What Are the Four Types of Art Therapy in Austin, TX?

The first time I saw this question on the internet, I was perplexed.  I’ve been an art therapist for over 30 years—registered and board-certified by the Art Therapy Credentials Board, a former board and committee member for art therapy regional and national professional associations, as well as a continuing education provider in art therapy—and I’d never heard about “four types” of art therapy.

Are There Really Four Types of Art Therapy?

“What are the four types of art therapy in Austin, TX?”, it turns out, is a question that might be better asked as “What are the four types of expressive therapies?” or “What are the four professions that constitute the expressive therapies?”

THESE questions make sense to me.  Art therapy is not a four-sided thing; it can’t neatly be divided into four types because it is actually multifaceted, multilayered, and multicultural.

A Deeper Dive into Art Therapy

If you want to know more about the profession of art therapy in Austin, TX, I’ve written quite a few blog articles to help people understand what degree is needed to practice art therapy, the three elements of art therapy, how art therapy works, what an art therapist does, and the main goal of art therapy.

What Do the Four Types of Expressive Therapies Have in Common?

If you’re interested in learning about the four types of expressive therapies, read on!  This article is not intended to be a comprehensive overview, but it will help you develop the basic mental architecture for understanding four distinctly different therapeutic professions that share a common root: creativity and its role in healing humans from the pain and suffering that arise from the experience of being human.

Each of these professions is served by its own organization (or organizations) that seeks to improve public awareness, strengthen educational and training requirements, and protect the public through the development of standards for practitioners of the expressive therapies in Austin, TX.

What Are the Four Types of Expressive Therapies?

In a nutshell, the four types of expressive therapies are art therapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy, and music therapy.  And you don’t have to consider yourself a “creative” to benefit from working with a qualified professional in one of these therapeutic disciplines.

All four expressive therapies in Austin, TX rely on preverbal neural pathways, meaning that intervention takes place in nervous system processes that aren’t word-and-cognition-dependent, such as images, impulses, emotions, and physiological reactions or responses.

None of these things require conscious thought—which is required in traditional talk therapy.

What is Unethical Practice of the Expressive Therapies?

Of course, all expressive therapists in Austin, TX can work in the realm of conscious thought.  But traditional talk therapists can’t work in the realm of preverbal functioning, though sometimes they try.  Imitating an expressive therapist by copying “techniques” to use in talk therapy results in efforts that have no grounding in preverbal work.

All agents of change come with risks and contraindications; a traditional talk therapist who sets out to use expressive therapy with clients is missing the supervised education and training necessary to head off unpleasant experiences like nervous system hyperarousal or hypoarousal.

This is unethical practice.

A Closer Look at the Four Expressive Therapies in Austin, TX

Now for a deeper dive into the four expressive therapies.  You’ll find that some might stand out to you as real possibilities for your own mental health and wellness journey while others seem less appealing.

That’s OK!  Not every kind of therapy is for everybody, and the variety available makes for an individualized approach to your care.  In fact, one of the great benefits of the expressive therapies is that one-size-fits-all is not valued; your care will be tailored to your own physical, emotional, and intellectual experiences.

Cookie-cutter treatment is not a hallmark of the four expressive therapies in Austin, TX.

Art Therapy

Art therapy is a regulated, master’s-level mental health profession.  Art therapists use traditional and nontraditional art materials to help people make visible all the things inside that are invisible: thoughts, feelings, and reflexes.

Making them visible doesn’t make them scarier; instead, it makes them relatable.  Only when our internal world is something we can relate to can we begin to make changes within that relationship.  Accordingly, the creative process of art therapy in Austin, TX is just as important as the finished products.

How Does Art Therapy Go Beyond Traditional Talk Therapy?

The creative process is neurological activity in motion, and the finished products in art therapy are artifacts of that neurological activity.  The art therapist is educated and trained to make observations about a client’s creative process and finished products, often suggesting opportunities for inducing therapeutic shifts within the client by adjusting the materials and methods the client is using.

The goal is twofold: a reduction in symptomology and an increase in quality of life.  An art therapist in Austin, TX works with the same client populations a traditional talk therapist would and even with people who don’t fare well in traditional talk therapy, such as individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities or individuals with chronic and severe mental illness.

