Blooming Early Years

Helpful Art Therapy Activities for Anxiety

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, more than 18% of adults in the United States are affected by anxiety disorders each year, which is close to 40 million people.

Anxiety is experienced differently by different people and can range from low to severe. The range of symptoms experienced is also extensive, which means for many people, it often goes undiagnosed. Developing positive coping strategies and understanding how anxiety shows up in your life and what triggers an anxious response is crucial for managing anxiety.

One of the most enlightening parts of art therapy is the process of creation, which can be just as revealing as the final product. However, for people with anxiety, there may be an intense need to finish the creative process and create a universally appealing final product.

For people with anxiety, self-discovery, and healthy coping mechanisms are essential, and art therapy techniques are among the healthiest ways to deal with some of the symptoms and experiences of living with anxiety.

Below are five art therapy activities, specifically designed to support children and individuals with anxiety.

1. The panic book

People with an anxious panic disorder can spiral into a panic just thinking about the possibility of having a panic attack. Panic attacks can have many triggers, sometimes known, but often not.

The panic book activity encourages participants to create a book full of images that help them keep calm during stressful situations and help refocus their minds on something more positive.

Here’s how to carry out the activity.

You will need:

• Artist sketchbooks or blank notebooks
• Markers and colored pencils
• Magazines, newspapers, old picture books, etc.
• Any other craft materials participants might use to create their book. For example, you could download some affirmation images from the internet or ask participants to bring a selection of photographs that are meaningful for them.

Process:

1. Open the activity with a discussion about how the individuals feel about their panic attacks. Demonstrate empathy and let them know they are not alone in their experiences. Today’s activity will help them to create a resource to support them during anxious times.
2. Provide each participant with a blank sketchbook/notebook. Tell them this will become their panic book, and within it, they are going to create a reserve of images and words that help them to feel calm.
3. Allow participants to use all the materials provided to begin creating their panic book. They can do this however they choose, but if someone feels stuck, encourage them to perhaps start by creating a theme for different sections of their book, such as the beach, favorite places and people, or nature scenes.
4. Participants do not need to fill the entire sketchbook in one session. It is something they can come back to over time and add to as they find more words and images that evoke feelings of calm and comfort for them.
5. Encourage them to keep this book close to them, so if they feel a moment of panic approaching, they can refer to it as a resource to help distract them and focus on the things that evoke calm emotions.

2. What anxiety looks like

Understanding and visualizing anxiety can be a pivotal first step in controlling and treating it.

Representing anxiety as an abstract concept, person, or even a monster can help participants develop strategies to recognize it when they feel it coming on and deal with it appropriately.

This activity allows participants to do just that.

Here’s how to do the activity.

You will need:

• Any decorative materials to help participants create their ‘anxiety’:
  • Paints and easels
  • Markers and colored pencils
  • Collage materials
  • Sculpting clay
  • Miscellaneous materials such as fabrics and textures
  • Scissors, paper, and glue

Process:

1. Introduce the concept of the workshop activity by discussing anxiety more generally. Ask participants to reflect on the idea that anxiety is mostly an unseen thing, but what if we could see it? What would it look like?
2. Ask participants to take a mindful minute to reflect on these questions. Ask them to close their eyes and focus on their breathing. Now, have them turn their thoughts to their anxiety. If they had to describe it, where would they begin? Does it have a body, a head, and limbs, or is it more abstract? What shape does it take? Is it tall, short, skinny, or fat? What color is it?
3. Next, ask them to reflect on the personality of the anxiety. Does it talk, or is it silent? What does it care about? How does it express its care?
4. Once participants are comfortable, provide them with the materials, and ask them to recreate their anxiety. They can use any medium they feel comfortable with.
5. When participants have completed their creation, have them discuss the appearance and personality of the anxiety or journal about what they’ve discovered (Tartakovsky, 2015).

3. Visual starter

Art therapy for anxiety can be counterproductive for children and clients who are anxious about creating art.

The visual starter exercise is a way around this, helping individuals to get started without being self-conscious. The starters can be adapted to specific prompts or used solely for healthy stress-relieving creation.

Here’s how to use visual starters for art therapy.

