Creative People Need Therapy

There are many, many creative people in the world: artists, writers, makers, poets, actors, architects, dancers, film-makers.... Not to mention all those who know they have a creative side to them, but who have been too inhibited or blocked to give it expression.

And these creative people can run into difficulties, experience trauma, and navigate tricky life changes, just as anyone else might. At these times, they may consider seeking online therapy.

They may have a sense that they need a therapist who values creativity in general, and who will respect and nurture their identity as a creative person. And who will help them use their creativity and imagination in the service of their recovery.

I have found that many creative people seeking online therapy prefer to choose an Art Psychotherapist, for these reasons.

You as an Art Psychotherapist will be able to recognise, honour and speak to a client's sense of the importance of art-making in their life. I have had clients who felt that previous counsellors or therapists couldn't engage with or understand that centrally important aspect of their life.

So, your being an Art Psychotherapist is very important for many clients.

But is it really possible to practise Art Psychotherapy online?

The fact is, online Art Psychotherapy is in its infancy, and very little research has been done regarding best practice.

As Art Psychotherapists, we know the tremendous power that the image can hold. In face-to-face therapy, the artwork is normally retained and held securely by the therapist, and this physical containment is an important aspect of the work.

But when a client uses art materials during an online session, and then at the end of the session is left physically holding an artwork which may be a container for traumatic material and unconscious processes, I have some concerns around potential for harm.

Another important aspect of f2f Art Psychotherapy is in the provision of the art materials, and the actual physical handling of them. There are other related elements such as the containment, witnessing and responsiveness of the therapist in the room whilst the client is manipulating the art materials. This is of course going to have a different quality when it comes to distance working.

Be Careful!

So my own inclination is to approach use of the arts in online therapy with caution, exercising careful clinical judgement. If in doubt, don't include art-making in your online sessions.

Personally, I don't work online in such a way that the art materials are the primary means of communication.

For online work, I draw on my psychotherapy and counselling training and reading, keeping the physical use of art materials minimal.

You may wish to call it 'Online Therapy' rather than 'Online Art Psychotherapy' because it isn't actually Art Psychotherapy as such.

Alternatives to Art-Making

Instead of having the client using physical art materials in their room during their online session, I suggest you may like to consider one or more of the following ideas:

Use verbal metaphor. Art Psychotherapists are highly skilled at eliciting, identifying and working with metaphors our clients use. This is our Superpower! Combine your counselling & psychotherapy skills, and your understanding of psychotherapy theories, with your ease and skilful handling of client metaphors, and you have a very powerful mix for facilitating change and growth in your clients.
Having the client (and/or therapist) draw on the on-screen whiteboard within Zoom.
The client creates their images outside of the session, and emails photos between sessions (for confidentiality, make sure they are able to password-protect their image, or use a system such as WeTransfer or Dropbox). The images can then be discussed in the session.
The client can use the screen-share option on Zoom, allowing you both to look at an image together in the session. This can be used for any image that the client can access on their computer, such as a painting or photograph by themselves or by another artist.
Having the client use you as their 'hands' so you manipulate sandtray objects, or art materials, on their behalf.
Using a platform such as ProReal which allows a client to work in visual metaphor (this may only be financially viable if you are employed within an organisation that will pay for it).
Working with avatars such as in Second Life.
The client might create a Pinterest board which is set up as private, between the two of you.
You might set up a private Dropbox folder which is only for the individual client and therapist to access, to house their images.

The Relationship, and Other Factors

Remember that the tools of the Art Psychotherapist include:

Counselling skills
The therapeutic relationship
The solid grounding in psychotherapy theory/ theories that you received during your training and beyond
Recognition of the power of the Unconscious
Clinical practice and experience
A bedrock of extensive and deep personal work in your own psychotherapy
Ongoing clinical supervision/ consultation

With these in place, you may come to feel, as I do, that it is not necessary to use art materials in online sessions.