Expressive arts therapy uses creative mediums — like art, music, and movement — to help you explore emotions you may have a hard time putting into words.
It can be especially useful for people who don’t find traditional talk therapy effective or accessible.
Many people report that expressive arts therapy helps them reduce stress, process trauma, and improve overall well-being.
Talk therapy is one of the most effective treatments for a wide variety of mental health conditions. But some things are hard to talk about. It could be because you don’t like talking about a traumatic experience, or maybe you just don’t know how to put your emotions into words. If this sounds familiar, expressive arts therapy could be a good option for you.
Expressive arts therapy uses the arts to provide an alternative path for expression and healing. It’s a creative, nonverbal way to explore your inner world, process painful memories, and build new coping strategies.
Types of expressive arts approaches
“Expressive arts therapy” is an umbrella term that includes different treatment methods. They all use different forms of art, rather than talking, to help you explore and express your emotions. Often, expressive arts therapists use a multimodal approach, meaning they combine different art forms and strategies.
Some of the most common and recognized techniques that fall under this umbrella include:
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Art therapy
Art therapists use different visual arts techniques to help people explore and express their thoughts, emotions, and past experiences.
Specific art approaches might include:
Drawing
Painting
Ceramics/clay therapy
Collage and scrapbooking
Photography
Music therapy
Music therapy uses the power of music — both listening to it and creating it — to help you engage with and express yourself.
Specific music therapy techniques might include:
Listening to different types of music and paying attention to what emotions come up
Writing songs that help you express emotions or explore past experiences
Using music for relaxation or coping
Dance and movement therapy
In dance and movement therapy, you use physical expression to process emotions, release tension, and connect more deeply with your body. Movement can allow you to express things that words can’t capture and increase awareness of how emotions show up physically.
Specific dance therapy strategies include:
Improvised movement to explore emotions
Structured dance routines to increase confidence and body awareness
Partner or group movement exercises to build connection and trust
Drama therapy
Drama therapy uses the dramatic arts, borrowed from theater and acting, to help people explore and express their experiences. Drama therapy can be particularly helpful as part of narrative therapy.
Some techniques that a drama therapist may use include:
Role-playing
Storytelling
Mask work
Dramatic projection
Biblio/poetry therapy (writing)
Writing is another powerful art form that can be used in therapy. The mental health benefits of journaling are supported by research. Biblio and/or poetry therapy uses the power of words — including both reading and writing — to help people explore insights, release emotions, and make meaning out of experiences.
Specific writing therapy techniques include:
Reflective journaling
Reading poetry or literature and connecting it to your own experiences
Writing poems, letters, or short stories to process emotions
When expressive arts therapy can be helpful
Expressive arts therapies can be powerful for anyone. But they’re thought to be especially helpful for people who have already tried more traditional talk therapy methods and found that they weren’t as helpful as they’d hoped. In particular, if you find it hard to express your thoughts and feelings in words or feel an emotional blockage (due to trauma or something else), expressive arts therapy could be helpful.
Expressive arts therapy could be helpful for mental health and neurological (brain) conditions like:
Dementia
How expressive arts therapy can help you
The research supporting expressive arts therapy is still lacking, especially in comparison to more well-studied therapy approaches. But that doesn’t mean that expressive arts therapy can’t be helpful — just that we need more research to establish it as a first-choice treatment.
Expressive arts therapy techniques usually work by offering you an alternative way of expressing and releasing emotions that you haven’t been able to verbalize. In group settings, it can also provide a path to social connection.
Studies have found that expressive arts therapy can:
Improve overall well-being
Help people process and move past traumatic experiences, including sexual abuse
Improve social-emotional skills
Getting started with expressive arts therapy
Finding an expressive arts therapist can sometimes feel confusing, as requirements and training vary by state and discipline. Some therapists hold specific certifications in art, music, dance, or drama therapy. Others may be licensed mental health providers who incorporate expressive arts techniques into their practice.
If you’re interested in working with someone who specializes in expressive arts therapy, it can help to ask about their training and certification and whether they’re licensed to provide mental health treatment.
Creating art on your own can be powerful, but in expressive arts therapy, the process is guided with intention. We’re not just making art — we’re using it as a tool to explore, heal, and uncover meaning together.
Brandy Chalmers, LPC
Clinical reviewer
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Expressive arts therapy can give you another way to work through emotions and experiences that are difficult to talk about. It’s usually best as a complementary method to clinical mental health therapy.
At Rula, we’re committed to delivering a comprehensive behavioral health experience that helps people feel seen and understood so they can get back to feeling their best.
Rula makes it easier to find a licensed therapist or psychiatric provider who accepts your insurance so you don’t have to choose between affordable care and excellent care. With a diverse network of more than 15,000 providers, 24/7 crisis support, and appointments available as soon as tomorrow, we're here to help you make progress — wherever you are on your mental health journey.
Saya Des Marais
Saya graduated with her Master in Social Work (MSW) with a concentration in mental health from the University of Southern California in 2010. She formerly worked as a therapist and motivational interviewing trainer in community clinics, public schools, mental health startups, and more.
Her writing has been featured in FORTUNE, GoodRX, PsychCentral, and dozens of mental health apps and therapy websites. Through both her clinical work and her personal OCD diagnosis, she’s learned the importance of making empathetic and accurate mental health content available online.
She lives in Portland, Oregon but you can find her almost just as often in Mexico or in her birthplace, Tokyo.
Brandy Chalmers, LPC
Having faced challenges like childhood abuse, neglect, and the loss of her father to suicide, Brandy Chalmers is deeply passionate about providing compassionate care. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Nationally Certified Counselor, and Registered Play Therapist with a Master’s Degree in Clinical Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy.
Brandy also teaches at a university, sharing her expertise with future mental health professionals. With over a decade of experience in settings like inpatient care and private practice, she specializes in helping clients with perfectionism, trauma, personality disorders, eating disorders, and life changes.
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