Art Therapy For Depression
Experiences of depression can create a feeling of hopelessness, isolation and impact every aspect of life. Art therapy can help you process negative feelings, improve emotional well-being and create a better way forward.
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Depression can vary in types of symptoms, their severity and longevity. Some common symptoms of depression include fatigue, ongoing sadness, lack of motivation, numbness of emotions or bodily sensations, substance use, or not being able to complete daily tasks. One may also begin to lose hope for recovery.
Art therapy can help process difficult feelings, spark new perspectives and enhance mood.
Book a free consultation with an art therapist. We can help.
How Does Art Therapy Help With Depression?
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A common experience for individuals with depression is numbness of emotions or body sensations, or “dissociation”, which is a disconnection between the body and mind.
The act of making art can help re-stimulate that reconnection between the body and mind – the sensory aspect of working with art materials combined with the thinking brain to create art.
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Art-making can be a useful outlet to express difficult emotions and experiences. It can provide release from negative thought patterns and overwhelming feelings.
It can also help individuals start externalizing their negative emotions so that new perspectives can emerge.
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Individuals who engage in art-making may gain a sense of accomplishment, increasing positive feelings and their self-esteem.
Art therapy offers the opportunity for individuals to reconnect with one’s self: their values, wants, needs, limits, likes and dislikes, etc. It can help increase self-awareness to improve quality of life.
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Research has shown how art therapy can offer specific therapeutic factors to help individuals with depression, including self-exploration, self-expression, communication, understanding and explanation, integration, symbolic thinking, creativity, and sensory stimulation (Blomdahl et al., 2013).
Individuals can develop healthier coping skills to manage depressive symptoms and learn how to use art to interact with their difficult emotions in a constructive way.
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Art therapy can help individuals reconnect with parts of themselves that may have been overshadowed by symptoms of depression.
The collection of artwork produced in art therapy helps reflect the individual's healing process and accomplishments and can inspire hope that they are able to continue to heal and grow.
About Us
Welcome to Full Circle! We are a non-profit organization founded in 2014. We provide mental health care through individual art therapy sessions, workshops and group art therapy. Our mission is to provide a safe space for people in need of mental health support, by helping them heal through creative processes.
Our team is dedicated to helping people heal and grow, through art therapy and other creative mediums. Please reach out to our team if you have any questions.