Visual Arts Therapy at Passages Addiction Treatment Centers

Visual Arts Therapy at Passages Addiction Treatment Centers

Published June 2018

“All art intuitively apprehends coming changes in the collective unconsciousness.” -Carl Gustav Jung

Using imagination to create something fresh symbolizes rebirth, new beginnings, and rejuvenation. At Passages Malibu, art therapy is used by some of our life purpose counselors as a way to help you further tap into and express your innermost feelings, emotions, desires, needs, hopes, and dreams. By utilizing a set of diverse methods of addiction treatment, we are able to deal with your addiction from all angles and concentrate on every aspect of your healing process. All that is needed to begin is an open mind and willingness to explore your creative side.

3 Ways to Use Visual Arts Therapy:

Mandala—the word “mandala” is Sanskrit for “circle.” The mandala is a graphic pattern created by enclosing a square with a deity on each side and is widely used as an aid to meditation. “It represents wholeness, and can be seen as a model for the organizational structure of life itself–a cosmic diagram that reminds us of our relation to the infinite, the world that extends both beyond and within our bodies and minds” (The Mandala Project). You can begin by using printable mandala designs for coloring. Creating a mandala assists with an increase in focused attention, an aid to meditation, and for many a spiritual experience.

Vision Board—sometimes referred to as a “dream board,” the vision board is a collage of images, pictures, clippings, words, or other materials that represent your goals, hopes, and dreams in life. The collage allows you to envision what your future might hold.

Sketchbook—a book or pad of paper used for creating illustrations and drawings. All you need to begin is a book of blank pages and something to sketch with. The Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University in 2006 suggested that there were two broad categories for classifying sketches:

• Observation: this focuses on the documentation of the external world and includes many such travel and nature studies and sketches recording an artist’s travels.
• Invention: this follows the artists’ digressions and internal journeys as they develop compositional ideas

After beginning their unique book of illustrations, many users find that personalizing the sketchbook is also a healing part of the process. Be creative and think outside the box. Decorate your sketchbook to reflect your personality.