Art Therapy: Healing through creativity

Sometimes words just aren’t enough. When emotions feel overwhelming, confusing, or too big to express, it can help to explore them in a different way—through creativity.

Art therapy is a hands-on, expressive therapy that uses creative processes to help you explore thoughts, feelings, and experiences that may be difficult to put into words. Whether you’re navigating trauma, grief, anxiety, or simply feeling stuck, art therapy offers a gentle, engaging way to reconnect with yourself and begin the healing process.

The goal isn’t to create “good” art—it’s about using art as a tool for self-understanding, emotional release, and transformation.

Benefits of Art Therapy

Art therapy can support people in a wide range of situations. It’s not just for artists—it’s for anyone looking for a new way to process and grow.

Here are some of the ways it can help:

• Trauma recovery: People with PTSD or complex trauma often find art therapy helpful for processing painful experiences safely, without needing to verbalise every detail.
• Managing anxiety, depression, and grief: Art therapy can offer emotional release, self-soothing, and reflection, helping to ease symptoms and improve wellbeing.
• Exploring relationship challenges: Creating art can help you explore your feelings about others, express unspoken dynamics, and build self-awareness in how you relate.
• Coping with stress or burnout: Engaging in art-making can be calming and restorative, helping you unwind, reframe challenges, and find new perspectives.
• Supporting emotional expression: If talking about your feelings is hard, art can become your voice—giving shape and colour to what’s going on inside.

Our Approach to Art Therapy at Marsden Health

At Marsden Health, we use art therapy in a way that’s welcoming, accessible, and grounded in psychological insight. You don’t need to be artistic or creative—just open to the process.

Here’s what it might look like:

• Choose your materials: From paint and pastels to clay or collage, you’ll work with a medium that feels comfortable and engaging for you.
• Receive a prompt: Your therapist may offer a gentle invitation like, “Create an image of how you feel today” or “Show what it feels like to be overwhelmed.”
• Create your art: There’s no right or wrong. This part is about expressing—not impressing.
• Reflect together: Once the piece is complete, you and your therapist will explore what the image represents, how it made you feel, and what insights it brings up.
• Integrated approach: We often combine art therapy with other tools like journalling, guided imagery, CBT, or storytelling to support deeper healing.

You Don’t Have to Say It All

Art therapy creates space for healing when words feel too hard—or just not enough. It taps into a different kind of wisdom: the part of you that feels, senses, and creates.

Whether you’re facing something big, or just need a new way to understand yourself, art therapy can help you find clarity, calm, and connection.