Art Therapy for Emotional Healing | A Talk by Dr. Bhavna Chopra

Thank you, thank you for having me today. And very good evening to all of you. Yes, I am a lot of whatever she said, but basically I am all for tools and techniques that can help an individual in their personal life and eventually in their professional life to grow and transform in the way they want to. That's my only vision. So for that, whatever practices, whatever tools I try and I find them meaningful and useful for self-transformation and professional transformation, I use them first of all, then I plan to do a certification on them so that I can support as many people as possible. And it starts about spreading the knowledge about the tools, about the modalities. And today I am here to talk about the expressive arts for emotional well-being. So Hindi, English mix, and just English, Urdu both. Both Rita ji and Padma ji also understand Hindi and they are from North India, so mix also will do. Anything we are comfortable with, okay? So expressions are extremely, extremely, and that is what expressive art is all about. So I will start with some, and then we will do some small activities because we do not have much time. Therapy, art therapy requires a lot of time with each activity, but we just have an experience about it so that my aim is more and more to make people aware about these modalities so that they are able to use it. Sometimes we just do it and we don't know what we are doing. Even we are practicing it but we don't know why we do like what we do. Because I once noticed that when meetings, when seven, seven, eight hour long meetings start happening, I noticed one thing that I by default start scribbling and doodling without understanding the art therapy. That time, because my mind sees that as a distraction or for my relaxation, I have to do something, movement, because I am sitting at one place for 6 to 8 hours in a meeting. So let's understand what is expressive arts and then let's experiment with a few activities and then I will take up questions with you. And in future if we need more activities or you think you can, you want more activities for anybody, please reach out and I will be happy to help. So I will just share my screen.

Okay, so today we will try to understand what this is. We have heard a lot of conversations, and especially during the lockdown we heard a lot that there is emotional stress, mental stress, and you must be hearing a lot about expressive art as well. Many certifications and many people are also practicing it. But what is it actually? And why is it essential? Why is it so important? Why, how does it help? So expressive art is a combination of psychology and the creative process to promote emotional growth and healing. And you do not have to be an artist to practice expressive arts. You just have to acknowledge your emotions, be mindful and go in the flow, be with the flow and just do what your therapist or your trainer is asking you to do. And just follow those things, those art activities, and you will be able to first of all acknowledge the emotion that you are having. Then you will be able to even further in the advanced format, will be able to release that emotion slowly. So art therapy is a tool that will help you as a first aid for your emotional and mental stress. That is basically what art therapy is. And why, when is art therapy needed? When there are pent up a lot of emotions. Especially we are using art therapy where people have difficulty in communicating. Young children, special needs children, special needs adults, some atypical syndromes, some illnesses, some limitations they have that they cannot express themselves. Then art is the best medium that they can use to express their emotion and state of mental trauma and stress. Then with the adults, by default our setting becomes, while we are working in a professional setup and in personal life, we work on a default mode and we keep sidelining and hiding and pent up and accumulating a lot of emotions because we feel that might just stop me from moving ahead. So art therapy helps you as an adult also to take time out, take time in and then acknowledge and release your emotions. That's what art therapy helps with. It's easy because it's interesting. There is no heavy text, there is no heavy classroom stuff, there is no theory that is happening, right? So it becomes very interesting. It's a very light-hearted environment where you go in. Definitely, if you have a severe issue, definitely go to a specific psychology art therapist. But if you have minor issues and minor stress levels, then when you reach out to a therapist or a practitioner, it's a very good, bright, beautiful, calm, interesting environment that you get into. You are not into question answers, you are not into reflective questions, you are not into deep diving. Very, very nice, congenial, healthy music will be playing, colors will be there, sometimes movement will be happening. So all those things that engage your five senses, art therapy engages all your five senses. Because as we say, some people learn by doing, some people learn by observation, some people learn by touch. Similarly, when you understand and express your emotions, then also there are multiple senses that you use. Different people use different senses. Some people shout out and cry, okay? Some people just go into silence. Some people have movements. They won't speak but they will be, you know, there will be anxious fast movements. So art therapy helps you release your stress. First of all, by taking in, inhale a lot of calmness. Then recognizing what emotion you are right now going in. And then helping you slowly with the medium of art. That medium can be anything. Release that emotion. When it is a very early stage, then you might need one or two sessions and a few art therapy tools will be given to you to practice on a weekly basis. And you will be able to, you know, use it as a tool whenever you need it. But there are severe situations, then you need to definitely go to an art therapist on a regular basis and do some intense art activities like movement and dance and drama and photography and art painting, I mean painting, collage and journaling. So let's see what all kinds of these activities are. So art activity, expressive arts uses four major therapeutic modalities: expression, imagination. Imagination has to be told to those people, has to be done with those people who have gone blank, who are not able to process their emotions, who are not able to say what they are feeling, who are not even able to feel the feeling. They have to be made to visualize, they have to be made to imagine, to ignite that imagination. Then active participation is used a lot these days in many trainings. Because six, seven hour long, even virtual trainings happen, people get, you know, drained out mentally in those sessions. So there it is used to engage people in a light activity so that their senses are again active. And then mind-body connection, as