Art Therapy: a different approach
Engaging with art is at the very heart of Art Therapy. Holistic Art Therapy uses art as a catalyst through its transformative and preventative effects that supports health. Why art? We live in a world where our minds are constantly engaged and we overuse our intellect. This often disconnects us from ourselves and our feelings. You may find yourself doing things that you are not feeling like or that are different from what you had thought. Too much reliance on the mind alone as a tool can lead to stress, tension and a kind of dryness in the soul. Our mind and body have different speeds and what can happen in the mind in seconds could take days, weeks, years for the body to process. This mismatch often leads to frustration, a sense of stuckness and psychosomatic symptoms.
The Holistic Art Therapy approach looks at the whole person and what they need for their health and well being. Where they are, what they are going through, what is present as a support and what might need strengthening, through all these considerations an individualised approach is created that works towards bringing back harmony and balance amidst errant forces. It is not just for someone who is looking for therapy or relief but also for healthy people looking to bolster their well being, looking for self development and more resilience to go through life struggles.
What does art therapy do?
By creating art under guidance and reflecting on the artwork, people experience enhanced awareness of themselves and others; gain fresh insight into their inner processes and find that they can cope better with stress, anxiety and difficult experiences, not to mention enjoying the creative process of making art.
Colors are closely linked with our inner feelings. Emotions are ephemeral and are felt sometimes deeply, sometimes sharply, sometimes all consuming and others fleeting. Colours are the language of emotions and can capture their shades more accurately than words. Often ignored as unimportant, it is emotions that bring harmony between our thoughts and actions. Coming across different shades in these workshops, opens us to a world full of new sensations. Imagine how you feel on a day with bright blue sky versus one where it is overcast and grey?
Working with colours in a fluid and specific way can transform our fears into new visions which are positive, inspiring, thereby giving us joy and courage, which affect the actions in our lives. Staying with the colours without rushing into creating an image builds resilience and the capacity to bear the unknown with ease and hope. It releases the chronic stress of thinking and doing that we carry in our body and brings relief.
Visuals don’t need any cognitive processing, they communicate directly without the need for words. We see before we speak, images say and capture what words can’t explain. The visual world is our fundamental language, our mind processes everything through visuals and images. If you try to remember a person or place…it’s pictures you are shuffling through in your mind.
This is the language of the imagination and subconscious. It surpasses words and is able to define experiences more soulfully. Images have the power to touch our hearts in the most simple and profound ways; when we create or contemplate them. Their power to reach our emotive pole works beyond words.
Holistic Art therapy is a unique medium that is versatile and can be used to reconcile emotional conflicts, increase self-awareness and self-esteem, manage behaviour and help improve the quality of life.
Whether you are looking for enhancing your creativity, self development or therapeutic interventions this medium has a wealth of gentle and soothing approaches to awaken the heart and calm the mind.
The origins of Holistic Art Therapy
Holistic Art Therapy as practised in The Art & Therapy Loft has its roots in anthroposophical art therapy which began in 1921. Rudolf Steiner the founder of anthroposophy worked intensively with many artists and medical doctors to develop and establish the anthroposophic therapies. Dr Ita Wegman a physician, was pivotal in evolving these modalities. She encouraged Dr. Margarethe Hauschka (1896-1980) another physician to develop the wet on wet watercolour painting technique to help patients with psychosomatic issues and support others through their treatment.
This technique reached Mumbai more than half a century later in 2005 via Leila Tayebaly who trained in it at the Michele Belliard School in France. The first Art Loft was set up by her in 2009. As people discovered this wonderful medium, it grew in popularity and in less than a decade a whole new batch of 10 art therapists finished their 4 year training under her.
Natasha & Reena were part of the original Indian batch and have been practising since 2015 in their respective workshops. Together they set up the association for holistic art therapists in India (HATA) in 2018 and the Art & Therapy Loft in 2024, to bring this well kept secret out in the open and share it with the world so that more people can benefit from it.
The Hauschka technique is designed to counter balance the frantic pace we live in, which keeps the body in stress mode, by disconnecting one from the outer speed and chaos and in the mind and reconnecting to a slow and rhythmic gesture of the brush. Over time as we learn to relinquish to the material and colours they reconnect us to a mellow, more organic rhythm bringing acceptance, release, helping to soften blockages and breathe more freely.
The flowing nature of water colours bring fluidity and flexibility, that nourishes the soul and rejuvenates the mind and body. Clay modelling and drawing are also utilised from time to time to strengthen the mind body connection and bring clarity to our thinking.
Art & Therapy Loft 