What is Art Therapy?

Art therapy is a form of expressive therapy that uses art materials, such as paints, chalk and markers. Art therapy combines traditional psychotherapeutic theories and techniques with an understanding of the psychological aspects of the creative process, especially the affective properties of the different art materials.

Art therapists have generated many specific definitions of art therapy, but most of them fall into one of two general categories. The first involves a belief in the inherent healing power of the creative process of art making. This view embraces the idea that the process of making art is therapeutic; this process is sometimes referred to as Art as Therapy. Art making is seen as an opportunity to express one’s self imaginatively, authentically, and spontaneously, an experience that, over time, can lead to personal fulfillment, emotional reparation, and recovery. The second definition of art therapy is based on the idea that art is a means of symbolic communication. This approach, often referred to as art psychotherapy, emphasizes the products—drawings, paintings, and other art expressions—as helpful in communicating issues, emotions, and conflicts. 

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What is Play Therapy?

Play therapy is a unique psychotherapeutic practice with a general aim that might be gleaned from the term itself: providing therapy through play. However, this broad explanation might suggest that play therapy is merely a method used to lift the spirits and divert the encumbered minds of troubled children by encouraging them to do what they enjoy doing most. While play itself can yield therapeutic results, such an understanding of play therapy would hardly scratch the surface of the theories, uses, and complexities involved in the play therapy process.

What counseling and psychotherapy aim to do for adults, play therapy aims to do for children. Specifically, play therapy encourages the expression of a child’s feelings, experiences, and cognitive functioning. This knowledge is vital to the therapist in determining the direction of the therapy process, as well as measuring the success of the intervention throughout a series of play therapy sessions. This method of extracting and utilizing information through effective interpersonal communication is theoretically in tune with any therapeutic approach, but play therapy distinguishes itself by conducting its observations in a uniquely revealing environment.

Play is an essential component in a child’s emotional, psychosocial, cognitive, and behavioral development. Children also use play as a means of expressing themselves in ways that are not possible through direct communication. By using play as an outlet, a child is able to reveal (and a play therapist is able to observe) any confusion, frustration, or anxiety that might be inhibiting their development or otherwise preventing them from enjoying a happy, healthy childhood. It is for this reason that play has been referred to as the “language of childhood” and the role of a play therapy practitioner is to interpret this language and address important issues using a variety of play therapy approaches.

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