Art Therapy
At The Orchid, art therapy enables our clients to express their thoughts and feelings through the creative process of art. The power of art therapy in the treatment of addiction lies in its capacity for expressing emotions without using words.
For many women coming from a history of trauma, significant blocks prevent the intellectualization and verbalization of painful thoughts or feelings. Art therapy, therefore, offers an outlet for these blocked thoughts and feelings that might otherwise remain buried.
The Orchid’s art therapists are trained to recognize the nonverbal symbols and metaphors that are revealed through the client’s creative process. Using the artwork as a point of reference, the therapist works with the client, as the two of them seek to explain and explore the thoughts and feelings that are being communicated through the artwork.
Producing art can be a therapeutic process on its own but it also allows clients to express themselves in ways they might not be able to with words.
The goal of art therapy is to allow the client to discover the underlying feelings and thoughts that are contained in the artwork, and what those thoughts and feelings mean to the clients. For many women, the use of art therapy provides a powerful tool for not only insights and judgment but for greater understanding of themselves, how they relate to the person around them, higher self-esteem and a relief of longstanding trauma and anxiety.
The forms of art therapy expression conducted at The Orchid include imagery, collage making, color therapy, mask making body scans and clay modeling. All of these modalities focus special attention on the issues that frequently accompany addictive behaviors in women, including the family of origin, trauma and self-image issues.
Further Reading