What is Expressive Arts Therapy?

What is expressive arts therapy? And is it the same as art therapy? I get these questions a lot! 

Expressive arts therapy and art therapy are both forms of psychotherapy, but they are not the same thing. There are lots of different types of psychotherapy. Like A LOT. In general I find it easiest to categorize the different types of psychotherapy by the “thing” that is actually done in a session to help a client meet whatever their therapeutic goal is:

“Talk therapy” (the most commonly recognized form of therapy that is typically provided by counselors, social workers, psychologists etc.)

Music therapy

Art therapy

Play therapy 

Dance/movement therapy

Drama Therapy

Etc.

Therapists can be trained in one of these, or several (not to mention that there are sub categories within these different fields as well.) Each of these categories has professional organizations associated with them that regulate who is allowed to practice specific types of therapy and make sure you have the correct training and follow all the rules etc. These professional organizations work hard to promote recognition of their field, to further define what makes them unique when compared to similar fields, and to provide community and resources to professionals in their fields. These are the professional organizations associated with art therapy and expressive arts therapy:

Art therapy (USA) - American Art Therapy Association

Expressive arts therapy - International Expressive Arts Therapy Association

In other words, there are a lot of different ways to be a therapist.

Expressive arts therapy (EXAT) is a form of therapy that specializes in using multiple forms of creative expression, instead of just one. EXAT understands that people’s brains/bodies/nervous systems react differently depending on how we process and express things. Instead of focusing on just one form of creative expression (such as art therapy), therapists trained in EXAT learn the basics of many different forms of expression. We are taught to understand how each modality interacts with the brain, and to help a client choose the form of creative expression that best meets their mental and emotional needs in each moment. 

For example:

If a client indicates in a session that they really need to express an emotion but they can’t find the right words for it, an EXA therapist can encourage them to pay attention to what that emotion feels like in their body, or looks like, or sounds like, and then use an art form to create out of that feeling.

Or:

If a client would like to process a memory that is encoded in their brain as a sensory experience (such as a traumatic memory), an EXA therapist can help them access that part of their brain through a specific expressive modality, and then slowly incorporate other forms of processing to better integrate that memory with other brain processes.

In short, expressive arts therapy is defined by its unique ability to be both “multimodal” and “intermodal”.

Multimodal: using multiple different modalities.

Intermodal: using these multiple modalities together.

Does that mean that there is a requirement to use lots of different expressive arts forms in each session? Nope! I like to think of EXAT as providing an invitation and an opportunity to explore and combine different modes of creative processing depending on what is best for the client. 

This is particularly helpful for people who might not find any one particular modality (like talk-only therapy) helpful. 

Or who naturally use a different, non-verbal language to express and work through things in life (like younger children). 

Or who are already naturally drawn to creative arts processes and using those forms of expression make them feel seen, heard, and proud of themselves and what they can make. 

Or people who are culturally and socially complex and maybe talking about what’s going on is not particularly comfortable or easy for them.

Expressive arts therapy is a highly versatile form of therapy because it is accessible to all people, regardless of their ability to talk about what is going on in their lives. That’s why I love it, and why I believe it is a perfect fit for TCKs.

Still have questions about expressive arts therapy? Or about if it’s the right kind of therapy for you or a TCK you care about? Or about how I specifically practice this virtually? Send me your question here and let’s chat!