Billy O’Brien once said: “The time is ripe for bringing together artists, scientists, and educators to collaboratively confront the question of how creativity functions in the brain.” In these times of stress, anxiety, and confusion, we need something that can calm us and bring us comfort. Art is a tool that people have relied on for many years. It helps us communicate, express our feelings, and heal. Art therapy is actually a recent program, started in the 1940s.

There’s a lot of evidence that shows that art enhances brain function. The effect of art in the brain is demonstrated in the change of emotions, and in the increase of our serotonin levels (the brain cells that help with our sleeping, eating, and digestion). Having fine motor skills improves your emotional balance and creativity. Experimental Studies have also shown that when you see an art piece, you could start to experiment what the artist felt while creating the piece.

An article written by Renee Phillips in The Healing Power of Art mentions that “The Research Center for Arts and Culture (RCAC) at the National Center for Creative Aging (NCCA) established that artists suffer less loneliness and depression than the general population.” Actually, according to a study, artists are active members of society and are more likely to help the community and volunteer.

Art therapy uses psychotherapeutic techniques along with creative processes to improve mental, physical, and emotional health.Some of these techniques are drawing, painting, coloring, sculpting, and creating collages. An important detail of art therapy is that you don’t need to have artistic abilities to use it, and it benefits people of all ages since it is a method of self-expression and self-exploration. Art Therapy is used for children who suffer from bullying, individuals who have experienced a traumatic event, people  with great amounts of stress, children with learning disabilities, among others There are other occasions where it could be used as part of a treatment. This is most common when battling with anxiety, cancer, depression, eating disorders, emotional problems, psychological issues, etc.

In conclusion, art therapy could really help all of us in these times of quarantine to calm our stress and help us express how we feel right now. This is because when you create art, you’re able to concentrate, focus on your goals, work, and express your imagination and feelings.