I said, a lot of people who are not, you know, who are impaired, who are special needs, who are again into a lot of depression, they are not moving out of their bed, they are not getting out of their house, they are not into any activity. So mind-body connection is established and that helps them in their whole process, in establishing the whole mind-body connection. So that's why it's so popular these days. It's so sought after these days, especially with young adults, especially with the kids who are giving a lot of exams in 10th, 12th, preparing for a lot of, you know, a lot of competitive exams, working professionals like from intern level and then people who have experience but still find that, I am not finding any meaning in my work. So every level, for every level of people, every strata of people, every age group, there are art activities that can be done, starting from kids. For kids, it's very simple and as the age increases, the art activities get a little complex and you need to dive a little deep into it. As you can see, one of my favorite activities. Here you can see paint and walk. It's a very interesting activity. We never do it. But if you remember, in villages, ladies apply alta, alta on their feet and how beautiful their feet look. And by painting on your feet, you can make butterflies. By painting on your feet, you can make flowers. By painting on your feet, you are painting with your feet. And people get very intrigued. I mean, after initiating this activity, it becomes very difficult to stop it. It becomes, in turns, a very fun element. And people feel very relaxed after doing this. Because they are very eager to see what others made, what I made. Why did I make mine like that? What color did I choose? You know, a lot of things come into a deep debrief session after this. So it's a very interesting activity. Painting, you know, painting with your feet and walking. So that is very interesting. And then various techniques in art therapy. So when we generally talk about art therapy, we think maybe we are talking only about drawing, but it's not like that. There are many, and now people are adding more and more to it. Art in general encompasses dance, painting, drama. Drama is also called psychodrama, which goes into a more technical term where psychologists and therapists handle severe cases where they want people to shout and cry and enact and, you know, take out all of their trauma with a dialogue and all that. So that is also a modality through psychodrama. It is being used a lot these days. Then we have music, definitely. Mandala art. I am sorry for the spelling. Okay, Mandala art, photography, movement therapy. It is a little different from dance. In movement, there is no boundation on what format you will move in. And sculpting is also very, very in these days. People like to create. They are creating something that they can touch, you know. And then how they are creating it, slowly, somebody is creating really, really slow, somebody is getting really fast, somebody is making intricate designs, somebody is just making happy designs. So sculpting is another very, very beautiful activity to release a lot of emotional stress. And writing, we all know journaling is a big phenomenon happening all over the globe and it is also considered for, you know, releasing your emotions, creating a daily diary, gratitude journals, and numerous formats of journaling. So that also helps us to create an emotional dump and release and keep your, you know, mind healthy and clean every day, every day, weekly, basically however you want to do that. These are the modalities and each one of them has their own benefits. The benefit of so many modalities in art therapy is that whichever modality a person is comfortable with, whichever they can work with, whichever gives them playfulness, joyfulness, and happiness, they can select that modality for therapy. There is no boundation that you have to do only this, that everyone has to draw. No. So as people are, a good art therapist will first try to understand you, understand your personality, even to the extent that if we know MBTI personality types, you know, extroverts, introverts, according to the personality types, there are recommended activities available as well. So therapists sometimes take your personality test and then only understand that this person will be suited for music therapy or drama therapy or paint. According to that, activities are designed for you and then you are made to practice and after that you are given take-home as well and then weekly intervention is done with you, how you are feeling, what you are feeling, are you getting bored, do you need something new from the activity. So like that, counseling, consultation continues. Especially children get bored quickly, so with them we have to do a lot of combination activities. What are the benefits? In youngsters, it makes a lot of difference in eating disorders. This is also a personal experience. And in aging related issues, it is a major help for women because their self-image starts forming. They feel that now this is how it will be for me. I am aging, everything will go, you know, slow and everything will fade out, my everything will fade out. So it helps a lot there. It helps in releasing emotions. All the working professionals, youngsters who are stepping into jobs, careers, or who are already in a very stressful working environment, their emotion release and stress relief happens. And then self-discovery and self-esteem. Many times it happens that we are just stuck in a routine and we keep doing things, keep doing things. We are just on the roll. So it gives you time to halt, to take a few breaths, and to acknowledge who you are and what you are doing. So these three or four areas of benefits are very profound. There are many researches, many insights already available on Google or if you search for art therapy research papers, white papers, all those things are available. So this is a well-established therapy about which we can say that proof is available, data is available that it works. Now we will try a few activities, but before that, there are two disclaimers for this. First, you don't need to be a psychologist for this, nor do you need to be any art professional to do it. That you are a dancer only then you can do it, you are a photographer only then you can do it, or you are a painter only then you can do it. The only requirement is one: you should have interest in art and you should have belief that this can cure, and then you should have practiced it and some kind of certification in art therapy you could have, and that certification you can have in any form. And the people on whom you are doing art therapy also do not need any mastery in art. They absolutely do not need mastery. Only then will they express openly. We are not seeking dancers, painters, photographers in the therapy. No, you come. As you are, the activity we will do with you will be based on your problem, your stress level. And