How Art Therapy Can Improve Your Mental and Emotional Health

When words feel hard to find, creative expression can offer another way in. That is part of the appeal of art therapy: it uses drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, photography, and other forms of artmaking within a therapeutic relationship to help people explore emotions, experiences, and patterns that may be difficult to explain verbally. The American Art Therapy Association defines art therapy as a mental health profession grounded in active art-making, the creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within psychotherapy. 

For prospective counseling students, art therapy is also a useful reminder that mental health treatment is not one-size-fits-all. Some clients respond well to highly verbal approaches. Others benefit from having a concrete, visual, or sensory way to process their feelings. Art therapy can be especially meaningful for people who feel overwhelmed, shut down, or unsure how to talk about what they are carrying. The goal is not to make “good” art. The goal is to support insight, emotional expression, coping, and healing with a trained professional.

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Art therapy is more than a relaxing craft activity or a self-care hobby. According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is a professional mental health service in which clients use artmaking within a psychotherapeutic relationship to explore emotions, gain insight, and support well-being. The association notes that art therapists are trained in both art and psychological theory, which helps them work with the meanings, metaphors, and nonverbal communication that can emerge in the creative process.

Coloring, journaling, knitting, or sketching on your own may absolutely help with stress management and self-care, but those activities are not the same thing as treatment. Art therapy includes assessment, clinical goals, ethical practice, and a trained therapist who helps the client reflect on the process and the work produced. In other words, art can be therapeutic, but art therapy is a structured mental health service. 

Art therapists also work in a range of settings, including hospitals, schools, community programs, private practice, and behavioral health settings. Depending on the state, practice may involve national credentials, state licensure, or both. The American Art Therapy Association explains that art therapists complete rigorous academic and clinical training and may pursue national credentialing through the Art Therapy Credentials Board.

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Like other forms of psychotherapy, art therapy is built around a therapeutic relationship. The National Institute of Mental Health describes psychotherapy broadly as treatment that helps people identify and change troubling emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. Art therapy works within that larger framework, but it adds art materials and creative process as part of how clients communicate, reflect, and regulate. 

A session might begin with a check-in about how the client is doing, what feels most present, or what they hope to focus on that day. From there, the therapist may invite the client into a specific art prompt or leave the artmaking more open-ended. Some sessions are quiet and reflective. Others involve talking throughout the process. The artwork itself can become a bridge: something to notice together, respond to, and explore without forcing immediate verbal clarity. 

Art therapy is also broader than many people assume. It can include painting, drawing, collage, clay, mixed media, photography, digital art, or other creative modalities, depending on the therapist’s training and the client’s needs. What matters most is not artistic skill but the therapeutic use of the creative process. Many clients are drawn to art therapy precisely because it can feel less confrontational than sitting face-to-face and trying to explain everything directly.

Why Art Therapy Can Help

AN INITIAL CHECK-IN TO BUILD RAPPORT

An art therapist may ask questions like, “What do you want to talk about in the session?,” “What have you been experiencing this week?” and “Do you have any goals for art therapy that you want to accomplish?” These questions allow the client to reflect on and understand what emotions are present.

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PLAY AND EXPLORATION WITH DIFFERENT ART MEDIUMS

Art therapy is not constrained to drawing or painting. It can include sewing, knitting, cooking, collaging, creative writing, scrapbooking, digital artmaking, sculpting and photography. Schlenger says having openness is part of the creative process, and clients should engage with different materials that may enable them to better express themselves through art.

INITIATION OF AN ARTMAKING ACTIVITY

According to Schlenger, the art therapist can take a directive approach with clients in a session, suggesting a specific art activity, or a non-directive approach, leaving it up to the client to decide what to make. It depends on whether the client wants structure.

PROCESSING OF EMOTIONS THROUGH MINDFULNESS

Mindfulness is a critical part of art therapy. As clients are creating the art, the art therapist guides them through self-reflection and encourages self-awareness about their feelings. The process allows clients to recognize and identify their feelings, sit with and absorb them, and eventually develop new insight based on observing what they felt.

ACTIVE DISCUSSION WITH THE THERAPIST

A session does not have to be silent during the artmaking process. The importance lies in processing the emotions and connecting that experience to your art. In fact, Schlenger says that talking through emotions out loud throughout the artmaking process can help to increase the comfort within the session.

The goal of the session is to reflect on and understand the art that they have made in order to better understand and manage feelings moving forward.

