Creative therapy for the psyche: with art, music and dance

Mental illnesses are often so complex that they are very difficult to grasp and be understood for the layperson. Those affected also often have great difficulty to put their constantly changing and highly complex feelings into words.

In classic psychotherapy , words are the means of choice to shared and deal with things in therapy.

In some situations, however, the sick is so overwhelmed that classic therapy does not seem really promising here. If the psyche of a sick person does not allow classic therapy, creative therapy one of the best means to relieve the patient's psyche and give people the opportunity to express themselves and process what they have experienced.

Generations of researchers and psychoanalysts dealt with the question of what art does with our psyche . There are different approaches that deal with different art forms.

Musical arts, for example, have a different impact than art in the form of painting or sculpture . Art in the form of images, for example, creates a reaction of feelings and thoughts when considering considering. However, less due to the drawn pictures themselves.

Rather, the feelings and thoughts evoked by an image vary from person to person. Looking at an image is like looking in a mirror.

Because what comes to mind when looking at a work of art is mostly shaped by our own experiences and our current psychological constitution. A picture kept in dark earth tones can look melancholy and sad, while it has a warm and almost homely effect on the other.

Even landscape images can cause very different feelings and reactions to us - depending on whether we combine something with the landscape depicted or not.

What does creativity have to do with mental illnesses?

Creativity is a way of commenting. With the help of creative action, you give a statement - or simply process thoughts, feelings and experienced. It is a way to express yourself without having to find words.

This non -verbal opportunity to communicate and pass on feelings, thoughts and moods can give a psychotherapist a lot of indications of the psychological constitution of the person who has created this creative work.

Art therapy gradually developed from exactly these points . This form of therapy is used by trained art therapists. These usually have a degree in an art science and of course a degree in the psychiatric area.

Art therapy is mostly offered in rehabilitation centers, in children's clinics or in psychiatric institutions. Especially in children's clinics, it is an important accompanying instrument for children who suffer from a serious illness such as cancer and their parents.

Art therapy is actually about putting things on paper in image form. There are no high -quality works of art - it is much more about offering the patient a way to collect the confusion in his thoughts and to capture a screen in a firm form.

In this way he can bring calm and relaxation into his feelings and his world of thought and reorganize them. In addition, it is particularly easier for patients with severe trauma to express their feelings.

The first things are visualized that are known to the patient or in which he feels safe. So many patients should first visualize their values. Visualizing your own biography or certain questions can also help the therapist to get to know his patients better.

So he or she gets a picture of how the patient thinks and what kind of images he connects with positive or negative things.

Only when the patient and therapist have gained security in dealing with each other and in the interpretation of the painted images, the patient should venture into more difficult tasks. Then it is time to visualize your own fears, thoughts and doubts - a process in which the therapist will try to feel ahead with the patient's negative feelings and thoughts.

This is how music has an impact on our brain

When we music , a variety of different areas become active in our brain. Each brain reacts to music in a different way. Some people have stronger reactions in the emotional areas of the brain. Others - especially professional musicians - process music in the analytical part of the brain.

Whatever your brain processes music - the fact is that music is a valuable tool to promote and demand the brain. For this reason, early musical education is such an important funding instrument for children

How art appeals to the psyche

address the psyche in two different ways

Once by consuming art . In this case, people absorb the music or the picture and reflect it. Both in music as well as in the painted picture or the carved stature, the consideration or listening creates a certain mental and emotional reaction.

Depending on the personal previous experience and current personal constitution, this reaction can be completely different. From joy, fun and wild dancing to melancholic calm and a feeling of deep depression to deep sadness, everything can actually be felt here.

Variant number two is the independent composition of art . Here, too, there are different channels that really express what people want to express to others. The creative art in the form of painting is a good tool here. Because the painter can let his thoughts and feelings run free. So he can banish what is in his head.

As a rule, this does not work quite as well with music, since these fixed laws follow and a certain melody needs to result in a harmonious piece. But the way a person plays music can still provide information about his current psychological constitution. Here you often only have to listen carefully to recognize the fine shades in the tones and the voice.

Conclusion: Creativity can help to escape mental illnesses from the hole

Creative therapy is a valuable aid in the fight against depression and numerous other mental illnesses. She can also help young people who have to deal with heavy emotional chaos and inner conflicts.

It is not uncommon for something like the first mental illness, especially in puberty - often completely unnoticed and therefore also untreated for a very long time. If you keep an eye on the psychological well -being of your children from childhood, you will later have the opportunity to react to mood swings and the omnipresent emotional chaos during puberty.

However, creative therapy can be a way to impose communication about the problems, thoughts and feelings for people whose psychological difficulties go significantly beyond the problems of personal finding. In addition, some problems and, above all, their causes only come to light when they are pulled out.

Art therapy is a wonderful and, above all, gentle opportunity to pull exactly these factors to the surface and to initiate an argument with it. Especially experiences from childhood or adolescence that were not adequately processed can lead to considerable social and psychological problems in old age.