Clients look to you as their wellness resource, and more than likely, they book treatments to minimize the effects of stress. Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy in which clients, facilitated by an art therapist, use the creative process to reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, reduce anxiety and increase selfesteem. The intention of art therapy is to improve or restore a client’s overall functioning sense of well-being through visual art such as painting, coloring and collaging, as well as other forms of art.
Art therapy isn’t new — it’s been used for hundreds of years but wasn’t actually formalized until the twentieth century. It is now a facet to the spa and skin care industry because of its ability to showcase to clients a unique form of meditation that is expressive and mindful to the body’s spirit.
WHAT IS AN ART THERAPIST?
The role of an art therapist is to not only facilitate an art therapy session, but to provide a springboard for clients to articulate their feelings, fears, thoughts and insights in a supportive healing environment. Taking on the role of an art therapist requires an accumulation of art materials for clients as well as the confidence to act not only as a witness, but also as an aid in the process of each participant’s growth.
An art therapy degree requires the completion a two year graduate-level program with educational requirements including theories of art therapy, counseling and psychotherapy; ethics and standards of practice; individual group and family art therapy techniques; human and creative development; multicultural issues; and internship experiences in both clinical and community settings.
WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM ART THERAPY?
The versatility and customization ability of art therapy makes it accessible to a wide variety of different people. This special style of therapy guides those involved to look at their troubles in a different light and can help tap into emotions that have been previously buried. Many people have expressed that with art therapy, they feel as if they have a greater sense of control and choice when compared to traditional forms of mental and emotional therapy. Art therapy can be particularly beneficial to those with mental health problems, learning difficulties, dementia, and chronic and terminal illness due to its ability to improve awareness, clarity, balance, motivation, strength, discipline and pain.
MODES OF ART THERAPY
Painting on a canvas
Putting paint to paper is one of the purest forms of art and allows the participant an immense amount of freedom, but can also be very intimidating for those who have a hard time expressing themselves.
With appropriate direction from an art therapist, a client can be steered into using bright, vivid colors or muted, dark colors to help represent what they are trying to convey.
Jennica Klemann, owner of Spa Daze in Tuscan, Ariz., offers this specific type of art therapy in her spa and states on the topic, “Most of my clients come in unsure or critical of their artistic abilities. My art therapist and I reaffirm to each of these clients that the experience we offer is not about the outcome of the art, but about the emotions that the art allows you to express.” Art therapist at Spa Daze and owner of Arte Bella Painting, Jen Christiansen, states, “The clients come in and sit down at tables that have everything they need to begin their art. I express to them that what they are putting together is a puzzle. I remind them often throughout the session that there are no mistakes in art, just happy accidents.”
Spa Daze offers these open-to-thepublic art therapy sessions the second Saturday of every month for approximately two hours ($40), depending on the theme of the session and how social the group is. “We have had teens 12 and up, but typically our main demographic are groups of females ages 21 to 65,” Klemann mentions, “Last year we added a second event each month because our classes were too full.” The spa promotes their art therapy sessions on Facebook, sharing posts generated by the art therapist. Christiansen encourages clients to modify the themes of her classes, “Ultimately, they can paint whatever they want,” she says. “The most unique part about these classes is that I give basic, step-by-step instructions, but inevitably clients end up each drawing something unique to them.”
Spa Daze’s intent with offering art classes in their spa is to allow people to explore resources for stress reduction other than our typical “hands on” treatments. “Clients are able to unwind with friends and make new ones for a few hours. Socialization and creativity decrease depression by releasing endorphins and serotonin… It’s an overall positive experience!” Klemann states.
“If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.”
-Vincent Van Gogh
Collaging
Collaging is a simple activity meant to help clients make sense of their inner thoughts and feelings. Cutting out pictures or words and sticking them onto a collage board can offer a safe form of expression that offers control and structure for someone who is not familiar working with art materials.
Comer Rudd-Gates, registered art therapist at Essex Wellness Center in Essex Village, Conn., and licensed professional counselor for more than 25 years, comments on this specific method of art therapy, “Collaging is a safe and structured approach in which one can select images and/or words and overlap them, giving the client a chance to showcase how they feel and what they are most passionate about through the images and words they select.” Rudd-Gates offers individual collaging sessions varying from 60 to 120 minutes ($125-$200), depending on the needs of the individual. Essex Wellness Center promotes both Rudd- Gates and the art therapy program on their website and reports only positive feedback from participating clients.
Coloring with crayons
Coloring with crayons has proven to be a successful mode of art therapy because of its ability to create unique effects with a large variety of easily accessible colors. Crayons have the tendency to instill happy memories in clients because they often represent experiences from childhood.
Spa Serenity in Baraboo, Wisc., offers a very casual, but unique approach to art therapy in their spa. The spa offers a variety of coloring options in their peaceful relaxation area for guests to explore at their own leisure while they wait for their services. The idea came from Spa Serenity’s facilities manager and resident artist, Anna Krause, who believes art therapy is “a great way to help guests decompress and separate themselves from the business of their everyday life.”
Spa owner Lacey Steffes agrees and adds, “We encourage guests to put their phones away and create something beautiful or add to a page that a prior guest has started. The pages evolve into a form of community art. It’s not uncommon for several guests of all ages to work together to complete one design.” The art therapy program at Spa Serenity is free, available to clients as the spa is open and targets the general demographic of the spa. The spa staff encourages clients to color in one of the many coloring books they have available as a means of escape from not only technology, but also from their daily stresses, muscle aches and pains. This technique helps to relax clients’ minds prior to their spa treatments.
Krause works part time with the spa and visits periodically to maintain the art supply in the spa as well as add new trends and developments to the art program. The spa utilizes social media as an outlet for promoting their art therapy program and also highlights the program on their website as part of their total spa experience.
“Art enables us to f ind ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”
–Thomas Merton
IMPLEMENT ART THERAPY INTO YOUR SPA
Art therapy’s alignment with the mission of a spa is due to their simultaneous focus on holistic healing. Taking the risk of adding art therapy to your spa not only sets you apart from the competition, it also allows you to create an atmosphere that makes it easier for your clients to focus on introspection and exploration of their mind, body and spirit. Here is a list of all materials you’ll need to get started:
- Blank canvases
- Tables/chairs
- Aprons
- Paints
- Water brushes
- Markers
- Pencils/colored pencils
- Crayons
- Various sizes and colors of paper, clay, feathers and magazines
A room suitable for the use of art therapy sessions should be soundproofed with storage for both materials and completed artwork. (Keep in mind that this space should be one that is allowed to get a little messy!) All art therapy records and artwork should be stored safely in a drawer or cabinet to ensure the confidentiality and trust of clients.
Seeking out an art therapist is the next step! Consider connecting with local schools that offer art therapy programs to find an art therapist suitable for your spa. Both the American Art Therapy Association (ATTA) and the British Columbia Art Therapy Association (BCATA) also have an online directory of art therapists to make it easily accessible for you to find an art therapist in your specific region.
Contemplate bringing an art therapist on board in your spa first as a freelancer or part time. Start with one day per month for art therapy sessions and as you see fit, get ready to grow and expand your art therapy program!
