Many people have heard of art therapy within the last several decades, but they’re still not sure who’s at the helm of art therapy and what this person DOES.  It helps to know this info if you’re thinking of enlisting the support of an art therapist to overcome anxiety, depression, and host of other emotional experiences.

It’s also helpful to know what an art therapist does if you’re thinking of becoming one!

All good ideas come from somewhere.  The Expressive Therapies Continuum is no different—in a nutshell, it’s a broad framework that is used by some art therapy practitioners to make responsive decisions in the individualized treatment of a vast array of client populations and a wide range of clinical issues.

But using it in this way is contingent upon understanding where it came from, or more accurately, who it came from.  Without understanding the ideas and intentions of the minds that made the Expressive Therapies Continuum, the model easily becomes oversimplified and reduced to something that is a mere shadow of its potential.       

If you’ve been curious about art therapy as a form of mental health treatment for anxiety, depression and other uncomfortable emotional experiences, then read on to learn more!  Art therapy is actually the name of a regulated mental health profession—not a modality—so that means different art therapists are likely to practice in different ways.

In short, what art therapists do and what art therapy clients do will vary according to the art therapist’s training and the client’s needs.

People are increasingly wanting to know where art therapy is used, whether they live in Texas or elsewhere. After all, gone are the days when art therapy was a poorly known treatment for anxiety, treatment for depression, and treatment for stress.

The public is savvy now and is asking for art therapy services. But where is art therapy used?

Therapists have been throwing around the term “burnout” like it’s so much a part of our identity that we don’t even need to understand what it really means, much less what to DO about it. I offer art therapy in Austin and have been monitoring this problem for years, so I’d love to share what I’ve learned with you—because when you’re informed, you are able to make choices and take action in the face of challenge.

That’s RESILIENCE! And resilient therapists stand a much better chance of helping clients develop resilience too.

The words “therapy” and “therapeutic” get thrown around so frequently anymore, it’s hard to tell when they’re used in a way that meets the threshold of something based on assessment and treatment! This brief article will help you tell the difference between art that’s tied to goal-oriented clinical services vs. art that’s tied to personal enjoyment in the moment.

Art therapy is definitely a thing in Austin. The State of Texas regulates who can use the title “art therapist” and yet doesn’t do much to help the public locate credible art therapy practitioners. But thanks to the magic of online therapy, wherever you are in the Austin area, you’re in the right—and most popular—place for art therapy!

What beautiful dreams do you have for your work as a therapist? What do you hope to give the world in a way that only you can? How many steps away are you from making these things come true?

What does it mean to live a life of self-sacrifice when you’re a therapist? It means the systems you’ve been exposed to throughout the decades of your existence might have rewarded you for tending to the needs of others and disregarding your own.

The result? Anxiety, overwhelm, depression, imposter syndrome, stress, and burnout. Sometimes you forget to come up for air.

Art therapy isn’t monolithic; art therapy is the name of a profession, and within that profession lie many different types. So let’s find out what type of art therapy is right for you! That way you can compare apples to apples—instead of comparing apples to oranges—when you’re shopping for an art therapist.