About Art Therapy
What is Art Therapy?
Research continues to show how the creative process and making art are inherently therapeutic. They help with cognition, they aid in release and insight to emotions, and they are somatic, using the body to create. Art therapy is a discipline that intentionally uses creative processes with a variety of materials to gain insight, integrate memory and the mind-body connection, learn new ways of being, and heal. It is most often used with psychotherapy to treat a variety of mental health issues from trauma, anxiety, depression, and issues with relationships and life transitions. Art therapy can be used with young children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly. A person does not need to have any artistic skill to engage in this kind of therapy as it is not about what the art product looks like, it is focused more on the process and meaning and feeling of the art-making.
“Art therapy was and still is a fusion between artistic expression and psychology, and became a new discipline in several countries. Art therapy has also been described as painting from within.”
— Christina Blomdahl
About the Chapter
Evergreen Art Therapy Association is local people in community.
While we are a chapter of the larger, national organization, AATA, we also have autonomy. We are comprised of actual people. These individuals are earnest in seeking to build community in the region.
In Washington alone, there are many retired, seasoned, and newly minted art therapists, art therapy students, and people who may want to become art therapists someday but don’t know what that entails.
Our Pacific Northwest art therapy community has generous creative and collective wisdom. We value the individuals practicing in our field and want to create and provide a platform of community care. We want to spread new ideas about practice and research, to consult with one another as art therapists, to create practical opportunities, and to share resources.
If you are considering coming back, we would love to talk to you. Please email info@evergreenarttherapy.org, especially if you are a returning member.
