How Art Therapy Supports Recovery From Addiction

Imagine a space where the commotion of recovery meets the calm of creation, where the struggle with our relationship with alcohol is met not with resistance but with expression. In this sanctuary, paintbrushes replace bottles, and canvases become bridges to healing. This is the realm of art therapy, a holistic and innovative approach to treating alcohol use disorder. 

This form of therapy is used to address a variety of mental health issues, and can be extremely beneficial for those of us who find it difficult to articulate their experiences and emotions through words alone. Let’s explore how the power of artistic expression can unlock new pathways to sobriety and offer an alternative approach to overcoming alcohol use disorder.

Art Therapy: Painting the Path to Psychological Peace

Art therapy is a therapeutic practice that utilizes art rather than more traditional forms of therapy such as talk therapy to facilitate expression and resolution of our feelings and thoughts. Formal art therapy is facilitated by a licensed therapist who uses prompts that we carry out creatively to help us work through difficult emotions or thoughts. 

Just as some of us are more visual learners while others are more auditory, we may also benefit from different approaches to recovery. For those of us who feel we can’t fully express ourselves through language, art therapy might be worth exploring. Like talk therapy, art therapy has many positive mental and emotional benefits. But, does this approach work for substance use disorder recovery? 

The Intersection Between Art Therapy and Substance Abuse Recovery

Substance abuse recovery, or more aptly referred to as substance use disorder (SUD) recovery, involves overcoming physical and neurological dependence on a substance. When we remove the substance from our life, our brain and body have to adjust, which can be physically and emotionally demanding.

Art therapy kills two birds with one stone. We can address the root causes of our substance use while enjoying a creative outlet. Just like talk therapy, art therapy can help us identify our triggers and develop positive coping skills to overcome them. 

At the same time, art is a creative pursuit that serves as a healthy distraction. Research shows that art therapy can boost our mood and improve our mental well-being, which also benefits our physical health. This can have positive effects on withdrawal and cravings and reduce the risk of relapse.

The strengths of art therapy, such as promoting self-discovery, serving as distraction, and addressing root causes of our behaviors explains why art therapy for addiction can be so beneficial for SUD recovery.

15 Art Therapy Ideas for Addiction Recovery

To get your creative juices flowing, here are some prompts to get you started on a path to expression and healing:

1. Use different media to express how you visualize your future. Anything can be an artistic medium, from a pencil to a sponge.
2. Draw your negative emotions and physically let them go. This can mean destroying the artwork afterwards as a symbolic gesture.
3. Paint an alcohol bottle to use as a vase.
4. Paint with your hands or body. 
5. Sculpt how you feel. This could be a face or an object that represents an emotion. 
6. Create short-lived art like a chalk drawing.
7. Write a postcard that you won’t send — or send it to yourself.
8. Photograph things you’re grateful for.
9. Scribble out your frustration.
10. Draw geometric patterns, such as mandalas. For something more structured, you can print out mandala patterns to color or buy a coloring book full of them!
11. Draw a childhood memory.
12. Document your favorite traits about yourself.
13. Create something abstract with junk in your basement you want to get rid of.
14. Create a vision board.
15. Find a motivational quote you resonate with and create a visual to go along with it.

The options are endless, but hopefully these ideas will get you started and serve as the bridge to a healthier future!

Benefits of Art Therapy: Addiction Recovery and Beyond

Art therapy has many positive benefits that extend even beyond recovery. Here some things to look forward to:

• Reduced stress. Research shows that art therapy targets cognitive coping, body experience, and expression to access our emotions and promote changed behaviors. Through its effects on our mind, body, action, and perception, the practice of art therapy is shown to reduce stress and anxiety. One study even found that coloring mandalas specifically reduced anxiety.
• An easier time expressing emotions. Art therapy utilizes therapeutic techniques that facilitate expression of our thoughts and feelings much like talk therapy. When we are able to express our emotions, we’re able to better understand and work through them. 
• Increased awareness. Art therapy increases our mindfulness through expression of our emotions and creativity. Through increased awareness, we can learn more about the root causes of our behavior and work on developing more positive habits.
• A positive distraction. Drinking is often used as a distraction from negative thoughts and emotions. By participating in art therapy, we add a more positive form of distraction into our toolkit.
• Better mood. Aside from working through negative emotions through therapeutic prompts, art therapy reduces stress and promotes natural release of our “feel-good” hormones, boosting our mood. 
• Increased self-discovery. Expressing our emotions and having an outlet for our creativity helps us learn more about ourselves. This is especially helpful in addiction recovery, where self-discovery can transform our lives.

As we can see, art therapy has positive effects on many aspects of recovery and different facets of our life. Let’s see how we can integrate these skills outside of art therapy and addiction recovery to support us in transforming our life. 

Implementing Skills of Art Therapy

Like with other forms of therapy, we can use techniques of art therapy outside of a treatment setting to support our recovery.  

• Mindfulness and meditation. Creative outlets such as art are beneficial to our mental well-being because they boost our mood and reduce stress. Mindfulness practices such as meditation and journaling have the same effect. 
• Creative pursuits. Art therapy combines creative expression with working through our feelings and emotions. It also highlights the importance of exploring hobbies and passions to support healing. Aside from art, try activities such as baking or gardening to express your creativity.
• Expression of feelings. The “therapy” part of art therapy facilitates expression of our feelings and emotions, which helps us better understand and work through them. Aside from art, there are other ways to express our feelings such as talking or writing. 
• Positive distractions. Having positive distractions helps us avoid turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms. Positive distractions can be anything from hobbies to self-care. Keep your hands busy by doing a puzzle or relax by taking a bath. 
• Support from others. Recovery isn’t something we have to go through alone. In fact, having social support is beneficial to our healing. Join communities like Reframe and reach out to family and friends.

The skills of art therapy can be transformative inside and outside of a formal treatment setting. Now that we know what they are, we can utilize them to support our journey to a brighter, more colorful life. 

Coloring a New Path

The unique approach of art therapy has the power to transform our journey to sobriety into a deeply personal and creative process. Through creation, we find new ways to express our struggles, hopes, and triumphs, discovering a part of ourselves that we may not be able to put into words. Art therapy offers a holistic path to healing that provides a safe space for self-exploration and healing. So, as we develop a healthier relationship with alcohol and chart a new path towards a healthier, happier life, a brush and canvas can be powerful allies.