What Is Therapeutic Art?
Therapeutic art exercises are designed to help you learn something and/or experiment, both with artistic mediums and your own ideas about life. It’s art-making for the purpose of supporting your life and growth.
I became a Certified Life Coach (taking Dr. Martha Beck’s program) way back in 2009, and the tools I learned from her, and continue to learn from her, have added to my life in ways beyond measure. This year I added to that by completing a Therapeutic Art Life Coach Certification, and I’m thrilled to have added some new ideas and tools to use and share!
I’ve always found art incredibly calming and it always helps bring me to the present moment, so now I’d like to share with you three simple therapeutic art exercises to help make a positive impact on your life. No artistic training necessary!
Exercise One: Color Your Day (Helps Monitor Daily Emotions)
The Exercise: Draw a flower in your journal or notebook at the end of each day. The flower shown has 12 petals; feel free to draw as many petals as you like (one for each hour of your day, one to represent each chunk of your day, etc.). Now assign a color to each of your most prominent emotions. For example, blue for sadness, yellow for fear, red for anger, etc. Pick colors that feel meaningful to you. Now color in the petals as if they are a clock of your day, starting at 12:00. How did you feel when you first woke up? Color in the petal or petals that color. How did you feel when you went to work? After you picked up your kids from school? While eating dinner?
Once you’ve colored in the whole flower, feel free to make notes about what was going on in or around the petals. Write the date at the bottom, and commit to doing this exercise for a period of time, say 30 days, so you can look back over it and assess what areas of your life feel good and which may warrant some tweaking. For instance, you may notice you feel jubilant and alive at work, but sad and lonely at home, or vice versa.
Exercise Two: Grow Your Creativity + Gratitude
The Exercise: Each day in your journal or notebook, draw a simple landscape with mountains, clouds, and sky, then write what you’re grateful for in each. When you’re done, color or paint each section. You can also use this exercise to draw or paint any other object of interest, like flowers or an abstract, and fill in the various sections with at least three things you’re grateful for. Do this for a set period of time, like 30 days, and you’ll feel more gratitude plus you’ll have a beautiful record of things to look back over when you’re feeling down.
Exercise Three: Float Your Stress Away
The Exercise: Use your notebook or journal to write out a list of things you want to let go of or feel stressed about. Once you’re done, draw balloons or clouds around them and imagine them floating away. This will help you get clear on what is causing stress in your life and help you have it all in once place. If you take the time to color in the clouds, balloons, or scene, it also gives you space to breathe, relax, and let go of any stressors that don’t need to be focused on in the moment.
Final Thoughts On Therapeutic Art Exercises
I’m so excited about the idea of using creativity with coaching tools, and if this floats your boat, sign up for this full length (30 minutes) exercise designed to help you relax and unwind.