You will need:

• Printouts of the ‘Starters’ PDFs are located via the link above
• Markers and colored pencils

Process:

1. Introduce the activity to participants, explaining that it is focused solely on their interpretations and creative process and is not about any artistic skill. There is no right or wrong way to complete the activity.
2. Provide participants with the printout worksheet and drawing materials, and encourage them to take a moment to reflect on what the shape inspires in them. If needed, you can help them through a short mindfulness/visualization activity to help calm their mind and create some ideas.
3. For any participants who get stuck, encourage them to take a break and have a discussion around potential inspiration ideas for the shapes.
4. If applicable, talk about what the final result represents. It’s possible that participants simply drew to experience the relief of focused creation that erases present-moment anxiety.

4. Creating mindfulness beads

Similar to a worry stone or fidget cube, mindfulness beads can be a simple, cheap coping mechanism that is fun to create and easy to carry around.

Below is how to make and use mindfulness beads. There are a few ways to create mindfulness beads, depending on who you complete the workshop with and your skill level.

You will need:

• Purchase a mixture of beads
• Find some old jewelry at home or from a thrift store that you can take apart
• Use simple oven-bake modeling clay to make the beads

You will also need:

• Some string or leather strands to add the beads to

Process:

1. Explain the concept of mindfulness to participants, if they are unfamiliar with it, and talk them through a short introductory mindfulness exercise. Ask them to close their eyes, and focus on their breathing, feeling each breath as they slowly inhale and exhale.
2. Then, explain the concept of mindfulness beads and that you will be creating them. Mindfulness beads can be used during times of anxiety as something to refocus their mind and create a distraction from anxious thoughts while they practice mindfulness.
3. Provide participants with whichever option of creating the beads you have chosen. Ask them to take a moment to think about the colors they find most enjoyable and what textures they might like to feel when trying to distract themselves.
4. They can use the beads and string to create a keychain, bracelet, or necklace, whichever they feel would be most helpful for them.
5. When finished, advise that when using the beads, they can simply reflect on the overall appearance and texture, or they can touch and focus on one bead at a time, assigning meaning and using each bead as a prompt for meditation.

5. Zentangle drawing

Drawing patterns that allow your brain to enter a peaceful flow state reduces anxiety and helps promote a feeling of peace, slowing down time and allowing you to focus on the present moment.

Zentangle was created with the promise that anyone can do it, even if they don’t think they can draw well enough to create something beautiful. Drawing Zentangles creates a feeling of accomplishment and helps to pass the time in a thoughtful, healing way.

Here’s how to draw Zentangles.

You will need:

• Markers and colored pencils
• Plain paper

Process:

1. Instruct participants to take a moment to feel gratitude and express appreciation for the materials and the opportunity to create something beautiful. Remind them that the activity is not about artistic skill or who can draw better than anyone else. There are no right or wrong ways to complete the activity.
2. Provide each participant with paper and their choice of markers/pencils. Ask them to draw four dots, one in each corner, so the page is no longer blank and intimidating.
3. Next, instruct them to connect the dots by drawing a light border around the edges of the paper, creating a square.
4. Within that square, they can draw lines that divide the paper into different sections. They can do this any way they like, creating as many different shapes as they like.
5. Now that they have a square filled with shapes, ask them to pick one shape and begin filling it in with more defined shapes, strokes, dashes, lines, or dots, keeping within the pre-drawn border. Tell them to move around the page filling in each shape with its own unique set of shapes, lines, and strokes. They can be as creative as they like with this, rotating the paper to suit their free-flowing creativity.
6. Advise participants this is their creative piece to shade in different ways and use different colors if they would like to.
7. Participants keep going until they have filled the entire page.

5 Good Art Therapy Books to Read

Whether you’re looking for additional education on art therapy or exercises and activities for yourself, your children, or your clients, there are plenty of resources out there.

Below I’ve picked five of my favorite books that are well worth looking into if you’re interested in art therapy.

1. Art Therapy Sourcebook – Cathy Malchiodi

Malchiodi’s book is like a textbook for art therapy self-education.

She defines ways to perform art therapy yourself and how to interpret the results.

Malchiodi also has a growing legacy of art therapy publications that would benefit the casual learner and professional alike.

Available on Amazon.

2. Art as Therapy: Collected Papers – Edith Kramer

Edith Kramer is known as a pioneer in the field of art therapy.

This collection of papers touches on many topics relating to therapy, art, society, and clinical practice.

As it is slightly more academic-focused, with an overview of previous and current research, it is an excellent resource for those considering entering the field of art therapy as a profession.

Available on Amazon.

3. Art Therapy Techniques and Applications – Susan Buchalter

For practitioners and individuals alike, Buchalter’s workbook is a fantastic addition for anyone wanting to explore art therapy further.

