The arts are used to build skill (mastery), yield products in which the artists and their community can take pride, build sense of self, build social networks, and present no risk of failure. Effective arts programs are designed ... to provide access to connection with friends, family, and extended community and access to ways of giving meaning to experiences, feelings, and observations (Basting, 2006, p. 17).
Just as the shaman recognized the need for a balanced, holistic approach to healing, the arts provide the necessary tools to achieve balanced, holistic healing. Holistic arts-based experiences are body centered, provide a container for expressed thoughts and feelings, foster meaning through the use of metaphor, build relationships, and aid in the re-establishment of creativity.
Body centered. Art therapist Mindy Jacobson-Levy coined the phrase “Art Before Words.” Experiencing a traumatic event shuts down the part of the brain responsible for language while the fear center records the trauma as visual and sensory memories (Rausch et al, 1996). This leaves many people unable to verbalize their experience or reactions. The arts access both visual and sensory memories and provide the ability for a non-verbal telling. As narrative and context are put to the created art, memories can be properly integrated, shifting away from the fear center and releasing the body from its fight/flight/freeze response.
Container. Processing thoughts and feelings through the creative process allows the creator to pour into the container of art. This pouring provides distance from the issues and provides a new perspective to deepen discernment or acceptance. The distance allows one to see more clearly what is in front of them that cannot be seen while inside. The container also provides respite from the emotions attached to the hurt or anger.
Metaphor. Similar to the distance created by using art as a container, drawing upon metaphors during the creative process helps to create distance or detachment from painful memories. Much of art is expressed or communicated through metaphor. Creating a metaphor to represent the experience removes the emotional connection, allowing the creator to figuratively work out a path forward or a resolution to a problem. Once understood or resolved externally, it can be more easily internalized.
Relational. Building and growing relationships naturally occur in the creative process. Actors, dancers, and musicians are in constant communication both verbally and non-verbally throughout the rehearsal and performance process. Visual artists build intimate relationships with their materials, trusting in their tools to bring their message to life. Simultaneously, the creator is relying on the relationship and communication between their own body, mind, and spirit to carry out their vision - a relationship that is often shattered during the traumatic experience.
Creation. For a person experiencing trauma, accessing their creative side can aid in the regulation of affect as well as help them make meaning out of the traumatic experience (Phillips, 2012). Tantamount to post traumatic growth is the ability to create a new path forward, a new mindset, or a new way of coping. The process of art making builds agency and efficacy not only in the ability to create, but in problem solving, higher level reasoning, and self-regulation. These skills developed in the safety of an art making session can be transferred to other areas of life.
References
Basting, A. (2006). Arts in dementia care: this is not the end…it’s the end of this chapter.
Generations. 30(1), 16-20.
Phillips, A. (2012, March 7). Art and trauma: Creativity as a resiliency factor. Retrieved from
https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/art-and-trauma-creativity-as-a-resiliency-factor-03071
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Rausch, S.L., van der Kolk, B. A., Fisler, R.E. & Alpert, N.M. (1996) A symptom provocation
study of posttraumatic stress disorder using positron emission tomography and script-driven imagery. Archives of General Psychiatry. 53(5) pp.380-387.