Expressive Arts
& Recovery
“Our creativity is directly connected to our internal energy source and our willingness to face the unknown.”
—Natalie Rogers
Expressive Arts uses movement, music, sound, visual arts, drama, play, dance, poetry and creative writing to foster self-expression, insight, creativity, and increase a sense of connection to well-being of self and others. Included here are a number of activities to support recovery and well-being.
Using a Person-Centered Expressive Arts approach can be supportive to children, youth, adults, and communities in crisis, as well as during a transition or in the aftermath of traumatic events. Certain conditions can help to foster creativity and play. These include a nonjudgemental approach, an attitude of curiosity and openness, as well as a desire to cultivate genuine compassion and empathy.
Everyone is creative and creativity can support connection to resilience and re-kindle reconnection to hope. Since trauma can be stored in the body, creative expression can allow the body to speak and to release the tensions and trauma stored. Engaging in activities that include a variety of modalities, such as movement, play, singing, drama, writing and/ or visual arts, help integrate complex challenges and help support meaning making and recovery.
If you'd like to learn more about specific types of therapy, take a look at these links:
If you'd like to read more about creativity and healing, take a look at these articles:
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https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/the-real-neuroscience-of-creativity/
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https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/art-therapy
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https://www.georgetownbehavioral.com/blog/expressive-art-therapy-for-children
Person-centered expressive arts is unique in that it combines the expressive arts process with the in-depth theory and practice of the person-centered approach of Dr. Carl Rogers; his daughter Natalie Rogers took his work and extended the Roger's legacy.
To learn more, please also see:
IEATA encourages an evolving multimodal approach within psychology, organizational development, community arts and education. By integrating the arts processes and allowing one to flow into another, we gain access to our inner resources for healing, clarity, illumination and creativity.