5 ways therapeutic art practices can help you flourish

Through the lens of positive psychology, when we flourish, we embody a state of optimal well-being characterised by positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment.

Sounds joyous, doesn’t it? 

So how can we get more of this into our lives and spend more time in a natural, energising, flourishing state? 

Of course, there are many paths to greater well-being. In this article, I want to draw your attention to therapeutic art as a means to elevate our daily lives and deeply connect, activating a flourishing state.

Therapeutic art is a powerful medium for individuals to explore and express their emotions, thoughts, and experiences. It harnesses the innate human capacity for creativity to facilitate healing and personal growth.

Here are 5 ways therapeutic art can contribute to this sense of flourishing:

1. Supporting positive emotions:

To truly flourish, we must find ways to support our emotions. Positive emotions are critical to enhanced well-being and support resilience, our ability to cope with whatever life brings, and a sense of meaning and fulfilment.

Therapeutic art can help us to process emotions and heal. Through art-making tasks, we gain access to our subconscious, which helps us better understand ourselves and tap into our inner joy, gratitude, and hope through the creative choices we make. Exploring creative choices that catch our attention and fuel our curiosity helps us revel in the delight of unexpected marks, symbols and meaning as art projects evolve.

Sometimes, it’s difficult to express and process emotions with words. Art making provides a nonverbal means of communication and emotional expression. This process can be liberating and empowering, allowing unique insights into innermost feelings as colours, symbols, and themes emerge through the creative process.

2. Cultivating a positive mindset:

Cultivating a positive mindset plays an important role in long-term mental health and well-being, helping us flourish. 

Nurturing a positive mindset through therapeutic art techniques offers tremendous opportunities for emotional healing, self-discovery, and personal growth. Ultimately, it can help cultivate a growth mindset, which is the belief that new skills can be learned and improvements can be made through effort and perseverance. 

By mirroring this positive growth mindset in art sessions, we are provided with evidence that we have the power within ourselves to develop and improve as we work through art therapy exercises. This strengthens self-compassion in all areas of life and builds resilience and personal strength, making it easier to deal with life's challenges and maintain a positive outlook.

3. Self-Exploration and Self-Discovery: 

To flourish, we need to feel that we have a sense of purpose and meaning in our lives. Therapeutic art provides an outlet for expressing values, passions, and aspirations through art making. This helps with clarity and self-connection, ultimately overspilling into the choices we make in daily life, empowering us to make decisions that support our vision, goals, and values in deeper, more meaningful ways.

Customised art sessions can be empowering. Building inner resilience and determination by focusing on our existing strengths as we embark on new ways of expressing our deepest emotions and very personal inner world. Through guided sessions that focus on the positive elements of what we already know and believe, therapeutic art sessions can reinforce and expand these strengths, providing support in a gentle and loving way.

4. Empowerment and Agency: 

Flourishing is an empowered and engaged state of being. Therapeutic art exercises ensure we retain full control over the healing process, providing a sense of agency and active co-creation of the personal growth journey. This active participation in their healing journey can foster a sense of empowerment and ownership, bolstering self-esteem and resilience.

Therapeutic art also requires deep focus and concentration, providing further opportunities for empowerment as creative flow is developed and nurtured. This can provide a sense of accomplishment and personal breakthrough, leading to fulfilment and satisfaction.

5. Connection and Belonging:

Connection and a sense of belonging also help us to flourish. By encouraging the exploration of personal themes, it is only natural that art helps us support a deeper understanding and connection with ourselves. This, in turn, helps us figure out what truly matters to us. Guiding meaningful choices that support healthy relationships and pathways that mirror our own unique needs and desires facilitating deep connection and belonging.

Group art sessions can also facilitate belonging, support and camaraderie amongst peers as experiences and outcomes are shared in a group setting, fostering a unique sense of community through shared experience and empathy.

Therapeutic art serves as a catalyst for flourishing by providing a holistic approach to healing and personal growth. Through creative expression and discovery, we can navigate our inner landscape, process emotions, improve our mindset, become more empowered and self-aware, and develop meaningful connections with ourselves and others.

Take care, Sam x

P.S. How do you flourish in your life? Let me know. DM me @samhortonstudio on Instagram or email me at [email protected]

Sam Horton is a professional artist, passionate about the links between art, creativity and well-being.

Learn more about Holistic art practices for well-being

Sam's Art Studio and Studio Shop are based in Australia on the Sunshine Coast.

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