What constitutes someone’s inner world? It’s their own private world of feelings, worries, hopes, perceptions and inner voices. It’s also their biochemical state (the balancing of their autonomic nervous system, the impact of the food and drink they eat etc.). How we feel and imagine in our inner world impacts the way that we view our outer world, and our past experiences influence our present state. A bodily state that has a dysregulated nervous system influences our inner world adversely and vice versa.
Arts enable a person to access their inner world and become aware of what is there. It is through art that the inner world manifests. An image can speak more than words and offers a profound language to capture the feeling of a person’s inner world. Using art can help access affect in a way that cognitive processing doesn’t, and once accessed the emotion can be processed. Literal words can label feelings, but may be too generalised, underplay or hide rather than reveal so the image can bring to light a denied or neglected part of the self that warrants attention.
When we make art we use our hands, our eyes, our ears; it is multisensorial. Art can allow us to gain access to memories which are stored visually, kinesthetically and auditorily. The right brain stores implicit pre-verbal memory, where tactual and visual processing happens. Urquhart et al., (2020) discuss how emotional experience is sensed (felt and seen), and touch, the language of intimacy, is directly related to emotional and relational health. Given this, focusing on therapeutic techniques that activate and rewire early implicit memories makes sense. Making art connects with the brain’s limbic system, a key area for restoring regulation (Malchiodi, 2003).
Creating something stimulates a sense of mastery and control, which can bring optimism and hope. In clinical experience, I have witnessed multiple times the change in mood of a client who has commented that “it feels great to be doing something” and “when I look at the artwork, it makes me feel proud; I have created it”. Research suggests that artmaking can help increase blood flow to the area of the brain associated with emotional regulation so can reduce anxiety and stimulate feelings of reward. (Bolwerk et al, 2014; Kaimal et al, 2017).
Artwork becomes a container for emotion which is somewhat less imposing when witnessed externally at a distance. The felt state can be seen in a manageable way and reflected upon. It can be revisited, amended, and changed to become a rehearsal for what could become possible. Insight born out of a creative imagination is more likely to be a felt realisation rather than a dry thought and may be more likely to be remembered and acted upon. You don’t need to be an accomplished artist to make art, just bring a bit of willingness and a sprinkle of your imagination and get ready to explore.
To meet with a professional psychologist or counsellor, call The Other Clinic at 8809 0659 or email us hello@theotherclinic.sg.
References
Bolwerk, A., Mack-Andrick, J., Lang, F. R., Dörfler, A., & Maihöfner, C. (2014). How art changes your brain: Differential effects of visual art production and cognitive art evaluation on functional brain connectivity. PLOS One, 9(7), e101035. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101035
Kaimal, G., Hasan, A., Herres., A., Dieterich-Hartwell, R., Makwana, B., Kaiser D.H, Nasser., J.A. (2017). Functional near infrared spectroscopy assessment of reward perception based on visual self-expression: Coloring, doodling, and free drawing. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 55(1),85-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2017.05.004
Malchiodi, C.A. (2003) The Handbook of Art Therapy, The Guildford Press.
Urquhart, M., Gardner, F., Frederico, M., & Sanders, R. (2020). Right brain to right brain therapy: How tactile, expressive arts therapy emulates attachment. Children Australia 45(2), 91-96. https://doi.org/10.1017/cha.2020.30