Activities That Target Particular Brain Functions

Perception & Awareness

• Use art supplies and methods, such as painting or sculpture, that let the client communicate their feelings in a secure and nonverbal way.
• Utilize art-based relaxation methods to assist the individual in learning how to control their emotions and feel less stressed, including coloring or creating mandalas.
• Utilize art-based cognitive-behavioral methods to assist the individual in recognizing and altering unfavorable thought patterns, such as journaling or making a mood board.

Memory

• Utilize art-based exercises that entail crafting symbolic recollections, like constructing a memory box, to assist the individual in comprehending and applying their memories.
• Collagen or mixed media are examples of art supplies and methods that can be used to assist an individual in connecting with their memories through a variety of senses.
• Utilize creative projects that encourage reflection and storytelling, like making a timeline of events or a family tree, to assist the individual in processing and remembering the past.

Fear & Anxiety

• Deep breathing exercises and mindfulness exercises, like meditation, can help control how the body reacts emotionally to fear and hostility.
• Processing and controlling fear and hostility can be aided by art therapy exercises that entail artistic representation of emotions, such as painting or drawing one’s sensations.

Sleep

• Deep breathing and guided imagery are two examples of art therapy activities that incorporate mindfulness and relaxation techniques that can help with sleep management.
• Art-based emotional expression exercises, including painting or drawing one’s feelings, can help process and manage any underlying emotional problems that might be interfering with sleep.
• Make artwork with the express purpose of enhancing sleep is advantageous. Making a dream journal or an artwork that depicts a serene setting, for instance, can aid in encouraging sleep.
• Maintaining a visual dream journal enables people to analyze and let go of any feelings or experiences that may have surfaced throughout the night, which can help with sleep regulation. This may lessen any anxiousness or residual emotions that are preventing you from falling asleep. Additionally, people may be able to address and modify any unfavorable ideas, feelings, or behaviors that might be interfering with their sleep by recognizing patterns in their dreams and developing self-awareness and mindfulness through the act of drawing. Drawing can also be a peaceful, contemplative activity that promotes relaxation and lowers tension, two things that are crucial for controlling sleep.

Behavioral and Emotional Responses

• Making a collage with different materials and textures, can help to enhance the integration of sensory data with emotional and behavioral reactions.
• Utilizing music or other aural stimuli. In art therapy sessions, for instance, clients may choose to make art inspired by a musical composition or work on an art project while listening to music. The utilization of music has the potential to foster a constructive and encouraging atmosphere, as well as promote relaxation and increased comfort among clients.
• Enhancing the integration of sensory information with emotional and behavioral reactions can also be achieved by integrating techniques for sensory integration, such as proprioceptive input or deep pressure, within art therapy sessions.

Applying firm, consistent pressure to the body—often using weighted blankets, vests, or squeezing balls—is known as deep pressure. This kind of pressure can help clients relax and feel more rooted because it can have a relaxing influence on the neurological system. Additionally, it can assist in controlling the body’s physiological reactions, such as breathing and heart rate, which is advantageous for patients who struggle with stress or anxiety.

The information that the body’s proprioceptors—which are found in the muscles, joints, and tendons—receive is referred to as proprioceptive input. These sensors are in charge of generating the sensation of body awareness and transmitting data about the body’s location and motion in space. Weight-bearing exercises, squeezing balls, and pushing or pulling heavy items are some examples of activities that can generate proprioceptive feedback. For individuals who struggle with body awareness or coordination, this kind of input can help enhance the body’s capacity to absorb and integrate sensory information.

Breathing / Digestion / Heart Rate

• Utilize creative pursuits that incorporate deep breathing and relaxation methods, such as coloring or creating mandalas, to assist the client in controlling their respiration and heart rate.
• Utilize mindful eating art projects, including making food collages (a visual image or design created by arranging different types of food) or still life, to assist the individual in improving their digestion and forming healthy eating habits.
• Utilize tactile art supplies like sand or clay to help the client develop a greater understanding of their body and its functioning.

Coordination / Movement / Balance

• Engage in art projects that require movement, like dancing or building mobiles, to help them with their balance and coordination.
• Utilize art supplies that call for fine motor skills, such as coloring or sketching, to assist the individual in developing stronger hand muscles and increased dexterity.
• Utilize problem-solving art activities to assist the individual in improving their spatial awareness and problem-solving abilities, such as building with blocks or puzzles.

Geographical / Spatial Data

• Spatial navigation skills can be enhanced by art therapy tasks that incorporate spatial awareness and visualization, such as painting or sketching a map, making a collage of photos from a particular place, or building a three-dimensional model of a familiar area.
• Reiterating spatial notions and enhancing spatial awareness can be achieved by including spatial terminology and vocabulary, such as “left,” “right,” “up,” and “down,” in art therapy sessions.

Pain

• Because the act of producing art produces endorphins, art therapy exercises that involve creating art or using the body creatively might be useful in controlling pain. These unique neurotransmitter subtypes are in charge of reducing pain and stress.
• The ability to manipulate three-dimensional materials with the hands can help people feel more engaged and in control of their pain. It can also serve as a tactile distraction, temporarily relieving pain by drawing attention away from the material. Examples of these materials include clay and modeling compounds. Because it enables people to concentrate on the here and now and partake in a creative endeavor, this might be advantageous for individuals who are dealing with chronic pain.

Joy / Pleasure / Reward

• A contributing cause to problems involving the reward and pleasure regions of the brain may be dopamine down-regulation. Reducing or stopping activities that cause an excessive release of dopamine, such as drug use or some forms of obsessive behaviors, is one way to deal with this problem.
• Design an activity that helps reset the brain’s reward and pleasure regions by making it difficult or uncomfortable. An exercise using a difficult or uncomfortable medium, like charcoal or sand, could serve as one example. Although working with these materials might be intellectually or physically taxing, the reward of producing something beautiful can make the difficult effort worthwhile.
• An art project with a particularly tough theme—like a terrible event or a tough emotion that the customers find difficult to deal with—could serve as another illustration. But by overcoming this obstacle, the individual may digest and make sense of these experiences, leading to a feeling of self-actualization and accomplishment that can assist in stimulating the brain’s reward regions beneficially.