What is Art Therapy?
Art can be an effective tool in mental health treatment. As an expressive medium, art can be used to help clients communicate, overcome stress, and explore different aspects of their own personalities. In psychology, the use of artistic methods to treat psychological disorders and enhance mental health is known as art therapy. While people have been using the arts as a way to express, communicate, and heal for thousands of years, art therapy only began to formalize during the middle of the 20th-century.
Art therapy can be used to treat a wide range of mental disorders and psychological distress. In many cases, it might be used in conjunction with other psychotherapy techniques such as group therapy or cognitive-behavioral therapy.
This is what I found when I was looking into making art therapy as a career choice. Over a year ago I was looking into books on art therapy and what did I find? Adult coloring books. I loved to color as a kid and I decided to buy one for a friend that was going through a divorce. I don’t know if that person ever used it but I decided to get one for myself. At that time they were harder to find. I bought mine from Amazon.com. Now you can find them everywhere. You can even subscribe to a magazine.
This has become a girls night as well. A friend saw my books and she bought some as well. What better bonding time then coloring, talking, laughing and drinking a little wine. She also bought the same, Prismacolor, colored pencil set I had.
This can be purchased at most art supply stores or they do have them on Amazon.com. If you get colored pencils, I highly recommend buying the Prismacolor pencil sharpener. You would have to try it to know what I am talking about. It doesn’t “eat” your pencil.
The one downfall I have with colored pencils is that you get a hand cramp. You can use markers and gel pens but they will run out of ink. It doesn’t matter if you go outside the lines or your colors don’t look well together. Relaxation is what it is all about.
If you are on the go, there are apps that you can color on. I have used two different apps and they are both free. On is called ColorArt and the other one is called Recolor, from iTunes. This is a great past time while you are waiting for an appointment.
If you had been thinking of purchasing an adult coloring book I strongly encourage doing so. This is great to do with friends, spouse or your children. Of course doing it on your own is also highly recommended. They come in a variety of different themes, so chose what interest you.
http://www.adultcoloringbooks.com
Are just a few places you can find adult coloring books.
Jill R Holland Designs 