How Expressive Therapies Help Patients Heal

When the stress of a life-changing diagnosis or the crush of pain or depression hits hard, expressive therapies – art, music and movement – can provide relief, hope and healing.

Expressive therapies allow and empower people to express themselves – their concerns, feelings and thoughts – in creative and nonverbal ways. Expressive therapy also uses the arts to restore a sense of self and wholeness. This can be especially helpful for those with challenging health issues such as cancer, stroke, disabilities or a chronic illness.

“The expressive therapies – art, music and movement – are truly effective ways to process and manage stress, pain, depression and anxiety, and to promote rest and healing. These non-pharmacological approaches have a clinically significant impact on challenging patient experiences, and may improve both immediate and long-term outcomes,” says University Hospitals board certified music therapist and the Lauren Rich Fine Endowed Director of UH Connor Whole Health’s Expressive Therapies Seneca Block, PhD(c), MT-BC. “Our research shows that modalities such as music therapy offer, on average, a 20 percent decrease in a patient’s reported pain.”

The Benefits of Expressive Therapies

Expressive therapy’s primary goal is to reduce patient experiences such as depression, anxiety, stress, pain and fatigue. The secondary goal is to provide a way to cope through self-discovery and expression. While helping patients is the focus, family members, caregivers and others can also benefit.

Art therapy. An art therapist guides each session by demonstrating how to use materials for self-expression, allowing patients to create art with personal meaning. Mediums may vary from abstract or realistic. Color, texture, movement, material, size, shape and other tools help explore feelings and can bring new discoveries, insight and inspiration. Calm scenes or color tones may promote relaxation and relief. Soaring skyscrapers and bold colors or shapes may inspire strength and positivity. Objects or subjects in the artwork may restore fond memories that soothe. As a result, patients find rest, joy, strength and more, bringing hope and healing.

Beyond the pursuit of personal expression and insight, patients can also choose to create art for or with their family or caregiver. Sharing the artwork can help family members, caregivers and others understand and connect with the patient.

Music therapy. Music influences a person physically, mentally and emotionally. It can provide comfort, or ease anxiety, lift the spirit or even motivate movement. It can help people recognize and work through difficult feelings and times in life. Music transforms the listener and allows for relief through distraction, joy and interaction. It can relieve depression, boost mood, reduce stress and aid relaxation, which can reduce pain, improve sleep and promote healing.

During music therapy, patients can choose to simply listen to music or actively participate by singing or playing instruments. Patients with severe pain, anxiety and stress often benefit from music-assisted guided imagery, a relaxation technique that focuses on breath, meditation and live music.

Beyond its value to the intended individual, when music therapy services offered to one patient are overheard, the positive impact can spread to nearby caregivers and patients. They may listen, hum or sing along and share in its benefits.

What Expressive Therapy Offers

Expert care. Music and art therapists hold bachelor and graduate degrees in their chosen specialties, complete internships, and are board certified by their national accreditation bodies.

Individual and group sessions. Services are available for individuals and groups, depending on the patient’s circumstances. Group sessions allow patients to share their experiences and learn from each other. Individual sessions provide more privacy for personal exploration.

Ongoing stress reduction. Therapists assist patients in learning new, creative stress-reduction techniques that they can continue to use on their own outside of the therapy. “We see incredible changes through expressive therapies,” says Block. “They are truly an innovative way to use elements as ancient as art, music and dance within the modern healthcare setting in ways that are both clinically effective and comforting.”

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At UH Connor Whole Health, we take the whole person into account, addressing the full range of physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual and environmental influences that affect an individual’s health.