Painting therapy

Painting therapy lies between the conventional framework of psychotherapy and the artist's studio. Research in chromotherapy has highlighted the effect of colors on the psyche, making painting therapy an additional tool for treatment. It uses artistic expression as a complement to psychotherapy. Painting therapy is one branch of art therapy . It helps combat forms of depression, which sometimes also affect artists. The artist-practitioner is central to the painting therapy process.

A little bit of history!

In ancient civilizations, medicine was an art. There were no clear boundaries between disciplines such as music, sculpture, and graphic arts. Painting could therefore be seen as a manifestation of the divine spirit. Moreover, it could naturally contribute to healing. Images possessed the power to heal.

Much later, Sigmund Freud discovered that defining and releasing drives, considered immoral, is essential for sound therapeutic practice in psychoanalysis. For Freud, the problem lies in finding a substrate through which repressed thoughts can be read. This is the principle of "sublimation." Whether through dream analysis or any other method, the important thing is to keep instinctual emotions captive so that they become interpretable.

This is where painting comes in as a therapeutic practice, because the artwork provides a safe environment for patients.

American psychotherapist Margaret Naumburg invented the concept of "art therapy".

Meanwhile, Austrian Edith Kramer experimented with this discipline with groups of children. She would later be followed in France.

Both understood that it is possible to reveal a person's deepest intentions through a drawing or painting. Analyzing the symbolism of shapes and colors facilitates the understanding of hidden meanings.

 

The artist-practitioner

Who knows painting better than the artist himself? Once properly trained in therapeutic practices, he can become a practitioner and mediator.

The art therapist provides the subject with graphic spaces of freedom. He untangles the feelings that block beginners, reassuring them with his expert perspective. He guides his students and patients towards a certain harmony of lines and forms, in order to initially bring about a feeling of calm.

Often, words are unnecessary in the sessions, because it is through gesture, lines, and colors that a reflection of consciousness appears.

The student expels their most secret emotions during the creative process, repairing what has been broken, reconciling with what has been separated. This is how they can regain a form of balance.

Therapy goes far beyond these initial forms. What has been artistically produced is like an open book that speaks of the unconscious. It remains for the professional mediator to decipher these messages more precisely.

For the patient, the goal is to progress towards a better understanding of themselves. Some may discover an artistic talent. In the arts, painting therapy sometimes leads to artistic careers.

Great creators often share a borderline personality. They find in their art a reason for being that helps them live among others. Great artists, like Jean-Michel Basquiat or Francis Bacon, did not hide their chronic instability.

 

 

The effects of painting therapy

Jean Luc Sudres (Professor of Clinical Psychopathology – Psychologist/Psychotherapist/Art Therapist/Trainer · University of Toulouse) believes

For the patient, painting as art therapy is not a way to vent, but an outlet. It allows them to identify their deepest emotions in order to heal the wounds that prevent them from regaining the balance necessary for their mental health. It is a method that offers a new perspective on the world.

Each emotion has its own pictorial form. Curved lines or broken lines have different meanings. Each color conveys a different feeling.

By expressing oneself on paper or canvas, one brings to life intimate and often unconscious messages. The painter's gesture is unmistakable, as are their choices of colors and pigment textures. Intuitive artistic creation in painting translates emotions in their purest form. Symbols in images are created even before words come to mind. Gesture, which foreshadows lines and forms, is an intermediary between the physical and the psychological.

A dialogue gradually develops between creation and impulses, sometimes unacknowledged and deeply buried in our psyche.

Brought back to the surface through intuitive painting, the impulses are shamelessly exposed, like a splinter that causes us pain and that we pull out.

The therapist acts as a conduit for emotions. He allows the patient to experience the emergence of artistic pleasure, which contributes to the development of a previously unknown, improved self-esteem.

A hidden anger or desire no longer poses a threat if it becomes external. Impulses can be controlled. By exploring these creative processes in greater depth, it is now possible to move towards a more fulfilling personal development.

The practice of painting as therapy helps to identify blockages characterized by fear, low self-esteem, fear of judgment from others, morbid guilt, or unhealthy impulses. The therapist uses the intensity of the pencil strokes or the use of color to illuminate the darkest areas of the human psyche.

The magic of painting lies in its ability to offer, through a practice aimed at healing, a reconciliation with oneself. It helps the consciousness to accept its true nature, in order to regain a lost balance.

Who is Painting Therapy for?

Painting in the office

An innovative technique for strengthening cohesion and preventing the risk of burnout, art therapy in the workplace is an effective approach to improving team dynamics

Painting therapy exists primarily within the medical field. It mainly treats mental imbalances, but it is also used as a tool for personal development. Furthermore, it is particularly recommended for those who are unaware of or unable to manage their emotions.

The treatments last several months, or even several years. They are suitable for all audiences, children and adolescents experiencing academic difficulties, but also for adults in difficult situations (psychological and physical trauma, depression, bereavement, life accidents).

It is becoming common to use this technique in various areas of society. Art therapy is gaining recognition.

 

Depression and art

Depression can be alleviated through art. Furthermore, it is now known that depression is linked to a physiological disorder, just like many other illnesses. In the article " Art and Depression ," we will see how artistic expression, acting as a catalyst for emotion, can be helpful.

Depressed artists

Creativity sometimes finds its roots in the troubled minds of artists. Francis Bacon is an example. A link exists between mental health and artistic activity. The psychological patterns are similar between creativity and depressive states. It likely seems that the same neural circuits are activated.

This thesis needs to be qualified, because artists, like those in other sectors of activity, are exposed to emotional changes and are more prone to anxiety about precariousness.

Depression and art have a shared history. It's still a misconception that a depressed artist is more likely to create high-quality work. While this may hold true for a small number of geniuses, in most cases, depression is a serious obstacle to creativity. In art, creation is a constant oscillation between emotional elation and a state of depression.

Related topics: