Artists and Therapists Walking Hand in Hand

Prehistoric cave hand stencil at Pech-Merle in France and a 1912 artwork by Wassily Ksndinsky

Two statements in an online discussion set me thinking. First, that art is therapeutic; and second, that therapy is an art. These are nuanced statements that certainly do not imply that art and therapy are identical twins. So how are they different and how can they work together?  

It's possible for the arts and therapy to come together in an intimate and rewarding relationship. That has been known and practised since ancient times. The shaman was a kind of therapist who used dance and song to help release demons. Today a music or dance therapist is doing much the same, with demons now interpreted as psychological-physical imbalances. In the healing complexes of Asklepios in ancient Greece, potions, meditation, dreams, exercise, colours, music and drama were brought together to heal body and soul. Therapeutic practices still involve such activities, and today’s healing retreats aim for an enriching environment conducive to change.

The ancient theatre at Epidaurus, Greece, part of the Asklepion or healing sanctuary

Making art is a creative process that draws on what lives in the soul to access inspiration, tap the visions of the imagination, and explore ways to express your responses and thoughts in a physical form. Art reveals who you are on a deeply personal level. No wonder trained and experienced therapists bring the arts into their work. Through what is revealed through arts experiences they can assist other people to make deep and meaningful changes.

For therapy, as well as for art, there needs to be a relationship with one’s soul life. And the practice begins right there. Only from this can emerge an interconnection between the inner and the outer world. If the orientation is outward without that starting point, then art or therapy would be limited at best.

So, is the therapist an artist? Yes, in as much as they ply their trade with skill, perception, awareness, empathy and creative imagination. That’s why we can speak of the art of therapy, and also the art of cooking, gardening, child rearing or conversation. ‘Art’ in this sense is a refined ability. You could add to this 'the art of art'.

The arts in this sense are similar in that they reach towards a product, a successful outcome in the world that is a direct result of all that has been contributed. Work and product go hand in hand, even when the aim is to bring about an individual’s healing and transformation.

But art, as art, has this main difference. It emerges from a wish to EXPRESS something from within self. And the outcome is about that inner expression, whatever the external, observable subject matter.  Self-expression has underlined art’s power since that prehistoric artist made a hand stencil on Pech Merle’s cave wall.

Sure, skills make the expression clearer, specifically the creative heart-mind-body skills of the chosen art form. During the artistic process an artist works with the material, with the environment and maybe with other people. The by-product is a dance, a painting, a sculpture, a song, a story.

But art as art remains a child of your creative womb. Because of this, artists often find it hard to let the work go – like Leonardo da Vinci who took his Mona Lisa from Italy to France and kept it by his side there until he died. That’s why it is in the Louvre in Paris rather than Italy’s Uffizi Gallery. Leonardo loved it. Now everyone loves it almost to death.

A photo I took of a surprisingly small Mona Lisa from behind a deep crowd

An artwork is like a limb. Surrendering that part of you can be challenging even when it has been commissioned or there’s a performance aspect built-in, say, for actors. Editors tell authors to ‘kill your darlings.’ It’s a cliché but true. An artist must become detached at some stage, because artists are communicators, sometimes despite themselves.

‘A genuine artist discovers and reveals what is hidden from everyday consciousness so that we who encounter the artworks do experience the deepest mystery where true beauty lives.’

I wrote this in Prodigal Daughters. And when artists directly communicate the highest within self, the truth of that is beautiful, and through our response the work becomes valuable and significant for the world. Or, it may do the opposite. When an artist dredges up the lower self our humanity is diminished - although mostly we do have an option to turn away.  

More than in art, therapy involves intimate work soul to soul, and in a real sense a soul is in a therapist’s care. It’s an awesome responsibility. A true therapist recognises this. He or she draws on the highest within self to facilitate healing and fruitful living in the world. This work is beautiful because it reveals truth.

The roles of artists and therapists are different. Yet as members of a healing ‘family’ and as bringers of the beautiful and the true they make a wonderful team. Goodness is the outcome.