Art Therapy
Gain a deeper understanding of your subconscious self.
Art therapy uses creative, artistic practices to address psychological and emotional needs. Not only does art therapy work to support creative and self-expressive practices, but it is also a great way to dig into the main goals that brought you to therapy.
Expressing yourself through art can help access experiences like trauma or depression, process feelings and experiences not readily available to the conscious mind, and provide tools for coping with issues like anxiety and stress management.
Art therapy is such a unique tool because it is a way to access the subconscious, the part of yourself that you can’t always see, even though you know it plays a significant role in your life.
We can often get to the experiences and feelings through art-making because the subconscious shares experiences, memories, and expressions through the body.
Creating art makes your conscious Self more aware.
Practicing art therapy can show the conscious Self things more literally.
Some periods in your life may feel strangely foggy or lacking memories, especially if you know or feel that something happened in these periods.
Art therapy can help us carefully and safely move past the protective walls created by the conscious mind to understand and address trauma.
We can also use art therapy to understand the family of origin dynamics, generational dynamics, or trauma that is passed down and affects your current relationships and behaviors.
Art therapy helps express underlying issues.
Art therapy is great for people who don’t have a language for their inner world. Not everyone processes best through words. If you think in images and experience the world through colors, shapes, or sounds, expression through the creative process can be an extremely effective way to work on therapy.
Feeling like you can’t move forward, have flashes of memories, or possess only a general idea of what is inside is hard to explain verbally. You are ready to address those feelings head-on.
You may often think, “I know there are memories that I can’t quite access or experiences that elude me,” or “I can talk through my issues, and intellectually I know what I should do, but I struggle to connect to the inner part of myself.”
Art therapy can be a great way to bring out that inner Self and work on the issues you know are there but haven’t been able to see.
Visual expression helps you get unstuck.
Often, art therapy is excellent for people who have done a significant amount of therapy and feel stuck.
You may have been in and out of therapy for years, but you know that there are big issues that remain unresolved.
Talking through it feels like the same approach. It isn’t working anymore, and you want to go deeper.
Something inside you is important, and it plays a big part in your life, but it’s hard to turn around and look at it and talk to it.
Artists benefit from Art Therapy.
Finally, art therapy can be helpful for artists, including writers, visual artists, or creators who feel stuck and unable to move past creative blocks.
Many reasons can make you feel stuck. You may feel like the market has curated or directed the art you perform or create. Maybe you feel like you’ve lost the ability to let your creativity flow without pressure.
Some artists are super talented but feel they have lost access to that original creative Self that once inspired and motivated them. As such an artist, you want to get back to that feeling of creativity that makes your life so rich, dense, and vibrant.
Art making in art therapy is not about how good a piece of work is. I’ll probably have you make a lot of bad art to stop feeling like you must perform, allowing you to get back into that natural part of you that is creative as an artist, a writer, or a performer.
What happens in a session?
Art therapy sessions will include some talking to process, but mostly, it will be making art. Sessions generally start with a check-in and a grounding exercise. Then, we will begin with a directed experience in making art. Sometimes, we will do art with you, and sometimes, we’ll be in the room with you.
We will then explore the art you created and see what associations you can make with your piece regarding what it reminds you of and what changes you see when you look at it from different perspectives.
We can go back and adapt and change what you have made to help integrate with the body and subconscious so you can have more choice in how you feel about your experiences. We may have you do artwork outside of the therapy session, but our art-making will occur in the room with us for the most part.
Experiencing art therapy works best when you work in person in 80-minute slots. Of course, I will make exceptions for those unable due to disability or other notable reasons.
In-person and virtual art therapy for LGBTQ+ Teens & Adults in Los Angeles.
If you are located in Los Angeles, our office are conveniently in the Silver Lake neighborhood.
If you are outside of the Los Angeles area, or just don’t want to drive. We offer telehealth sessions through out California.
OSTC is a LGBTQ+ therapy collective, where you never need to educate your therapist on who you are.