What is art therapy, and do you need artistic talent? Read how working with paint, clay and collage helps, who it suits and simple exercises to try at home.
"I can't explain what I'm feeling" is one of the sentences heard most often in the therapy room. Sometimes feelings are so tangled that they will not fit into words; sometimes what has happened is so heavy that it simply will not come out. At moments like these, a sheet of paper, a few pastels or a lump of clay can achieve what talking cannot. Art therapy is a psychotherapy approach built on this idea. In this article we explain what art therapy is, why someone who cannot draw can still benefit from it, what happens in a session, who it may suit, and how it differs from the often-confused practice of "interpreting drawings". At the end of the article we have also included some simple exercises you can safely try at home.
What Is Art Therapy?
Art therapy is a psychotherapy approach in which painting, drawing, clay, collage and similar visual art materials are used, within a therapeutic relationship with a trained therapist, to help a person express their feelings, understand themselves and support their process of recovery.
This definition has three important parts. First, the tool used is art; but the aim is not to produce a work of art. Second, the work takes place alongside a therapist and within a relationship. Third, the goal is psychological, not aesthetic: to release a feeling, regulate it, understand it and form a new relationship with it.
The field took shape as a profession in the middle of the 20th century. In England, the painter Adrian Hill, who was being treated for tuberculosis, observed that painting in hospital did him and other patients good, and became one of the first people to use the term "art therapy". In the United States, Margaret Naumburg used drawing as a means of communication within psychodynamic therapy, while Edith Kramer emphasised that the process of creating is itself healing. These two outlooks still form the two pillars of the field today: therapy through art, and art itself as therapy.
How Does Art Therapy Work? The Process Matters More Than the Product
Many people approach this work warily, saying, "But I can't draw." Yet no talent is needed here. What matters is not whether a line is beautiful, but what you feel while drawing it, which colour you choose and why, and where on the page you stop.
There are a few core ideas about how it works:
- Non-verbal expression: Some experiences, especially early childhood memories and traumatic events, are stored in the brain more as images, sensations and feelings than as words. Visual expression can reach these more directly than talking.
- A safe distance: It is hard to speak directly about something painful. But turning it into a shape, a colour or a figure puts a small distance between the person and the experience. Talking about "that red smudge on the paper" is easier than talking about "my anger".
- A relationship with the body: Kneading clay, pressing a hard pastel onto paper or watching watercolour flow can release tension built up in the body and help regulate a feeling physically.
- Control and choice: The person decides which material, which colour and how much space to use. For someone who feels they have lost control in their life, these small choices can be empowering.
- A tangible trace: What is produced lasts. When you look back weeks later, change is often visible more clearly than in words.
What is put down on paper in this work is not a work of art but the first draft of a feeling that words have not yet reached.
What Happens in an Art Therapy Session?
Sessions can be individual or in groups. The room usually holds a range of materials: pencils, pastels and coloured pencils, watercolours, gouache, clay or modelling dough, magazine cuttings, scissors, glue and paper in different sizes.
A session might roughly follow this flow:
- Opening: A short conversation about the person's mood and concerns that day.
- Creating: Sometimes the therapist offers an open-ended invitation, for example "If you wanted to describe this week in colours, what would it look like?"; at other times they make room for the person to work completely freely.
- Looking and talking: When the work is finished, the person and the therapist look at it together. The therapist does not interpret; they ask questions: "How do you feel when you look at this picture?", "If this figure could say something, what would it say?", "What does this empty part of the page make you think of?"
- Closing: The feelings that have surfaced are gathered up, and where the work will be kept is decided together.
Imagine a nurse who has been working long, intense shifts for a long time and seeks help because of burnout. When she talks, she always says, "I'm managing." In one session, when it is suggested she make a collage from pictures cut out of magazines, she places a tiny chair in the middle of the page and surrounds it with crowded, noisy images. Looking at it, she falls silent and says, "I can never sit in that chair." This sentence reaches a place that weeks of conversation had not, and sets the direction for the work that follows.
Who Might Art Therapy Suit?
The approach is used across a wide range of ages and needs:
- Children: For children who struggle to put their feelings into words, drawing and clay are a natural means of expression.
- Adolescents: Young people who resist talking face to face with an adult may open up more easily while working with materials.
- People who have experienced trauma: Non-verbal expression can help approach traumatic memories from a safe distance. However, this work should be carried out with a professional trained in trauma and at the pace at which the person is ready.
- People who find it hard to recognise their feelings: For adults who say, "I don't know what I feel."
- Chronic illness and grief: It can create a space for meaning and expression for people living with long-term illness and those who have suffered a loss.
- Older people and those with cognitive difficulties: It can be a way of connecting when verbal communication has weakened.
In Turkey, especially after the 6 February 2023 earthquakes, drawing and creative activities were widely used in psychosocial support work with children in the earthquake zone and in the cities families moved to. This work showed once again how valuable it is for children to be able to express what they have been through via play and drawing. At the same time, it is worth bearing in mind that there is a difference between having children draw during an activity and a structured art therapy process.
