it how you view yourself. Once you’re done, explore the differences between the two and identify some ways you can make these both more on the same level.
- Make a zentangle. This is a fun, relaxing, effortless way to create beautiful pictures through drawing structured patterns. You may use lines, dots, simple curves, and much more. As stated on their website, zentangles are meant for you to focus on each stroke and not on the result of the picture. This project incorporates mindfulness.
- Create a drawing that represents freedom. What does freedom look like to you? The release of hidden or suppressed emotions, the expression of your feelings to loved ones, the ability to move forward in your life and forgive yourself – these are all ways that you can create freedom in your life. Spend some time exploring this in an art project that represents it to you.
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