Tips For Parents: How Art Can Be Therapeutic For Mental Health Of Youngsters
Research says indulging in art or channelising one’s feelings into an artwork creates positive changes within a person. Diving into art to explore underlying feelings or deeply buried emotions, knowing that they won’t be subjected to judgement greatly helps one’s mental health. A review published in the International Journal of Art Therapy said the effect of the therapy on 247 children showed alleviation in anxiety, emotional difficulties and improvement in problem-solving skills. Below are some of the ways art can be therapeutic for the mental health of youngsters-
Art as a medium of expression
Art acts as a medium of self-expression for children as talking about reasons why they may not be feeling good or distressed may not work always. Art is sometimes resorted to as a complementary step to help children or youngsters open up and express themselves using metaphors etc. If children or teenagers find it hard to talk about difficult issues or even trauma, art can provide them with a safe space to let their feelings out.
Emotional involvement in making art
Approximately 60-65% of the population tends to think visually. Making art can be therapeutic for youngsters as they can resort to emotional release without engaging in dialogue or having to explain themselves to anyone. Expressing anger, loss, embarrassment, fear or any challenging feelings through art can be one of the ways young people can regulate their emotions and cope with stress in a cathartic manner. Another therapeutic benefit of art is it also helps deal with subconscious emotions, which might hold the answers to some of the problems one might be facing.
Improved self-esteem
Self-esteem is critical to one’s mental health. Issues like anxiety or depression among others can cloud the self-worth of youngsters. Art can be a self-rewarding space that can help one find their creative self. By creating something beautiful through art, young people can regain confidence in themselves. Teenagers in doubt about their gender or sexuality can try to explore their identities and gain clarity about themselves by making art. Engaging in artwork provides an outlet for some of the deepest feelings and may result in gaining some insights or finding a voice.
Parent-child bonding through art
Art and crafts can be a great way to bond and connect with your child. While making art together, both parents and children work on multiple skills like problem-solving, collaboration, teamwork and decision-making as they choose colours or jointly figure out what craft elements to put together. Spending time with children through such activities may help them feel more connected to open up and share some of the things on their minds with their parents.
Art possesses a significant capacity to heal. Whether it is painting, drawing or doodling, using art in any form as a tool for expression helps one to ease into their authentic self, which positively impacts mental health. Parents must encourage and ensure that there are no roadblocks for their children if they want to turn to art for comfort, relaxation or for better mental well-being.
