What is it?
Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that combines traditional talking therapy and creative expression. The creative process is used to explore emotions and deepen self-understanding in order to facilitate well-being, offering a gentle and often non-verbal way to explore thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
What is Art Therapy?
Who is it for?
Art therapy can be beneficial for people of all ages and at all stages of life.
You do not need to be artistic or have any previous experience with art to benefit from art therapy. The focus is not on creating “good” art, but on using materials and image-making as a way to communicate, reflect, and process what may feel difficult to put into words. What it feels like while you are making something, and how you feel about the thing you have made, as well as any associations you make to it, is what really matters.
What does it look like?
It can look very different from person to person, but a few things stay the same. Art materials are available, and the ‘frame’ remains consistent - a confidential space, at regular intervals and of the same duration. Some people prefer to talk, and the art is there as an additional tool, and others prefer to express themselves primarily through their art-making.
Background
Art therapy draws on psychoanalytic and relational approaches, recognising that creative expression can help bring unconscious thoughts, emotions, and experiences into awareness. Since emerging as a therapeutic discipline in the 1950s, it has become an established form of psychological support used across a wide range of settings, including schools, hospitals, community services, and private practice.
Regulation
In the UK, art therapy is a regulated healthcare profession, registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), to ensure ethical, safe, and compassionate professional care. In Greece, art therapy is not yet state-regulated in the same way. However, it is supported by professional associations such as the European Federation of Art Therapy (EFAT) and the Greek Association of Art Therapists (ESEPS).