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One reason art therapy can be helpful is that it gives people another channel for expression. When experiences are confusing, painful, or hard to name, visual forms can help externalize what feels stuck internally. The American Art Therapy Association notes that people do not always have the words for what they are facing, especially during periods of challenge, distress, or crisis. 

Recent research suggests art therapy can be a promising support for some mental health concerns, especially for younger populations, though the evidence base is still developing and results can vary by setting, population, and intervention type. A 2024 meta-analysis published in Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice found that art therapy interventions were associated with reduced anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents, while a 2025 systematic review published in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry found art therapy to be effective and acceptable for children and adolescents with acute or severe mental health conditions, with the strongest evidence in post-traumatic stress presentations.

That does not mean art therapy is a cure-all, nor does it replace careful assessment or other needed treatment. It does mean that for some clients, artmaking can support emotional awareness, distress tolerance, reflection, and engagement in therapy. 

Why It May Be Especially Meaningful for Adolescents and Young Adults

Adolescence and young adulthood are periods of rapid emotional, social, and identity development. These years can bring pressure, uncertainty, relationship stress, academic demands, and emerging mental health concerns. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration notes that serious mental health issues often begin affecting people during the teen and young adult years, which is one reason early support matters. 

Art therapy may be a good fit for some teens and young adults because it offers room for expression without requiring polished language or immediate disclosure. A nonverbal or partially verbal process can feel more approachable for clients who are guarded, embarrassed, overwhelmed, or still figuring out what they think and feel. Recent reviews of the literature suggest art therapy can be both adaptable and acceptable for young people across a range of mental health settings. 

Group art therapy can also create opportunities for connection. In school, college, outpatient, or community settings, shared creative work may help reduce isolation and create a sense of belonging. For counseling students, this is part of what makes expressive therapies compelling: they can support both individual reflection and relational healing.

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It is easy to blur the line between art therapy and “art as wellness,” especially at a time when coloring books, creative hobbies, and social media art prompts are so popular. Creative activities can absolutely be calming, grounding, and restorative. But they are not the same as working with a trained art therapist around clinical goals. 

Art therapy is not only for children, nor is it reserved for people who identify as artists. The field serves children, adolescents, adults, families, and groups. No art background is required. In fact, many people benefit precisely because the focus is on process rather than talent or technique.

How to Find a Qualified Art Therapist

For students exploring art therapy, credentials and training matter. CAAHEP accredits art therapy education programs, and ACATE works with CAAHEP to develop and maintain the standards those programs must meet. The American Art Therapy Association supports the profession through advocacy, education, and guidance on credentials and state licensure, while the Art Therapy Credentials Board administers national credentials and offers a public registry of credential holders, including ATR-P®, ATR®, ATR-BC®, and ATCS®. In short, CAAHEP and ACATE focus on program quality, AATA supports the profession and licensure efforts, and ATCB handles credentialing.

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Art therapy can be a useful form of support, but it is not the only option, and in some situations, people need immediate or broader care. The National Institute of Mental Health notes that psychotherapy often works alongside other forms of treatment, including medication, depending on the person and the concern. For teens and young adults seeking help, SAMHSA recommends reaching out to a doctor, a school-based support service, trusted adults, support groups, or treatment locators, and advises calling or texting 988 for immediate crisis support. 

For counseling students, the bigger lesson is that treatment should be responsive to the client in front of you. Art therapy is one example of how counseling can accommodate creativity, embodiment, and nonverbal meaning-making while remaining grounded in ethics, training, and clinical intent.

The American Art Therapy Association offers a strong starting point for learning what art therapy is, how the profession is defined, and how consumers can think about the role of art therapists. Its Art Therapist Locator can help users look for professionals in their area. 

The Art Therapy Credentials Board provides information on credentialing and professional standards, and its credentialed therapist registry can be used to verify whether a provider holds an active art therapy credential. Students researching the profession may also want to review CAAHEP’s art therapy information, which explains how educational quality standards are maintained. For the general mental health treatment context, the National Institute of Mental Health’s psychotherapy overview offers a useful grounding in how therapy works more broadly. Young adults who want help now can also visit SAMHSA’s support page for teens and young adults.

Information last updated: April 2026

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Information on OnlineCounselingPrograms.com is not intended to be a substitute for professional counseling advice. Always consult qualified professionals with any questions you may have about mental and behavioral health-related issues.