The book contains exercises that combine many different art mediums with mindfulness exercises and counseling applications.

Available on Amazon.

4. The Book of Zentangle – Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas

If you found the Zentangle activity described above particularly insightful or useful, then this book could be for you.

It’s a foundational educational source on the development of the Zentangle and includes completed Zentangles for inspiration.

The authors describe it as a left brain/right brain resource for conjoining pictures and words.

Available on Amazon.

5. 100 Magnificent Mandalas: Adult Coloring Book Vol. 1 – Jade Summer

In a study by Curry and Kasser (2005), participants showed reduced anxiety symptoms after coloring plaid and mandala patterns that put them into a meditative state.

Although not considered an authentic art therapy resource in research terms, a coloring book full of meditative mandala patterns could be a worthy investment for reducing anxiety and practicing art therapy as part of a self-care regime.

Available on Amazon.

How to Become an Art Therapist

Art therapy is newer than Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, psychotherapy, and other talk-based therapies.

It is still gaining traction, but positive psychology research has shown that when combined with other therapies, art therapy has great success in treating disorders, garnering it a great deal of respect and making it an ever-growing field.

If you’re interested in becoming a licensed art therapist, 
do some research about what regions would recognize your 
license once it’s obtained. Most importantly, research art 
therapy thoroughly and find out what art therapists from 
around the world love about the job as well as the challenges 
that come with it.

Art therapists tend to focus their work on either adults or children and can work in a range of settings, including hospitals, care facilities, and schools.

If you think art therapy is the right career choice for you, then here are some steps you can take toward becoming an art therapist:

• If you haven’t already, obtain a bachelor’s degree in behavioral or social science that will prepare you for work at the master’s level.
• To be an accredited art therapist, you will have to seek acceptance into the appropriate association for your region. Pathways to gaining accreditation can vary, so research what this might look like for yourself. Making an appointment with a career advisor or university course advisor can also help shed some light on the best educational pathway to pursue.
• Become familiar and comfortable with art and its many expressions, alongside your required learning to practice therapy.
• Gain appropriate work experience, whether paid or unpaid, so you can begin building your professional skills and knowledge. Seek out mentors and other qualified therapists in the field that you can learn from.
• Reach out to local hospitals, assisted living centers, psychiatric hospitals, detention centers, or schools to find out about needs in these communities for licensed counselors with your skills.

Becoming an Art Therapist in the US

Becoming an art therapist in the United States typically involves the acquisition of a bachelor’s degree in psychology or a related discipline and then a master’s degree in art therapy (or a closely related field) from an accredited program.

During their education, students are usually required to complete a supervised clinical internship to gain practical experience working with diverse populations. Following the completion of the educational requirements, individuals may need to fulfill state-specific licensing or certification requirements.

Certification as an art therapist is obtained through the Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB) by passing exams, accumulating supervised clinical hours, and meeting ATCB requirements.

How to Find an Art Therapist Near You

The internet has opened up many useful avenues for finding professionals who specialize in specific therapy or counseling needs. Thankfully, there are many directories of art therapists that can be searched by postal code.

Some directories that can be searched by location and that include art therapists are:

• Art Therapy Credentials Board
• British Association of Art Therapists
• Psychology Today

If your region currently recognizes art therapy as a viable counseling option, then it likely has a local art therapy association with a directory of licensed professionals local to you.

Finally, it’s common to wonder whether your insurance will even cover treatment by an art therapist. Generally, the best way to find out is to call your insurance provider. It might be able to refer you to an art therapist in your area who’s covered by your insurance.

A Take-Home Message

I hope after reading this article, you’ve found a deeper appreciation for art therapy as a practice and the range of resources available to you as an individual or practitioner that can be easily implemented with a variety of children as well as clients (if you are a therapist).

Working with young people, I know how important it is to encourage their creativity at any possible moment, and I regularly utilize collage as an expressive form to help my students tap into their ideas.

These visual representations always instigate some fantastic group discussions and one-to-one dialogues that the students and I find valuable.

If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this article, it’s that art therapy can be used by absolutely anyone. There is no prerequisite for artistic skill.

The more you tap into your creative process, the more comfortable you’ll feel with how you choose to express yourself through artistic methods.

Have you used any art therapy activities in your practice, either personally or with your children? Which ones did you use and how did it go? I’d love to hear all about your experiences in the comments section below.