Grief is painful, it is ugly, it is beautiful, and its forever. Most of all, grief is extremely complex. No two people grieve alike because it is as unique as we are as individuals. We all have a different picture of what grief looks like from day to day and there is no one size fits all to the healing process either. Trauma, albeit a different experience, is similar in its complexities involving the grieving and healing processes, especially under circumstances of loss. Again, since no two people will grieve or heal the same, it’s quite difficult to create a plan that will be a sure fit for every patient. Things to consider are that some people are so traumatized they are unable to talk openly about their feelings and experiences, while many others either do not want to communicate or do not know how to express themselves comfortably. A couple other factors to consider when working with grief and trauma patients are age and gender. Children deal with loss and trauma much differently than adults, just as men will differently from women, and these differences will impact their healing process, too.
As complex as grief and trauma are, there are promising results within the alternative medicine world for the healing journey of these groups. One way that people can express themselves in a noninvasive, gender-age neutral way, and without using words, is through art. Art Therapy has been used as a form of healing for centuries and produces some incredible results. There are so many mediums in which art can be practiced, which is one reason it is so successful in treating grief and trauma and many other conditions. The versatility of art as therapy offers something for almost everyone, whether it be through music, dance, or putting the paintbrush to a canvas, art can offer the same beauty, ugliness, pain, and, ultimately, the healing that is grief and trauma.
I’ve been an artist ever since I remember being me. If I wasn’t singing into my recorder, playing it back, trying to make sure I was singing perfect, I was writing plays to present to my teachers, asking if I could cast and perform them for class. Music, art, and writing, all helped me bring my imagination to life, while also helping me escape from my reality. Unknowingly, as a little girl, I was already using art as therapy to cope with the stresses of life. It was my way of dealing with trauma and expressing myself back then and it came in handy, once again, when I lost my husband and my grandson within two months of each other just a couple years ago. This time, however, was quite different from when I was a little girl, but I did feel a strong urge to paint again. It was during this time, while working with my grief counselor, that I began to realize how the various forms of art can truly heal trauma and grief and I began my mission to help others.
Art, too, is complex and unlimited in all its forms. Art can bring your dreams to life and transcend you. It can be magnificent or melancholy, eccentric or classical, simple or dynamic, and many times, the artist is able to show us a glimpse of what they were feeling at the time. Each piece of art is one of a kind, just as its creator. This is likely one of the main reasons the arts are so successful in helping people that are grieving or suffering from trauma. It gives them the versatility to express and convey their unique emotions and experiences, that they may not be able to put into words. In one study where they provided an art therapy program as treatment for military service members who suffered from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), they discuss this same idea, sometimes they do not have the ability to communicate, or they may not feel safe, which is a huge concern for patients with PTSD, as there are triggers that cause flashbacks and nightmares causing them to relive their trauma (Kaimal, G., Jones, J. P., Dieterich-Hartwell, R., and Wang, X., 2021). By allowing them to express themselves without the exchange of words between them and the therapist, trigger words can be avoided, which effectively helps to build trust as well.
When it comes to art for therapy for children, the other end of the age spectrum, here, too, there is great success in working with the young victims of trauma, more specifically, sexual abuse. They have found in the study that art therapy does provide children a way to express themselves and heal. Art helps them to provide an outlet to express the strong emotions that are behind their traumas, and a way to communicate with, and trust, their therapist (Laird and Mullville, 2022). Further, this practice is simple enough to become an incredible resource for parents, guardians, and even school social workers to utilize as additional assistance to these and other children as expressive outlets.
An exciting fact, the art that results from these horrific experiences that we hold deep in our souls, are some of the most amazing pieces. Many have even become famous historically. Van Gogh, for instance, is known for his struggles with mental illness, and his unique, yet identifiable techniques that reveal his pain and suffering, are masterpieces known around the world. From my own experiences, some of the best artists are the shy people, the people who think they’re going to be the worst, and those who outwardly struggle with self-confidence. They paint some of the most beautiful paintings and many of them add their own touches to the paintings I teach, and I just love seeing what they come up with and have yet to be disappointed. I have even asked and been granted permission to incorporate their ideas into my classes as inspiration for others.
The healing process is a long journey, and, yes, sometimes it’s forever, but art as therapy can provide an outlet that can be there for you to practice for as little or as long as you need. Art as therapy can help healing with any mental illness or ailment and can be extremely beneficial as a continued practice for life. Professor Alan Tomlinson authored an article for the What Works Center for Wellbeing, regarding the benefits from long-term visual arts programs, which include, re-engagement into society or starting of new relationships, physical distraction with a new sense of purpose, and the decrease in exhaustion levels, improving the overall quality of life (Tomlinson, A., 2019).
Additional research needs to be conducted to learn of all the benefits art as therapy may offer, but there is so much that has proved evident already. First, participating in an arts program does help with re-engaging into a community setting or social networking. Second, an arts program reduces the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and loneliness, while increasing self-positive views. These benefits alone make participating in an arts program worthwhile, especially since it seems many of us deal with traumatic events every other day. Art as therapy is an amazing skill for surviving life, and keeping us centered, or grounded, so that we will be able to handle stressful or traumatic situations better. In addition to using art for our own self-care, we may even be able to help others, and just knowing we can turn to art as therapy whenever we need is truly a remarkable tool. I think we forget that we can pick up crayons, markers, pencils, or paint brushes whenever we want, for therapy or for fun!
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References
Kaimal, G., Jones, J. P., Dieterich-Hartwell, R., & Wang, X. (2021). Long-term art therapy clinical interventions with military service members with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress: Findings from a mixed methods program evaluation study. Military Psychology, 33(1), 29–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2020.1842639
Laird, L., & Mulvihill, N. (2022). Assessing the Extent to Which Art Therapy Can Be Used with Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Thematic Analysis of Published Studies. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 31(1), 105–126.
Tomlinson, A. (2018). Visual Art and Mental Health. London: What Works Centre for Wellbeing. Retrieved from
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