Estonian art therapist: creative therapy can unlock new inner resources
Art therapist Epp Sussen said on the Estonian TV programme Terevisioon that visual art therapy suits everyone from children to older people and requires no drawing skill. She said colours, sounds and sensations give access to memories that are hard to put into words.
Epp Sussen, an art therapist in Estonia and a board member of the Estonian Art Therapy Association, explained on the programme Terevisioon that visual art therapy suits a very wide range of people. Terevisioon is a morning show on Estonian public television. In her view, the method can help people find new inner resources.
Sussen noted that people are used to talking a great deal, yet many of our memories and experiences are tied to colours, sounds and sensory impressions. Words do not always provide easy access to them.
Who it is for
According to Sussen, visual art therapy is suitable for children and older people alike. It can help those who want to understand themselves better, for example when considering a career change or a shift in life direction. It is also used by people with a diagnosed depression and by those recovering from difficult times. She said contraindications are very rare.
No form of art therapy requires the participant to be able to draw, paint, dance or play a musical instrument.
Overcoming fear of the blank page
Art therapist Katre Eesmaa said people often hesitate to attend visual art therapy sessions because they believe they cannot draw. She recommended a dot exercise: place 30–40 dots across a sheet, then connect them with lines. Participants draw at an easel so they can step back and view the work from a distance. If the piece is abstract, the sheet can be turned over to see what appears. Once an image emerges, it can be coloured in.
Sussen stressed that the drawing does not have to be beautiful and that the process matters more. She said fear of the result needing to look good is often the real obstacle. Many young people do not want to talk during therapy and prefer to draw in silence. Even so, they can release emotions, for instance by squeezing paint from a tube or splashing it.
She also emphasised that no art therapist makes diagnoses. If someone paints an entirely black picture, it is not treated as a sign of depression. The person tells the therapist what the colour means to them.
