What is Expressive Arts Therapy?

Expressive arts therapy (EXAT) is a field of humanistic psychotherapy that uses various forms of art for healing, growth, and transformation. The arts include drama/improv, music/voice/sound, drawing, painting, sculpting, writing, poetry, journaling, ritual, and others. Using the expressive arts within therapy provide an inroads to places inside that we may have locked away. Sometimes we don’t have words for what is going on inside. Or maybe we are afraid to talk about what happened. The arts can give voice to express what is unspeakable. When a shape emerges (or a sound, metaphor, a new story, a song) we then can name what had previously been unnameable and undefined. In EXAT, the emphasis is on the process not the product. This is different than some traditional styles of therapy that use art to diagnose or treat.

The expressive arts in therapy are built on the understanding that when we tap into our emotions through creative means, we are able to see new choices. Not just a solution in the face of a problem, but one that is unique and different, a choice that we didn’t see yesterday. The expressive arts provide new entry points for thinking or exploring a situation, be it past, present, or future. The creative process is liminal, existing outside of consensus reality, where we can make contact with our wise Self and this naturally gives way to greater insight, self-awareness, and meaning-making.

Libra