Art Therapy and Neuroscience

introduction

• Purpose of research
• Background
• Approach
• Findings

Questions

• What happens to our mind and body while making art that elicits growth and change?
• How can art therapy change the way our neurochemistry functions?
• How does interpersonal neurobiology inform our understanidng of attachment as it relates to the art making process
• How can we use art therapy to create life long wellness?

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"Art therapy is a mental health profession in which clients, facilitated by the art therapist, use art media, the creative process, and the resulting artwork to explore their feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills,
improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety, and increase self-esteem."

"Clinical neuroscience is the application of the science of neurobiology to human psychology”

art therapy is able to:

• Re-balance brain functions that have been compromised by trauma, attachment disruption, and other losses of emotional connection which human beings have always turned to art to regain.
• Neurons are activated through art making which create structural changes through the turning on of genes which is known as neuroplasticity

“Imagery can be generated through sensory, perceptual, emotional and cognitive processing and contributes to the integrated subcortical and cortical functions which allows inner experiences to be consciously expressed as a source of creativity” (Hass-Cohen, 2015,).

“Art therapy highlights a mind-body practice that can help organize, integrate and enhance the complexity of intrapersonal and interpersonal interactions” (Hass-Cohen, 2015)

“Interpersonal neurobiology is a field of study that explores the way in which relationships and the brain interact in order to shape our mental lives” (Siegel,2015)

“Edith Kramer’s concept of the art therapist as the clients third hand, exemplifies our modern-day interpersonal neurobiology paradigms of attunement and empathy” (Hass-Cohen,2016)

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Wellness is
"An integrated method of functioning that is oriented towards maximizing the potential of which the individual is capable within the environment in which he is functioning”

The three Components of Wellness:

• A direction in progress forward and upward towards a higher potential of functioning.
• An open-ended and ever- expanding tomorrow with its challenge to live at a fuller potential.
• The integration of the whole being of the total individual including mind, body and spirit.

Approach

• Interview process
• Data gathering and analysis
• Making my own art as a way of understanding
• What does all this mean?

Questions

• What role has the art making played throughout your life?
• What do you believe to be the connection between making art and overall health?
• How has neuroscience informed your understanding of how making art creates change?

"Lisa"
“Art is an inter-subjective space where you can recreate experiences in real time rather than just talking about them. People have a creative experience with a therapist through the art making process instead of talking about a relationship. ”

“If you look around at cities and communities and you look at the graffiti everywhere and all the ways that people are trying to express, I think our culture is literally starved for beauty, for grace, for ways to express, for ways to connect up with each other besides violence.”

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"Jackie"
“We all know art therapy works but it is difficult to set a value based on our belief system. Art therapists are slowly chipping away at empirical evidence."

“Imagination, imagery, the ability to stay connected through artistic expression, poetry, visual arts, music, and dance all hold great potential not just in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease but perhaps potentially understanding where Alzheimer’s disease comes from.”

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"George"
"Disorders like depression are often characterized by a lot of activity in the brain areas that are responsible for emotion and a relative lack of activity in areas that are responsible for control like emotion regulation. We believe that a lot of treatment for depression works by helping people to reactivate the areas of the brain that are responsible for control and emotional regulation. Art is the dialogue between control and the lack of it interfacing which that in and of itself, can be therapeutic.”

“Increasingly in mental health we are relying on interventions that help to route people in the present.” George believes that art and music are able to help keep people in the moment.

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Themes

• Connection
• Desire for understanding
• Perspective
• Suspended in time

Findings

• Creative expression is not only a tenant for overall wellness but a foundational component that makes us human. Art is now informing science because art is just as important to understanding what it means to be human as science is to understanding how our minds and bodies function.

Creative expression is the “bridge between the biological nature of man and the spirit of man.” This link can be defined as our creative spirit which is “an expression of the self, adventuring into the unknown in search for universal truth”
-Halbert Dunn

When we deny our creative spirit we deny a part of ourselves that is the essence of being human. Art therapy establishes and reinforces a connection to ourselves, our connection to others and a connection to what it means to be human.

Creativity is primal, it has been around since the beginning of human existence and has been eroded away by societies focus on science and technology. We must have a holistic approach to well-being which covers all areas of human experience including creative expression. All people regardless of their socio- economic status should have the right and the means to express themselves creatively.

Future Research

• Focus on cultural anthropology as it pertians to art making
• Understanding of why people choose to stop cultivating their own creativity

Future Research

• Focus on cultural anthropology as it pertians to art making
• Understanding of why people choose to stop cultivating their own creativity

References

• Dunn, Halbert L. (1959) High-Level Wellness for Man and Society. In: American Journal of Public Health, vol. 49, no. 6, pp. 786-792.
• Hass-Cohen, N. & Findlay (2015). Art Therapy and Neuroscience of Relationships, Creativity and Resiliency: Skills and Practices.
• Siegel, Daniel (2012) The Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology: An Integrative Handbook of the Mind. New York.

Q&A
Thank you!
Ceccily Bednash MA MFTI
Art Therapist at Paradigm Malibu
Founder of The Creative Wellness Institute
creativewellnessinstitute.org