Therapeutic Arts
"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way—things I had no words for."
- Georgia O'Keeffe
A therapeutic arts workshop is a tool for creative expression and self-exploration. Therapeutic art workshops provide participants with an alternative mode of expression to communicate their thoughts, feelings and ideas in a safe, non-threatening environment. Workshops serve as a catalyst for promoting self-discovery, assessing emotions and underlying trauma, and building confidence and intrapersonal understanding. Participants gain greater intrapersonal insight through the art-making process and the discussion that follows.
Therapeutic arts workshops are process driven and with “no art experience necessary” are accessible to anyone willing to pick up a brush or a glue stick. Participants can expect to work in a variety of media including paint, ink, collage, pastel, pencil and sculpture. This variety is well-suited to provide alternative avenues of self-expression that stretch beyond the limits of verbal communication. As participants communicate intuitively with color, brush stroke, texture and line quality, they develop a new language to express their thoughts and emotions.
In a workshop, participants are expertly guided through the art making and challenged to utilize
the creative process to look within themselves for answers that lead to greater understanding
of Self through visual application. Workshops focus on a topic with a therapeutic objective
embedded within the curriculum. Facilitation serves to guide participants through
the creative process, while empowering participants to remain in charge
of their own creativity and the meaning behind it.
Benefits of Taking a Therapeutic Arts Workshop
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personal empowerment
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clarification of boundaries
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feeling more connected with others
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participation in an enjoyable social interaction
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improved motivational levels
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normalization of feelings
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learning new coping skills
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decreased stress and anxiety
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improved mood
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increase in general well-being
Artist, Kristin Hollon has been leading therapeutic arts workshops since 2009. Her workshops are specifically formatted to support individuals coping with stress, trauma, disease and addiction recovery challenges, but can be utilized by anyone seeking to further their own personal self-discovery. With firsthand experience in overcoming trauma, Kristin understands the dilemma faced by many in the recovery setting of experiencing emotions that cannot be identified, let alone expressed in words. She specifically tailors her curriculum to give voice to these buried feelings, and art projects serve as a catalyst for introspection. During the process critique that follows, participants are provided with a safe space for self-reflection and receive peer support from the community as each art piece is processed.
Ms. Hollon has provided therapeutic arts workshops to agencies across Southern California including the non-profit, Art & Creativity for Healing, Inc., New Method Wellness, Chapter House, Sure Haven, Morningside Recovery, the Wounded Warriors at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, Campus Assault Resources and Education (C.A.R.E.) at University of California, Irvine, and many Orange County Family Resource Centers.
If you would like to learn more about therapeutic arts workshops or to schedule a workshop for yourself or your aggency, please don't hesitate to reach out.