Overview of Creative Arts Therapies  

Creative Arts Therapists are human service professionals who use arts modalities and creative processes for the purpose of ameliorating disability and illness and optimizing health and wellness. Treatment outcomes include, for example, improving communication and expression, and increasing physical, emotional, cognitive and/or social functioning. There are more than 15,000 Creative Arts Therapists practicing in the United States and around the world. Creative Arts Therapy organizations have been active in this country for over 50 years.  

Creative Arts Therapies include Art therapy, Dance/Movement therapy, Drama therapy, Music therapy, Poetry therapy, and Psychodrama.  

Work Settings for Creative Arts Therapists

• adult day treatment centers
• community mental health centers
• community residences and halfway houses
• correctional and forensic facilities
• disaster relief centers
• drug and alcohol programs
• early intervention programs
• general hospitals
• home health agencies
• hospices
• neonatal nurseries
• nursing homes
• outpatient clinics
• psychiatric units and hospitals
• rehabilitative facilities
• senior centers
• schools
• wellness centers
 
The Creative Arts Therapies Make a Difference for People With...
 
Mental Health Needs
Creative Arts Therapies can make the difference between resistance and relationship. Creative Arts Therapists create nonthreatening group and individual arts experiences for the exploration of feelings and therapeutic issues, such as self-esteem or personal insight.
 
Alzheimer's Disease
Creative Arts Therapies can make the difference between demoralization and dignity. Creative Arts Therapists select arts experiences from the person's past to trigger short and long term memory, decrease agitation, and enhance reality orientation.
 
Chronic Illness
Creative Arts Therapies can make the difference between chronic pain and comfort. Creative Arts Therapists plan arts experiences to distract people from pain and facilitate needed relaxation.
 
Head Injuries
Creative Arts Therapies can make the difference between isolation and interaction. Creative Arts Therapists organize groups using arts experiences to encourage self-expression, communication and socialization, and to facilitate cognitive retraining.
 
Substance Abuse Problems
Creative Arts Therapies can make the difference between denial and determination. Creative Arts Therapists use arts-based techniques to confront the client's barriers to the recovery process.
 
Physical Disabilities
Creative Arts Therapies can make the difference between frustration and fulfillment. Creative Arts Therapists design arts experiences to promote rehabilitative goals and to increase motivation.
 
Developmental Disabilities
Creative Arts Therapies can make the difference between passivity and productivity. Creative Arts Therapists structure sessions that teach cognitive, motor, and daily living skills through the arts and provide the opportunity to experience the success of the arts.
 
Qualifications
 
Each Creative Arts Therapy discipline has its own set of professional standards and requisite qualifications. As a group, Creative Arts Therapists are highly skilled, credentialed professionals having completed extensive coursework and clinical training.
 
Creative Arts Therapies Address Major Societal Issues
 
Cutting-edge applications of Creative Arts Therapies are being used to address the most complex societal issues. Issues being addressed are those that have been identified as key federal initiatives by the President and Cabinet officials.
 
For example:
School Violence Prevention and Intervention
Alzheimer's Disease Treatment
Campaign Against Suicide
Domestic Violence Prevention
Substance Abuse Prevention
Health Prevention and Promotion
Breast Cancer Treatment