The holidays are finally here, bringing an onslaught of family, food and, for many of us, stress on stress. Whether you’re dreading endless conversations with your great aunt Judith or getting anxious over the prospect of impending New Year’s resolutions, may we humbly suggest you let your creative side serve as a sort of internal massage.
Art therapy is a form of therapy predicated on the belief that artistic expression has the power to help us in healing, in self-esteem or simply in chilling out. It’s unique in that most other forms of therapy rely on language as the foremost mode of communication, whereas art requires something different, something harder to define.
We’re not art therapists, and the techniques below are only suggestions based on practices familiar to the art therapy community. But for those hungry for a creative outlet to relieve the tension that tends to build up this time of year, the practices below may help. They require few materials and no artistic background — in fact, the less art you make, the better. The following suggestions are less about the final product, and more about the transformation that occurs along the way.
Behold, 37 art therapy techniques to help you relax this season.