Dance/Movement Therapy

Dance/movement therapy is also a regulated, master’s-level mental health profession.  Dance/movement therapy practitioners use a client’s very own body and sometimes props to create a physical experience of thoughts, feelings, and reflexes—things that are otherwise hiding inside and lack embodiment.

Dance/movement therapists in Austin, TX help clients create a physical connection to these things by providing guidance toward the development of familiarity with the unfamiliar and expanding beyond the limitations posed by habitual ways of relating to the body and its messages.

How Does Dance/Movement Therapy Go Beyond Traditional Talk Therapy?

The goal of dance/movement therapy is to create symptom reduction and life quality enhancement through a stronger physical groundedness that allows for self-regulation.  The dance/movement therapist is educated and trained to observe a client’s physical engagement and make recommendations that encourage existing strengths while building upon these to facilitate psychological growth in areas that represent challenges or barriers to progress.

Dance/movement therapy in Austin, TX serves all populations that are seen by traditional talk therapists, and it also is effective for people who are not candidates for talk therapy.  Contrary to popular belief, dance/movement therapy is not just for people who are able-bodied; it serves all individuals regardless of physical capability.

A person’s bodily strengths and challenges serve as the starting point for individualized treatment that uses the body to address the psychological impact of those strengths and challenges.

Drama Therapy

Drama therapy in Austin, TX is yet another regulated, master’s-level mental health profession.  Drama therapists use the client’s body and sometimes props to give constructive embodied voice to the thoughts, feelings, and reflexes that are waiting to be acted out.

Drama therapy provides context for the resolution of these things, often inviting a client to develop their own characters and plots for ensuring that all aspects of the client’s psychological experience are represented and able to be resolved appropriately.

How Does Drama Therapy Go Beyond Traditional Talk Therapy?

The drama therapist in Austin, TX is educated and trained to observe a client’s relationship to the way they portray characters, objects, or concepts and make knowledgeable suggestions about how to embody this relationship with integration and resolution in mind.

Drama therapy is not just for drama queens; it is a viable mental health profession that serves all people who are capable of using their body and their imagination to act out internal scenes and change who they are in the process, thus changing the role they play in their life contexts.

Music Therapy

Music therapy in Austin, TX is a profession that features practitioners at both the bachelor’s and masters levels, meaning that some music therapists practice right out of college while others go on to graduate school to focus on aspects of healthcare that require a graduate degree.

Music therapists at the bachelor’s level tend to be more affiliated with general healthcare while master’s-level music therapists are more likely to be affiliated with mental healthcare, though this general rule isn’t always the case.

At its heart, music therapy uses both active music production and receptive music listening (referred to as active and receptive intervention, respectively) to engage neural connections that foster a sense of safety and expand upon habitual ways of being in the world.

How Does Music Therapy in Austin, TX Go Beyond Traditional Talk Therapy?

Music, whether experienced actively or receptively, serves as a bridge between a person’s existing strengths and the cutting edge of their potential for therapeutic change.  Music therapists are educated and trained to make observations about a client’s production and listening patterns and formulate constructive suggestions for altering these in order to help the client reach goals.

Goals in music therapy can focus on increased physical mastery, enhanced emotional regulation, and augmented intellectual functioning.  Music therapy serves people who have exceptional verbal capabilities, people who are nonverbal, and everyone in-between.

More Info About the Four Expressive Therapies in Austin, TX

If you’re interested in finding out more information related to “the four types of art therapy”—or the four expressive therapies—you might want to browse the following websites:

Art Therapy

• American Art Therapy Association

• Art Therapy Credentials Board

• Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs/Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education

Dance/Movement Therapy

• American Dance Therapy Association

Drama Therapy

• North American Drama Therapy Association

Music Therapy

• American Music Therapy Association

Are You Ready for a Free Consultation with an Art Therapist in Austin, TX?

If reading about these exciting fields has made you realize there’s more to you than just the words that come out of your mouth, you might be a perfect candidate for working with an expressive therapist to help you approach change from the inside out!

As an art therapy practitioner, I would love to partner with you and support you in creating a different outcome for yourself.  I specialize in working with anxiety, attachment issues, burnout, depression, grief or loss, self-esteem issues, spirituality issues, and trauma.

I’m licensed to serve adults through online art therapy in Austin, TX, online art therapy in Texas, online art therapy in Indiana, and online art therapy in Arizona.  Contact me today about your needs and let’s find out if I’m a good match for your creative process!