Art Therapy Interventions for Anxiety, Chronic Pain and Addictions

CPD

Handouts

Speaker

Pamela G. Hayes Malkoff, MFT, ATR-BC Related seminars and products

Objectives

1. Execute skills and understanding of how to effectively combine art and traditional talk therapy in both group and individual counselling sessions.
2. Demonstrate how the art techniques can help our clients learn to tolerate frustration, sit with uncomfortable feelings, and stop those catastrophizing thoughts.
3. Practice, first hand, how art can provide a sense of calm, mindfulness, and gratitude for life.
4. Build new skills through the art process to combat negative self-talk to push through fears and anxiety, instead of turning to other self-destructive behaviour (IE: drugs, food, sex or isolation).
5. Integrate art interventions with classic CBT skills and change the thought process to transform the lives of our clients.
6. Determine the science behind the changes that occur in our brains when engaged in creative activities.

Outline

ART THERAPY – WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT ISN’T

• History of Art Therapy and the Multiple Ways it is Applied
• Engaging in art changes our emotional response to memories of trauma
• Case studies including: Female understands herself and her relationship more clearly after completing and talking about a drawing
• Art participation: bypass fears of perfectionism and the “I can’t draw” voice

ART THERAPY FOR ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION

Create new neural pathways for trauma related anxiety, PTSD and/or depression

• CBT, Positive Psychology Separating physiological sensations from fears that cause panic attacks
• Externalize and contain fears
• Stopping the automatic negative thoughts (ANTs)
• Art techniques to practice mindfulness and focus
• Challenge and change catastrophizing thoughts
• Case studies including: College student struggling with generalized anxiety
• Art Participation: Technique to express, face and destroy fears

ART THERAPY FOR CHRONIC PAIN

Create a sense of mindfulness, distraction and integration for physical and emotional pain

• Address chronic pain with understanding and provide hope
• Listening to the pain without it defining you
• Case studies including: An adult male with severe back pain
• Art experiential: Opportunity to express and release pain, and build something new out of it

ART THERAPY WITH ADDICTIONS

Techniques to tolerate frustration and uncomfortable feelings

• Examples of self-destructive behaviours in addictions
• Dangers of automatic negative thought processing Interrupt and discourage avoidance and escape
• Case studies including: Groups in drug treatment centre
• Art participation: Address fear of making mistakes and allow for trying new things - encourages individual creativity within a safe structure

CHANGE PERSPECTIVES AND MOVE TOWARD OVERALL MENTAL WELLNESS

• Rebuild a new belief system combining CBT, Positive Psychology, Narrative Therapy, Mindfulness, Meditation and Art Therapy
• Recognize holding onto past hurt and anger and learning to let go
• Examples of living a life of gratitude
• Case studies including: Clients learning to release and transform fears into hope
• Art Participation: create a gratitude tree
• Practice mindfulness, acceptance, and letting go of unrealistic expectations
• Art Therapy techniques to help set aside ego fueled thoughts and behaviours and increase a connection to others
• Current research and limitations reviewed

Target Audience

• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Art Therapists
• Psychologists
• Psychiatrists
• Pastoral Counselors
• Psychiatric Nurses
• Substance Abuse Counselors
• Guidance Counselors
• Pediatricians
• Physicians
• Educators
• Occupational and Recreational Therapists
• Speech-Language Pathologists