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Art Therapy and Addiction RecoveryFamilies in Addiction Recovery and Art Therapy: When I use art therapy with families or individuals in addiction recovery, my focus is on using art to 'see' family truths, rituals, legends, and worldview. - boundary issues - guilt / shame - seeing who is playing what role in the family - learning new communication skills - working on family secrets, silence [what we don't talk about] - money issues, debt - finding ways to lower the tension Family art making can be a safe place to be honest and openly show problems that may not be talked about. This helps counteract denial in the family. The art making could be a place to build on trust, feeling safe and protected. Group paintings could be made around how the family would work together to help each other. Often families have moments of fun and closeness while creating art together and this atmosphere helps create a sense of wellbeing for all members that they can take home with them. Adult Children of Alcoholics: Adults who grew up in alcoholic homes may have some of the following issues:- not sure what normal behavior is - judge themselves harshly: art is an ego-building activity, doing art about facing and working with internal judge and critical voice is a good way to make peace with critic inside - have difficulty having fun: art is a safe way to create, have fun, do some activities they may have not got to do as a child - take themselves too seriously: art making is a way to loosen up, be lighter and add humor - constantly seek approval and affirmation: creating is a way of filling the inner void, feeling seen - super responsible or super irresponsible: art exercises are a good place to explore 'what if I make a mistake?' - have difficulty with intimate relationships: art place to explore what patterns they play out in relationships, who they are attracting and why - being impulsive: clients can explore through art exercises 'what if' sequences 
Couples Art Therapy: I use art therapy in couples therapy to help with communication, help couples 'see' the relationship, and encourage empathy. Creating art in therapy can show the interactional process of couples, communication patterns and infrastructures within their world. Some Issues to work with in the therapy process:- values, beliefs - money , debt - sexual problems or infidelity, intimacy - finding ways to communicate or telling secrets in art - tensions, conflicts, schemas, defences - perceptions - anger, self talk, control issues - personal and relationship growth Children and Art Therapy: Art therapy is a safe way for children to 'talk' about fears, trauma, abuse, and secrets. It is a type of nonverbal communication for those children who can't or won't find words in therapy. Art and play are natural experiences; it is how children explore the world. Art involves imitative behavior, so a child can learn new art forms while in therapy and new ways of creating and thinking. Art objects can be used as transitional objects that provide a link with work done in the therapy room and home. Creating art opens up new worlds through trips to art galleries and children being able to see the world through the eyes of an artist. Children are quite genuine in their feelings and less inhibited in their expression than adults. They like to experiment, they have no reluctance to making a mess, they see art as a form of play and they can easily tell stories about their artwork. Using art therapy with children can increase self-esteem, build resiliency, help children gain confidence and experience joy. Art Therapy and Adolescents: Adolescents may be drawn to drugs and alcohol for a variety of reasons: a form of rebellion; seeking freedom from institutions, the status quo or commitments; perceived limited choices; or desire to experience something else, to name but a few. Using art in the recovery program gives people an alternative freedom, the freedom of imagination. Art can be used as a way to escape, change realities, and consciousness. Art exists beyond practicality in the regions of heightened reality, daydream, reverie, and the submerged unconscious. Through its mysterious equations of form and image, it lures to the surface, from their hidden sources, our deepest feelings. Art therapy is understanding and sensing the relationships between things at all levels. 
Making art can be a way to relax, change focus and mood. Art can be tangible evidence to see how far you have come in the recovery process or therapy. Making art in therapy sessions can lead to a hobby i.e.: candle making, painting or working with clay. It means that there is always something to pick up and focus on which helps you move into a new lifestyle. Creating helps you focus on your islands of competence. Getting into art can help you become more resilient. Working on an art project can help provide physical and psychological stabilization. There is no right or wrong way to create art, each person has his or her own individual expression, it is something that everyone can do and creating moves you towards health. Creating a piece of art gives you a feeling of accomplishment and pride. It can also give you a sense of optimism; ownership and personal control to create something you feel good about. Connecting with your innate creative process helps you reconnect with yourself and it enhances self-esteem. Creating art can help foster hope. Some examples of art therapy:Art journaling can be a way of self-soothing and help replace destructive behaviors. This is a journal with collages in it, drawings, doodles and words. Working in the journal helps you keep engaged with your artwork, process of recovery and refocus. The journal can be taken anywhere and used anytime. Putting on loud music and painting a large abstract painting for the duration of the song can be energizing. This exercise creates an instant high. It uses physical, emotional and mental energy. There are many ways of working; making books, print making, working with clay and paint. Art Therapy and Creating Inner Justice Art therapy can be used to help you create inner peace and self-acceptance. We struggle with negative self-talk, harsh inner critics, and 'shoulds'. The Top Twelve Traits of the Inner Critic 1. It constricts your ability to be creative. 2. It stops you from taking risks because it makes you fear failure. 3. It views your life as a series of mistakes waiting to happen. 4. It undermines your courage to change. 5. It compares you unfavorably with others and makes you feel "less than". 6. It is terrified of being shamed and so monitors all your behavior to avoid this. 7. It causes you to suffer from low self-esteem, and possibly depression, because it tells you that you are not good enough. 8. It can make looking at yourself in a mirror or shopping for clothes miserable experiences because of its ability to create such a negative view of the body. 9. It can take all the fun out of life with its criticisms. 10. It makes self-improvement a compulsive chore because it bases the work on the premise that something is wrong with you. 11. It doesn't allow you to take in the good feelings that other people have towards you. 12. It makes you susceptible, and often victim, to the judgments of other people. 
Hal and Sidra Stone Embracing Your Inner CriticA guide to developing more esteem for yourself:Compassion: Honour all of your feelings, and listen with empathy to others. Clear Communication: Express your emotions simply, and speak from the heart. Creativity: Try new things, be playful, and invite the unexpected. Consistency: Do what you say, and say what you mean each day. Challenge: Approach problems with positive expectancy, and learn from the challenges. Cheerfulness: Embrace the day with lightheartedness, and learn to enjoy life. Confidence: Trust and believe in your own talents and abilities. Calmness: Breathe and live from a calm centre within yourself each day. Clear Agreements: Create clear agreements and rules that everyone understands and feels good about. Commitment: Be committed to being true to yourself and honest with others each day. "As we lose our vagueness about ourself, our values, our life situation, we become available to the moment. It is there, in the particular, that we contact the creative self. Art lies in the moment of encounter: we meet our truth and we meet ourselves; we meet ourselves and we meet our self-expression." - Julia Cameron |
I focus on family strengths to create forward movement. In therapy the family can use art to define the problems related to addiction, identify sources of stress and develop ways to deal with it. The family can use art to identify resources, material support, advocacy and companionship.