Altered Art

Posted on Saturday, November 20th, 2010 at 6:58 pm

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Art & Imagery using Expressive Art Therapy: By Dr. Mary C. Saleeby Ph.D

Art & Imagery using Expressive Art Therapy, By Dr. Mary Saleeby

Expressive Art Therapy is a wonderful therapeutic creative tool, which assists in psychological healing. The process of expressive art therapy is far more important than the final result because it gradually unlocks the subconscious allowing the release of a mental health problem regardless of the magnitude. Art and the world’s masterpieces are so much more significant to us than most individuals realize. The arts are not just restricted to painting, theatre, poetry or music they extend themselves in ways that most people abandon to realize. They can be used as a tool for health management and psychological development or they can be used in meditation techniques.

Expressive Art therapy has historically repelled an alliance with science and has chosen a more art-based position in its philosophy and practice. Recent scientific findings about how images control emotion, thoughts and well being and how the brain reacts to the experience of drawing, painting and other activities are clarifying why art therapy may be effective in a variety of societies. There are, however therapists that feel that Expressive art is not used as a diagnostic tool because it is thought that only the person who composed the piece knows the true interpretation.

As we know, the mind is a complex organ and a miraculous one at that. A process called Psychoneuroimmunology (PIN) studies the effects of the mind or psyche on the central nervous and immune system. Therefore physiological stress can alter and result in immune dysfunction. The alliance between stress, emotion and health has been an on going situation since the foundation of behavioral medical research and intervention. The increase of stress to a varied range of physical illnesses and mental health disorders are extensively believed to be more significant, and research has addressed stress as a contributor in heart disease, hypertension stroke, cancer and many other illnesses. It is also thought to have affects on hormonal alterations hemodynamic responses and other connections between stress and immunity. Whether or not the changes have been observed and meaningful, we still know very little about how stress controls immune function and why such affects occur if changes have any real clinical substance.

As science learns more about how the connection between emotions, health, stress, disease the brain and immune system work, art therapy is discovering new ideas for the use of imagery and art expression in treatment. The wonderful conclusion to this is that Art therapy bases revolves its belief around the fact that all people have the ability to express themselves creativity and productively.

Because imagery is the bodies-minds inner language several things occur. The left side of the Brain is the verbal language and the right side of the brain is the imagery language. To be able to create a healing process both sides of the brain must come together. It is because the body responds to an image, thought or idea first before it responds to the words that describe that thought or image.

While our emotions do not fully cause disease they play a role in bodily dysfunction. Through art and expressive art therapy one might be able to release the demons inside the soul so that one can discover a healthy, peaceful existence and begin to heal physically and spiritually.

About the Author

Dr. Saleeby holds a BFA, MFA and Ph.D. in Art History with a Certification in Egyptology. She is an Art History Professor in New York City and gives Private lectures at various museums.

You can visit her at http://www.marysaleebyphd.com

Creating a mixed media, altered art, flower fairy paper art doll.