Art Therapy and Trauma
Art has been part of human life since its earliest days, serving as a means of creative expression and symbolic representation of personal and cultural experience (Dalley, 1984). For many, art can be a form of meaning-making, a way to explore feelings, and a pathway to healing. Art therapy offers a structured approach to this process, integrating creativity and reflection within the therapeutic relationship, especially when verbal language alone is insufficient.
What is Art Therapy?
Art therapy is a relational form of psychotherapy in which art becomes a central mode of communication. It is a method that offers a different way of accessing and expressing emotions that may be unconscious, fragmented, or difficult to articulate verbally. Artistic expression can take many forms such as painting, collage, photography, textile work, and more and is used alongside verbal dialogue to deepen therapeutic exploration.
Central to art therapy is the triangular relationship between therapist, client, and the artwork. The artwork becomes both a medium and a symbol: a tangible form that holds thoughts, feelings, and memories that may be otherwise unspoken. This relationship offers a unique space for reflection and transformation. Artistic skill is not required; the value lies in the process of creation, in the meaning given to the work, and in the shared exploration it fosters.
Trauma and Its Effects
Trauma is not only an event that happened in the past; it is an imprint on mind, brain, and body (Van der Kolk, 2014). Its impact can alter how we live, think, and relate to ourselves and others. Neuroscientific research shows that trauma can affect brain areas responsible for language and memory, such as the Broca area, making it harder to translate experience into words. Instead, traumatic memory often persists as fragmented sensory images, emotions, and bodily sensations. These fragments can resurface as flashbacks or overwhelming emotional states.
Trauma affects the body’s physiological systems. When faced with threat, the body enters a “fight or flight” mode, releasing stress hormones such as adrenaline. For those living with trauma, this state may remain chronically active, creating heightened reactivity to stress, difficulties with attention and memory, sleep disturbances, and long-term health effects. Dissociation, a splitting of experience, is another common feature, in which emotional, sensory, and cognitive elements of the traumatic event remain separated and outside conscious awareness (Van der Kolk, 2014).
Art Therapy for Trauma
Art therapy offers an approach that engages the whole person, body, mind, and emotions, and can be especially valuable in working with trauma. By engaging sensory and symbolic expression, art therapy creates opportunities to process experience without re-traumatisation. This approach allows trauma survivors to access embodied memories and express them through imagery rather than words alone, integrating what may otherwise remain fragmented.
The process of art-making activates different parts of the brain, fostering integration between sensory, emotional, and cognitive processes (Smith, 2016; Miller, 2016). The creative work can help regulate the nervous system, re-establish a sense of presence, and foster self-awareness and agency. Art therapy, therefore, is not only a method of expression but a relational process, grounded in safety and attuned to the lived experience of the client.
In working with trauma, art therapy becomes a space where complexity can be held without pressure to translate everything into words. It offers a way to encounter and transform painful experiences, supporting the gradual restoration of a sense of safety, continuity, and self.
References
Case, C. & Dalley, T. (1992). The handbook of Art Therapy. London: Routledge.
Dalley, T. (1984) El arte como terapia. Barcelona: Editorial.
Liebmann, M. (2004). Art therapy for Groups: A handbook of Themes and Exercises.
Miller, G. (2016). The Value of Art Expression in Trauma-Informed Work.
Naumberg, M. (1958). Art therapy: its scope and funcion, en E. F.
Hammer (ed.), Clinical Applications of projective drawings. Springfield: C. C. Thomas.
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Smith A., (2016). A literature review of the therapeutic mechanisms of art therapy for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. International Journal of Art Therapy, 21:2, 66-74, DOI: 10.1080/17454832.2016.1170055
Tripp T. (2007). A Short Term Therapy Approach to Processing Trauma: Art Therapy and Bilateral Stimulation. Art Therapy, 24:4, 176-183. DOI: 10.1080/07421656.2007.10129476
Van der Kolk, B. A. (2015). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Viking.