Art therapy, creative arts counselling, therapeutic art -whats the difference?

Engaging in the creative arts can be beneficial in many ways. It can help promote mental health,1 reduce stress, and elevate mood. It can even help promote physical health 2 , lower blood pressure, manage pain and help promote quicker recovery from physical ailments.

The view that the process of engaging in art making can be therapeutic, healing, and deeply meaningful can be referred to as ‘art as therapy’ and the focus here is on the therapeutic value of the creative process and expression. Some therapists without specific training harness the therapeutic value of expression by inviting a client to express feelings in art form, using art ‘as’ therapy.

But when art is created within a therapeutic context or relationship with a therapist or counsellor who has trained to use creative arts to promote exploration and healing, it becomes ‘art ‘in’ therapy’. Working in this way can be described as art therapy, creative art counselling, expressive arts therapy and similar terms depending on the therapists specific training.  Working with a therapist who has trained to work with the creative process, creative arts media and psychological processes, fosters a greater level of therapeutic benefit and becomes a powerful and transformative approach.

The question of roles and of regulation is often a source of confusion. In the UK and some other countries, the USA for example, art therapy is regulated with a protected title4 which makes it an offence to use the title without having had the appropriate training.   But whilst regulation prohibits the use of the title, it does not prohibit working therapeutically any form of creative arts, and many counsellors, psychotherapists and coaches integrate the use of art in their therapy practice.

Training to work therapeutically with creative arts is varied.  An art therapy5 training focusses on art as the primary mode of communication alongside talking. A counselling or psychotherapy training focusses on the therapeutic relationship and communication, and a therapist would usually engage in further training in working therapeutically with art.  Whilst the routes may be different the destination is the same, to work therapeutically with art in a professional context, and it is difficult to define the difference in practice between an art therapist and a creative arts counsellor.

At APCCA our approach is person-centred6 and pluralistic7. It is non-interpretive and aims to help clients engage with the creative process, and gain insight from their personal unconscious symbolism expressed through art. The approach can incorporate a wide range of materials and methods such as visual art, dance, drama, sand tray, stones, digital media, play, and even music may be used - or not. A trained psychotherapist and counsellor will be as comfortable with a client talking in therapy as with using art. What determines how you work is you, the client. There is no pressure to create art, but it is there as a helpful therapeutic option. Being able to choose how to work in therapy is important as research evidence shows that clients tend to do better in therapy when therapy is tailored to each individual client and their preferences and there is a collaborative agreement about what methods to use8.    

If you are interested in working therapeutically with art, you will find a list of practitioners on the website. If you are interested in training with us, you will find more information about our courses on our training overview page or you can email us  training@apcca.org.uk to find out more.

Ani de la Prida . MBACP

APCCA

(1)        Mental Health Foundation. How arts can help improve your mental health. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/blogs/how-arts-can-help-improve-your-mental-health (accessed 2024-01-22).

(2)        Stuckey, H. L.; Nobel, J. The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health: A Review of Current Literature. Am J Public Health 2010, 100 (2), 254–263. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2008.156497.

(3)        Edwards, D. Art Therapy, Second edition.; SAGE Publications Ltd: London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif, 2013.

(4)        Health & Care Professions Council. Professions and protected titles |. HCPC. https://www.hcpc-uk.org/about-us/who-we-regulate/the-professions/ (accessed 2022-02-25).

(5)        What is art therapy?. The British Association Of Art Therapists. https://baat.org/art-therapy/what-is-art-therapy/ (accessed 2024-01-23).

(6)        What is person-centred counselling? | Types of therapy. https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-therapy/types-of-therapy/person-centred-counselling/ (accessed 2024-01-23).

(7)        Smith, K.; Prida, A. de la. The Pluralistic Therapy Primer: A Concise Introduction; PCCS Books: Monmouth, 2021.

(8)        Introduction to Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy – Pluralistic Practice. https://pluralisticpractice.com/introduction-to-pluralistic-counselling-and-psychotherapy/ (accessed 2024-01-23).