October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This Artwork is a collage I created in response to my work as an Art Therapist and Marriage & Family Therapist in San Diego North County. 

Anxiety is one of the main issues that people come to therapy to deal with.

Maybe you have never gone to therapy and the thought of talking about anxiety feels hard. Perhaps you have tried to “talk” to a therapist before about your anxiety. And it didn’t go as you hoped.

Some therapies rely much less on talking, Art Therapy is one of them.

In this edition of my Helping Professionals blog series, I want to introduce you to Megan Toth, one of my San Diego Art Therapy colleagues. Megan has a heart for helping our military men and women, and their families.

Megan co-founded Draw Near Art Studio & Workshops, an Art Psychoeducational Business where she leads “Draw Near” workshops with her colleague and co-founder.

I was happy to be quoted in the Good Trade article “Making Art Is My Playful Meditation Alternative." The article is about using process-based art as a mindfulness tool.

Art therapy is a type of mental health therapy that goes beyond words. It enables a client, working with a trained Art Therapist, to address issues and experiences in ways that can feel safer and more empowering. Creative expression can also be used to help integrate traumatic experiences. It's an active, engaging therapy that incorporates creativity and image-making to move you toward healing.

Your child loves art.

As a parent, you want to connect more, but art is just not your thing. On top of that, you know that creating art has the potential for a lot of mess, and frankly, it just feels overwhelming.

I know many parents feel uncomfortable with making art or handling art materials at home. There can be an element of chaos and mess that can feel overwhelming. If this, is you, read on!

While not everyone, has experienced the pandemic in the same way, we’ve all experienced unwelcome changes and some loss. In my experience, Art Therapy provides a process for people, young and old, to begin making meaning.

You can feel the nervous energy all a buzz. It’s on the freeway, in the parking lots, and those lines at the store. You can’t avoid it online either. Anxiety around the holidays is real. As a therapist, I know that for some people, the holidays just feel overwhelming.

The therapist you choose, whether in traditional talk therapy or in art therapy, is a big factor in what therapy sessions will be like. That is because the basis for any mental health treatment begins with a therapeutic relationship. Additionally, a therapist’s training, experiences, and theoretical orientation will also impact what a session is like.

Anxiety is a normal human experience. Perhaps that is why many people search daily for effective ways to cope with anxiety for themselves and their children.

Perhaps, you have been searching for ways to cope with your anxiety for years.

Many therapists use more expressive methods in therapy, including Art Therapists. People of all ages benefit greatly from these methods. For children, with less developed cognitive abilities, expressive therapies can compensate for any limitations of “talk therapy”. For anyone, especially parents who are seeking to understand more about Art Therapy I wanted to share three common misconceptions.

This past year can be described in many ways, but one thing that stands out is the undeniable losses. Many different types of losses. Loss of normalcy, loss of physical contact, loss of income and jobs, loss of large, gathered celebrations for weddings, anniversaries, and graduations. The loss of hopes and dreams, and the loss of many lives.

When I think of children who are quieter, I think about clients in the past and how art therapy helped them. While I cannot tell you their confidential stories, or share pictures of their artwork, their images created in art therapy still come to my memory. Powerful images.

As an Art Therapist in San Diego, I sometimes get asked if Art Therapy is the same as attending art classes. There are several differences, but the main distinction is when you meet with an Art Therapist, you are meeting with a licensed mental health professional. When you attend an art class, you are going to meet with a teacher. The teacher, who may hold a degree in art or education, typically is not a psychotherapist or counselor.