art therapy

noun

: therapy based on engagement in artistic activities (such as painting or drawing) as a means of creative expression and symbolic communication especially in individuals affected with a mental or emotional disorder or cognitive impairment

She's also used art therapy while working with autistic and special-needs children and patients recovering from strokes.

—Cheryl Powell

In art therapy, patients express their feelings not just through discussion, but through drawing, painting and sculpting. That's why this type of therapy is thought to be especially helpful for people who have difficulty articulating feelings—including children and those suffering from Alzheimer's disease, strokes and post-traumatic stress disorder.

—Jenny Hontz

art therapist noun

plural art therapists

Although she works toward the same goals as the psychologist or psychiatrist, as an art therapist her technique is decidedly different.

—Sharon L. Bass

Examples of art therapy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The origins of art therapy go back to attempts to treat soldiers struggling with post-traumatic stress during the 20th century’s two world wars. —Girija Kaimal, Discover Magazine, 26 June 2024

Afterward, the team plans to auction the jerseys off to benefit Arts for Life, a Levine Children’s Hospital art therapy program. —Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 22 June 2024

In fact, art therapy first became known as a professional discipline in the 1940s. —A.k. Whitney, Orange County Register, 2 Apr. 2024

And Montreal’s Museum of Fine Arts launched a comprehensive art therapy and education wing in 2017. —Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

art therapy

noun

: therapy based on engagement in artistic activities (as painting or drawing) as a means of creative expression and symbolic communication especially in individuals affected with a mental or emotional disorder or cognitive impairment

In art therapy, patients express their feelings not just through discussion, but through drawing, painting and sculpting. That's why this type of therapy is thought to be especially helpful for people who have difficulty articulating feelings—including children and those suffering from Alzheimer's disease, strokes and post-traumatic stress disorder.

—Jenny Hontz, The Los Angeles Times

art therapist noun