Have you noticed that the thought of your first therapy appointment is making you feel anxious? You are not alone! Experiencing anxiety when going to your first therapy appointment is extremely common. There is often even more worry or anxiety surrounding the thought of using creative expressive art techniques during your appointment. This happens for lots of reasons. One of the most common is feeling like you need to have skills as an artist. Guess what, skill isn’t needed! Additionally, people often don’t know what to expect when using creative expressive art therapy techniques and that can create a lot of anxiety.
In this blog, you will get a glimpse into what creative expressive art therapy techniques look like in session, using the example of the sand tray. [To learn more about sand tray click here]. I will also briefly tell you how creative expressive art therapy techniques can benefit your healing journey.
I usually start a creative expressive art therapy session by first checking in with you.
This is important because you are the expert on your life! Only you know what has happened within the past week. You can tell me if something that is extremely important to you has surfaced that needs to take priority over what I have already planned. Sometimes I can modify or slightly change the activity in order to fit your needs. Other times the creative expressive art therapy needs to wait for another time. We are in a collaborative relationship that shifts according to your needs on any given day. If you aren’t in a crisis and you want to use the creative expressive art technique, I then usually explain what I had in mind.
There are a wide variety of techniques that can be used incorporating creative expressive art therapy. 
Common modalities can include sandtray, written word, dance, music, poems, clay, art, collage, and more. The type of activity we choose largely depends on the therapist’s skills, their knowledge, and your therapeutic goals. We also consider what interests you, your natural curiosity, and your openness to different creative expressive modalities. For instance, if you enjoy music, I might choose different creative and expressive art activities that involve more music. Or if you have always had a love for drawing I might rely on more drawing activities. We can shift between modalities based on interest and relevance.
The most important part is that you don’t have to be gifted in creativity or art to use any of these techniques and for them to be helpful. Within a therapeutic space, it is more important to allow other parts of your experience and yourself to be represented however you see fit rather than getting stuck on the finished product. It is all about the process!
For this blog, I will be using sandtray as an example of a creative expressive arts therapy technique [For more information on sandtray check out this video].
It is often helpful when using these techniques to first be grounded. This means you are present and focused on the “here and now.” There are several ways in which a therapist can lead a grounding exercise, but one of my favorites is doing a brief scan of the body, just noticing different sensations around you.
After you are grounded and present, I can give more specific directions, or I might simply leave it open to allow you to express whatever is currently coming up.
Using sandtray as an example I could be more direct and say, “create a world representing your current relationship”. Or I could say, “create a world,” which would be an example of a non-directive approach. This is often based on what you prefer. Some people feel a lot of anxiety when there is no direction, and some only want to create what is on their mind. Regardless, whatever is the most important for you will show up in the session with or without directives.
Next is the creating stage, this is when you create your world in the tray.
This can range in time. Some people are very methodical in their approach, some know exactly what needs to be done and do it quickly, and others might struggle to get started. It all depends.
Once the creation stage of sandtray art therapy is complete, it is really important to sit with your creation.
This is where the magic happens. Feelings might start to surface. You might start getting some insights about your situations. Or you might simply feel validated and experience the relief of “it makes sense.” From here we can talk about as much or as little as you want. You are in control. You get to decide.
There are different directions I might go to complete the creative expressive art therapy session.
What is most important is that you feel like it is a good place to stop for the day. This does not mean that you are done processing. In fact, you will probably continue to process for the rest of the day and sometimes the next week whether you know it or not. This is why it is so beneficial to utilize creative expressive art therapy techniques in session. Not only can you continue to process your situation outside of therapy but you are also unmasking other elements that are critical to experience that you might not know were there by utilizing the right side of your brain. Often it is these intangible parts that are the key to healing and moving forward in the direction you want to go in your life. For a more in-depth look at the benefits of creative expressive art therapy techniques, check out our blog post on “Trauma and Whole Brain Therapy.”
Creative expressive art therapy techniques largely depend on you as the client.
They reflect your goals for therapy, your interests, your comfort level, etc. I am simply your guide showing you different ways that these creative techniques can be helpful in therapy by using your whole brain. If you are interested in this type of therapy, please reach out and we would be happy to schedule you with a therapist who incorporates creative expressive art therapy techniques in session.
By Karissa Stewart, Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern (IMH21998)
Ready to Start Art Therapy in St. Petersburg, FL?
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- Contact us to request an appointment
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Other Mental Health and Wellness Services at ME-Therapy
At ME-Therapy, we believe in the importance of mental, emotional & physical wellbeing. Our therapists want to help your mind but also want to feed your soul. This means we take a holistic approach to mental health. In order to do this, we offer a wide range of mental health services in our St. Petersburg office and online including therapy for women, therapy for men, trauma therapy, and holistic, spiritual therapy. For couples and relationships, we want you to know that our relationship therapists are here for you ALL. In addition to marriage counseling, we provide sex therapy, affair recovery counseling, and poly-friendly kink-aware therapy.