The research support for this field is more limited than for more widely studied approaches such as cognitive behavioural therapy, and studies show different results in different groups. For this reason it is often considered as a complementary approach used alongside other therapy methods.
In Turkey, training in this field varies widely, from short certificate programmes to postgraduate-level programmes. If you are thinking of working with a practitioner, it is sensible to ask what their core profession is, whether they have undergraduate or postgraduate training in mental health, how long their training in this field lasted, and whether they work under supervision. These questions become even more important where trauma or intense emotional distress is involved.
Is Interpreting Drawings the Same as Art Therapy?
A common misconception on social media is interpretation based on single signs, such as "If your child uses black, they are depressed" or "If they drew a house without a chimney, there is a lack of love in the family." Generalisations of this kind are both scientifically unfounded and a source of needless worry. A child may have chosen black because it was the sharpest pencil to hand that day, or because they wanted to draw a night scene.
In therapeutic work, by contrast, the product is made sense of together with the person who made it. The "correct" meaning of a picture is the meaning its maker gives it. Some drawing tests used in psychological assessment serve a different purpose and are meaningful only when considered alongside other information by a trained professional. We discussed this in detail in our article on analysing children's drawings.
Creative Expression Exercises You Can Try at Home
The exercises below do not replace a therapy process; but they can be simple ways of getting in touch with yourself and releasing the feelings that build up by the end of the day. No talent is needed, and the results do not have to be shown to anyone.
- Colours of feeling: On a sheet of paper, reflect the feelings you had during the day using only colours and shapes. How much space did each feeling take up? Which one was pushed to the edge?
- Free scribbling: For one minute, with your eyes closed, let the pencil wander freely over the paper. Then open your eyes and look for a shape, a face or an object in the scribble. Colour in what you find.
- Collage diary: Cut out images that catch your eye from old magazines and put them together on a weekly page. Notice which images you are drawn to.
- A safe place: Draw a real or imaginary place where you feel safe. Looking at this picture in difficult moments can help you calm down.
- Working with clay or dough: When you feel tense, knead, squeeze, shape and then break up a lump of dough for a few minutes. Pay attention to the movement of your hands.
You can also do these exercises with your child. But rather than interpreting your child's picture, choose curiosity: the question "Will you tell me about this picture?" opens up far more than "Why is this so dark?" If unexpectedly intense feelings come up during these exercises, take a break and share this with someone you trust.
How can you respond to your child's drawings?
Children often bring their drawings with great enthusiasm: "Mum, look!" How we respond in these moments affects whether the child will keep expressing themselves. Saying "That's lovely" is well meant, but it ends the conversation there. Instead, try describing what you see: "You've used lots of blue here," "This person has a huge smile." Then give the child a chance to tell you about it. If you see something in the drawing that worries you, rather than showering them with questions straight away, stay calm and observe the child's play, sleep and behaviour over a few days. What is meaningful is not a single drawing but themes that repeat over a long period and changes in daily life.
When Should You Seek Professional Support?
It may help to speak with a mental health professional in the following situations:
- You or your child have had marked difficulty expressing feelings for a long time
- Changes in sleep, appetite or behaviour persist after a loss, a disaster or a traumatic event
- The same frightening theme has been repeating in your child's drawings or play for weeks, and this is also reflected in their daily life
- Intense anxiety, sadness or anger is affecting daily functioning
- You feel you are not making progress in talking therapies
How Are Drawing, Play and Creative Expression Used in Therapy?
Art therapy is a separate field practised by professionals with specific training in it. Clinical Psychologist Eda Erkan Alapala is not an art therapist; however, she makes use of drawing and creative expression when working with children. She has completed training in Child-Centred Play Therapy and Initial Interviews with Children with Mehmet Teber, as well as training in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy and in the Analysis of Children's Drawings. In child-centred play therapy, the child tells of their inner world in their own language through the paints, clay and toys in the playroom; the therapist accompanies this process without directing it, with an accepting attitude. We described this approach in detail in our article what is play therapy.
In child and play therapy, a child's drawings are treated not as a diagnostic tool on their own but as one of the pieces of information that help in understanding them, and they are considered together with the meetings held with the family. In cognitive behavioural therapy with adults, drawing and imagery exercises may also sometimes be used to recognise and express feelings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to know how to draw for art therapy?
No. No aesthetic judgement is made in this work. Drawing a stick figure, mixing colours or even tearing the paper can be a meaningful form of expression. What matters is not the result but what you experience in the process.
What is the difference between art therapy and an art class?
In an art class the aim is to learn technique and produce a good piece of work. In art therapy the aim is psychological; the therapist does not teach you how to draw but accompanies you in understanding what you go through while drawing.
What happens to my drawings? Does the therapist keep them?
This is usually discussed in advance. Some therapists keep the work in the session room throughout the process and review it with the person at the end of therapy. The work belongs to the person, and confidentiality principles apply to it too.
Can art therapy be done online?
It can, with some adaptation. The person works with materials they have at home and shows the result to the camera. However, because of the smaller range of materials and the different setting, face-to-face work is often more suitable, especially with young children.
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Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
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