Expressive arts therapy: how art helps when words don't

"I don't know how to explain it." It's one of the most common things people say in therapy. Some feelings are too big, too old, too tangled or too painful to put into words, at least at first.

Expressive arts therapy offers another way in: drawing, colour, collage, clay, movement, music, writing or drama, used alongside conversation. You don't need any artistic talent. The point is expression, not a beautiful result.

Art therapy and expressive arts therapy: what's the difference?

• Art therapy usually focuses on visual art: drawing, painting, sculpture, collage. The American Art Therapy Association describes it as a mental-health profession that uses active art-making, creative process and the relationship with a trained therapist to support wellbeing.
• Expressive arts therapy is multimodal: it moves between different art forms in one process, for example drawing a feeling, then writing about the drawing, then finding a movement or sound for it. The International Expressive Arts Therapy Association represents practitioners of this integrated approach.

Both are used by trained therapists alongside talking, not instead of it.

Why art can help

• It slows things down. Making something gives the mind a gentle focus, which can make difficult feelings more manageable.
• It creates distance. Talking about a drawing of your anger can feel safer than talking about your anger directly.
• It reaches what words miss. Body sensations, images and memories don't always arrive as sentences.
• It makes the invisible visible. Seeing your feelings on paper can bring sudden clarity: "I didn't realise how small I'd drawn myself."
• It can be playful. For people who've spent years being serious and responsible, permission to play is itself healing.

What research says

Research on creative arts in health is growing:

• A review in the American Journal of Public Health looked at studies of art, music, movement and expressive writing, and found evidence that engaging with the arts can reduce stress and improve emotional wellbeing, while noting that more rigorous research is needed.
• A small study in the journal Art Therapy found that 45 minutes of art-making lowered levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in most participants, regardless of their prior art experience.
• A World Health Organization scoping review of over 3,000 studies concluded that the arts can play a role in the prevention of ill health and in the treatment and management of a range of conditions.

As with any therapy, it's not a cure-all, and expressive arts are usually most powerful when combined with other evidence-based approaches.

What a session can look like

Every therapist works differently, but an expressive arts session might include:

1. 1Checking in: how you are, what's on your mind.
2. 2A creative invitation: "Draw how this week has felt, using only colours and shapes", or "Make a collage of what you need more of."
3. 3Making, in silence or with music, at your own pace.
4. 4Reflecting: noticing what you made, what surprised you, what it might say. The therapist doesn't "interpret" your art for you; you discover the meaning together.
5. 5Connecting it back to your life and goals.

Online sessions work too: you'll be asked to keep simple materials nearby, like paper, colour pencils or crayons, and a pen.

Who it can help

Expressive arts are used with children, teenagers and adults, individuals, couples and groups, for:

• stress, anxiety and burnout;
• grief and loss;
• low self-worth and identity questions;
• trauma, as part of careful, paced work (see emotional trauma);
• couples who find it hard to talk without fighting; and
• teams who need to reconnect.

Myths about art in therapy

• "It's just colouring for adults." Relaxing art activities can be pleasant, but expressive arts therapy is a structured process guided by a trained professional, with reflection and therapeutic goals.
• "The therapist will analyse my drawings." Good practitioners don't "read" your art like a test. Meaning is explored with you, not decided for you.
• "It's only for children." Expressive arts are used with adults, couples, teams and older people.
• "It's less serious than talking therapy." It's a different route in, often used alongside talking, and it can reach feelings that talking alone doesn't.

Expressive arts for couples

Couples sometimes find it easier to show than to tell. Exercises might include each partner drawing "how our relationship feels right now" and then talking about the differences, or creating something together and noticing how they collaborate, who leads, who follows, and how decisions get made. The art becomes a safe third object to talk about, instead of each other.

A weekly practice at home

Set aside 20 minutes once a week. Put on calm music, take paper and colours, and respond to a simple prompt: "This week felt like...", "What I need more of...", or "Something I haven't said...". Afterwards, write two lines about what you notice. Over a few weeks, looking back at the pages can show you patterns you hadn't seen.

What to keep at home for online sessions

You don't need special supplies. A few sheets of plain paper, a set of colour pencils, crayons or sketch pens, a pen, and perhaps some old magazines for collage are enough. Some people like a small notebook to keep their work together, so they can look back on it over time.

Expressive arts for children and teenagers

Children often say more through drawing, play and stories than through direct questions. Teenagers may find it easier to talk while their hands are busy. For young people dealing with family conflict, school stress or big changes, expressive and play-based approaches can be a gentle, non-threatening way in, always guided by a professional trained to work with that age group.

How Tripti uses expressive arts

Tripti Sharma is a Certified Expressive Art Therapist as well as a psychologist. Expressive art is woven into her work:

• Individual packages such as Pattern Shift and Heal & Rise include expressive art work on emotions and self-worth.
• Couples: the Reconnect package includes expressive art exercises done together.
• The Express phase of her Unmasking Method is dedicated to art-based and reflective work.
• Organisations: the Expressive Art Therapy for Teams workshop is a psychologist-guided creative experience for releasing stress and reconnecting.

No artistic skill is ever needed.

Read about individual therapy, or the Expressive Art Therapy for Teams workshop.