How an Art Therapist can help you creatively cope with your anxiety.

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.

Most of the time you feel like you are just getting by and making it through the day.  You’re doing deep breathing, exercising, and self-care, but you wish you could deal more effectively. If you could deal more effectively with your anxiety, how would that change your day? Your week?

How can an art therapist help you deal more effectively with your anxiety? 

Art therapists are mental health clinicians trained in psychology, art-making, and the creative process. The creative process is an active exploration of possibilities, a way of thinking that looks for and imagines multiple solutions. Interestingly, our anxious minds are very creative! They think about the future, actively imagining an endless stream of what could go wrong and possible negative outcomes.

Perhaps you have had vivid movies play out in your mind. Unlike the “re-experiencing” of past trauma or a bad dream, anxiety is often a “pre-experiencing” of something bad that could happen in the future.  It’s a movie trailer for a movie you want to avoid.  And avoid you do.  The thing is that those movie trailers always exaggerate the danger of a situation for dramatic effect.  Then you greatly underestimate your ability to navigate the challenge and succeed.

Art Therapy can help you redirect and focus your creative imagination to transform your anxious thoughts.

In Art Therapy, you can use your creative mind to help you calm down and gain some perspective. You can become empowered to direct your movie trailers in a new way and actively imagine different, more positive things happening. Guided by a trained art therapist, you can also craft powerful, tangible reminders to help you think about whatever is true and positive about you and your situation.

As an art therapist, I want my clients to visualize successful outcomes

Creating can be highly stimulating, but also relaxing at the same time. It’s peaceful energy, rather than the draining energy of frantic busyness and anxious thoughts. It’s in this peaceful, focus that people can come up with new ideas, and alternative answers to problems. You can not only visualize successful outcomes but also imagine new ways of coping.

Thinking about creating art makes me feel anxious, how will that make things better?

Good question!  For children, creating art comes much more naturally, and they typically are excited to create art in therapy, rather than have a long conversation with an adult. Adults tend to prefer talking because we can talk and talk to somewhat avoid getting to the actual issue or thinking about any type of solution.

Art Therapy involves becoming an active participant in therapy to a greater degree than simply talking about a problem. And the active process can circumvent your avoidance, one of the most prevalent issues that keep you stuck. Sometimes, when people are struggling with anxiety, there is also a tendency toward perfectionism. With this tendency, when things are not perfect, anxiety can increase. 

Art therapy is a process that involves communicating difficult experiences and feelings with art materials, rather than creating art that “looks right” or is aesthetically pleasing.

In general, what most people fear about therapy is that the therapist will judge them. This fear is magnified when people think of coming to see an art therapist. They not only fear judgment about who they are, and their problems, but they also worry about their inability to draw.

First and foremost, I’m a therapist and I’m concerned with helping you with your fears, not critiquing your stick figures. Your fear of judgment, criticism, and not being perfect can be a problem in multiple areas of your life.   I want to help you learn to accept all parts of yourself, even the part of yourself that does things imperfectly.

The truth is that beginning a new relationship in any type of therapy, whether it is talk therapy or art therapy, can make anyone feel a bit unnerved.

As a therapist, I have come to know many other therapists. What I have observed is most people who work in this field have a high degree of empathy and compassion for other people. We do assess people for mental health symptoms which is a process of observing and listening to you, asking questions about your history, and asking about your symptoms so we can do our best to help you.  For some clients, this can feel uncomfortable, which is understandable.

Here’s the thing.  If you struggle with anxiety, you may have learned to avoid certain things because you anticipate how uncomfortable, or difficult it will be. 

If over this past year, you have been searching for effective ways to cope with anxiety for yourself or your child, Art Therapy can support you. What may seem initially awkward or uncomfortable can transform into something that helps you heal.  In November 2019, The World Health Organization (WHO) published a report about the arts. Their report looked at the prevention, treatment, and management of a range of physical and mental health issues.  They reported that the arts can enhance our well-being and reduce the impact of trauma by supporting recovery.

I encourage anyone interested in participating in Art Therapy to seek out an art therapist credentialed through the Art Therapy Credential Board (ATCB). As a national credentialing board, the ATCB ensures the educational and professional standards needed to be a qualified art therapist are met and maintained.  This is essential in any mental health field to provide an ethical standard of care and improve treatment outcomes. 

Free consultation for Art Therapy in San Diego

If you are looking for a Therapist in San Marcos, CA who helps kids and adults with anxiety, click here to visit my contact page where you can book a free, phone consultation.

If you would like to learn more about how I help with art therapy, click here.

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