then we do the activity and then you will learn more about yourself. You will be able to learn more about your emotions and you will be able to release those emotions during the thing. If someone is struggling with a problem, we can use that as therapy. My point is that if a person wants to create something in their future. One thing is that somebody is already down and we want to bring them to a normal level. But how can we use the same technique in order to succeed in our life, like further if we want to create something new for ourselves? So as we say, this is a therapy. Therapy means this is helping you. Correct is not the right word, but solve something for you. This is solving some issue for you. If you are okay and you are just planning for your future, the only therapy that would work is writing, journaling, creating a diary. So creating a project journal. Do you want to remove the slide for this answer? So the only therapy in the case where you are planning to move forward and plan your future and you are all okay, you know, you are self-aware and you are aware where you want to go, the therapy that you can use is writing, writing a journal. That would help you keep a track of planning, keep a track of your future plan, and then maybe writing it down on a weekly basis, monthly basis, what you want to do. Now the thing is that we don't know. Sometimes we aspire to wrong things which may not be connected to our own value system. So probably it would require some self and deep analysis about our values and whether the goals which we have set for ourselves are connected to us or not, or this is just peer pressure or something else. Yes, so writing journals has various kinds of prompts. Thousands of prompts in different categories. So if suppose you and I get into a conversation and I try to understand what is your need, I will provide you with those kinds of journaling prompts that would help you reflect on what your values are, what direction you want to move in, what challenges you are facing in the direction you are currently in, and what your personal and professional requirements are for the direction you want to go in the future. So I am speaking very generically, but very specific journaling prompts I will share with you in the sessions and in our conversations, and then through those journaling prompts, things will become, you will dive deeper and you will have a lot of reflective questions and reflective thoughts in your head that you will keep putting in your journal on a weekly basis, on a daily basis, and then eventually you will develop clarity. Okay, this is what I have done so far. This much I want to do ahead. These are my gaps. I have to fill these. My values are these, which I will not compromise now. I have compromised up to a certain age. Now I do not want to compromise these values. So then what are my A, B, C options? Okay, if I have A, B, C options, then I will apply option A. If that doesn't work, then what will be option B? What will be option C? So journaling prompts are very helpful for you to do reflective thinking. Thank you. Thank you very much. I love to hear that.

Okay, so let's do one activity, a very small activity. This is a very basic activity I am doing. Let me just get back to my sharing. Okay, so this is what we are going to do. We will write our name plate. We will create our name plate. So name plates, we all get them made. Now we will create our own. Whatever pen, pencil you have, whatever you have at this moment, just write your name. You can use colors and you can use whatever you want. These are just samples because we are short of time. Otherwise, when we do this activity, we only give instructions, we don't show examples. But this is our online session, it's quite small. So I gave a little example so that you can quickly think through. So make your name plate quickly.

This is the first time I wrote my name like this actually. I don't know why, but this is something I just created just now. Rajat, you should reflect on why have you created it like this. You just reflect on it. I don't want to know, I don't want to know right now. You just reflect on it for a moment. Not for a moment, later on also, whenever you are free, just have a look at the art that you have created and then just reflect upon it. In a few days, maybe a week's time, just have some reflections on how that has been for you and maybe you will get some insight. So just on the art of it, okay? That's just my insight. Okay, thank you, thank you so much. Thank you for sharing this. Because I am really grateful to everybody because these are very personal things and it is discussed one-on-one, so if anyone has a little hesitation, don't discuss it. It's not a big deal. I am just sharing how decoding is done. The diagram is well sorted. Yes, can you see my name? Yes, I can see, yes I can see, okay great. Yes, I can see if it is clear. I was not ready with any color. No problem, no problem, no problem. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you so much. And this thing, it's just a sample. Even if you are looking at the screen, the two samples that I shared, if you look at them carefully, you can decode something about the personalities of those two people. Anyone can try. There is no right or wrong in this. Padma ji is looking like she is an artist. Because the way she made P and D and did a little shading, only an artist can do that. I feel so. One was made by Mian, he wrote his name, and one was written by Ms. Smith. Now you can interpret something about them. Oh, good, good. The first one is nature loving. Yes, very good. Right? It is clearly visible that she is nature loving. She loves flowers. But what colors are in the flowers? That means she is a joyful, happy person right now. The choice of colors. Look at the letters. Ms. Smith's letters are so bold but not symmetrical. So this is a course, a package of 50 activities. For teachers, counselors, psychology students who want to know what art activity is, how to use it. People are writing their research papers etc., so they need information. One is for information and awareness to learn what this is, and one is for therapy. The children, young adults, especially, because my daughter is also in that age group, so her friends come through her references or from her Instagram, or other people who are in references, that a child is going through some emotional stress, especially during exam time, relationship issues, young children have relationship issues, identity issues. I really liked it. I mean, I use picture perception or that kind of story perception, but yes, this specifically was very good. I mean, there is something deep in it and I would also like to learn more. Very good. I also made a name plate today, so I also felt good after a very long time. When I make others do it, but I haven't done it myself for many years. So today I said and I made it, and I felt, oh yes, it felt good. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you ji.