It is a multidimensional and holistic approach to therapy. People utilizing such therapies are guided and encouraged by a professional therapist to explore their responses, reactions, and insights through music, movement, art, drama, storytelling, etc. A person is not required to have an artistic ability to benefit from the creative arts.
The use and application of creative arts multiply the avenues by which a person in therapy is seeking meaning, clarity, and healing. It deepens and transcends traditional talk therapy by acknowledging that each person’s process is unique. Such therapies focus not on the artistic outcome, but rather on the experience of creating.
Today research and studies indicate that a wide range of social, developmental, and behavioral issues can be dealt with through self-awareness, mindfulness, and learning new skills. People with medical or mental illnesses greatly benefit from the arts-based therapeutic modalities.
The focus of creative arts is on the therapeutic effect of the creative experience and highlights the human capacity to transform thoughts, emotions, and experiences.