The introspective practice has gained major steam in the past few decades, so much so that physicians from the United Kingdom to Switzerland now prescribe hands-on classes and museum trips to help patients improve their mental health.
Now, true art therapy is more than dabbling in painting or pottery. “Like traditional talk therapy, [art therapy] involves a therapeutic relationship between the art therapist and client or patient,” says Florida-based licensed mental health counselor and board-certified art therapist Bella Hudson, founder of Flow State Art Therapy & Counseling, LLC. She notes that an art therapist meets the patient, assesses their needs, and creates an action plan to best support their health goals.
Hudson’s sessions typically run for around an hour, and no previous art experience is required. “I often work with adults who haven’t picked up a paintbrush or marker in years,” she says. Many times, these patients feel intimidated not by the act of creating itself, but by making art in front of others. “I think this comes from the idea that art is supposed to be ‘good.’”
Overcoming self-doubt and perfectionism is perhaps one of the most important lessons of art therapy. In school, art class trained us to color within the lines and create based on the outcome, not the process. With art therapy, “the goal is not about art technique, accuracy, or aesthetic outcome,” Hudson says. “Your art therapist is not there to judge your artwork, but rather to offer you a safe space to reflect using something other than words alone.”
While my experience wasn’t actually art therapy—it was simply me, a teacher, a paintbrush, and great conversation—I still enjoyed the surface-level benefits of creativity without boundaries. The activity quieted my mind and muted that anxious log of pregnancy questions I’d become accustomed to: What will our life as parents be like? Will I lose my sense of adventure? Will I be any good at mothering? Instead, I focused on simple queries, like should the trees be purple, teal, or pink?
Krutzen says this is how even simple, analog art experiences can benefit us. “While you’d need a qualified art therapist to experience art therapy, you can absolutely access the therapeutic benefits of making art or being creative on your own,” says Krutzen. “Art can be healing and grounding as an outlet throughout life, not just within a session.”
And the activities can run the gamut. During my time at Mii Amo, I tried watercolor art, chalk painting, and candle-making. The colorful Artist Cottage, which is open to guests of Mii Amo and the adjacent family-friendly Enchantment Resort, hosts experiences like wheel-thrown pottery classes and jewelry- and soap-making, with a new weaving offering this fall. All experiences are designed to be both creative and meditative; on nice days, guests can take their sketchbooks outside for guided drawing, too.
The Artist’s Cottage at Mii Amo.
Photo: Courtesy of Mii Amo
