What Is Art Therapy?
Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that incorporates creative processes into the therapeutic relationship. Rather than focusing only on talking, art therapy gives you additional ways to explore thoughts, emotions, experiences, and patterns.
At The Bloom Studio, art therapy is not about creating something beautiful or producing "good art." The creative process itself can become a way to slow down, notice what is happening within you, express what may be difficult to say, and discover new perspectives.
Art therapy can be used with children, teens, and adults and may be integrated with traditional talk therapy or used as the primary therapeutic approach.
"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
Pablo Picasso
You Don't Have to Be an Artist
Art therapy isn't about artistic ability, talent, or creating something that belongs in a gallery.
There is no "right" way to make art in therapy. You might draw, paint, collage, sculpt, move, write, build, experiment with materials—or simply observe and respond to an image or creative process.
What matters isn't what you create. It's what the process helps you notice, express, understand, or experience.
The Many Ways Art Therapy Can Support Healing
Just as there is no one right way to create, there is no one way art therapy can support healing. The areas below are a glimpse into the many ways we use creativity to support growth and healing at Bloom.
Emotional Expression
Explore and communicate emotions that may be difficult to put into words.
Identity & Self-Esteem
Explore who you are, how you see yourself, and the stories you've developed about yourself.
Move Through Life's Transitions
Creative expression can provide a meaningful way to explore change, grief, new beginnings, identity shifts, and the many seasons of life.
Self-Discovery
Gain insight into your thoughts, patterns, values, identity, and experiences.
Stress & Burnout
Create space to slow down, reconnect with yourself, and explore what you need.
Access Strengths & Possibilities
Art therapy isn't only about processing what's difficult. Creativity can help people identify strengths, imagine possibilities, and connect with hope.
Trauma & Nervous System Healing
Use creative and sensory experiences to support grounding, regulation, and processing.
Connection & Relationships
Use creative experiences to explore relationships, communication, boundaries, and connection.
What Does Art Therapy Actually Look Like?
There isn't one way an art therapy session has to look.
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Depending on your goals and what feels right for you, a session might involve talking, creating, reflecting, moving, experimenting with materials, or some combination of these.
Your therapist will work collaboratively with you to choose creative approaches that support your goals. Sometimes the art becomes the focus of the session. Other times, creating something may simply help you access a conversation or experience in a different way.
A session might include:
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Painting or drawing
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Collage
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Creative prompts
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Writing or journaling
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Sensory or tactile materials
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Exploring imagery and symbolism
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Talking while creating
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Reflecting on the creative process
Art Therapy Doesn't Have to Replace Talk Therapy
At The Bloom Studio, we don't believe therapy has to fit into one box.
Art therapy and traditional talk therapy can be used together, allowing you to move between conversation and creative exploration depending on what you need.
Your therapy might look different from session to session—and that's okay. We meet you where you are.
The Science Behind Art Therapy
Art therapy isn't simply about making art. Creative experiences can engage different ways of experiencing, processing, and expressing, supporting connections between the mind, body, emotions, and meaning-making.
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One framework art therapists use to understand these processes is the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC).
The ETC describes how creative experiences can engage different levels of processing—from sensory and emotional experiences to cognitive understanding and creative integration.
The Levels of the ETC
The Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) helps art therapists understand the different ways we can experience, process, and make meaning through creative expression. Each level offers a different pathway into the therapeutic process, and we may move between them depending on what you need in the moment.
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Kinesthetic / Sensory
Connecting through the body and senses.
This level invites movement, touch, texture, rhythm, and sensory experiences. Creating with clay, paint, or other hands-on materials can help you slow down, become grounded, and connect with what you are experiencing in your body.
Perceptual / Affective
Exploring emotions and inner experiences.
Color, imagery, shape, and visual expression can help bring emotions and experiences into awareness. Supports a deeper connection to emotional processing and communication
Cognitive / Symbolic
Making meaning and discovering new perspectives.
Images, symbols, patterns, stories, and metaphors can help us explore thoughts, beliefs, experiences, and patterns. Provides a new way to look at something and discover meaning that may not have
been visible before.
Creative
Bringing it all together.
The creative dimension allows us to integrate different ways of experiencing and processing. It can open space for flexibility, insight, problem-solving, imagination, and new possibilities as we move toward growth and healing.​
