‘Labour of Love’ – An Expressive Arts Therapy Session for Mothers of Young Children

Expressive Arts Therapy is the practice of using storytelling, singing, instrumental music, movement and dance, drama, and visual arts, all together; in an integrated way, to foster human growth, development, and healing. It is predicated on the assumption that people can heal through use of imagination and the various forms of creative expression and is an inter-modal therapeutic discipline in which the therapist and client may move freely between drawing, dancing, music, drama, poetry, etc.

In Expressive Arts Therapy, the therapist and client discuss the client’s feelings and thoughts that have arisen in the client during the artistic process in which the client is expressing him/her. It focuses on the client’s experience of expression and on the reflection upon the client’s feelings and thoughts that may have arisen during this experience. The artistic product is of secondary importance.

Expressive Arts Therapy is a gentle non-judgmental approach, enabling the client to become aware of what is happening in his/her unconscious.It enhances self-awareness and facilitates change, including the relation to personal growth and community development.Expressive Arts Therapy can be practiced with individuals, couples, families, and group.