Over the past few months, I’ve been exploring something simple but surprisingly powerful: art therapy.
Not in a clinical studio with expensive materials. Just at home, with basic supplies, permitting myself to create without pressure.
When you live with chronic illness, mental health struggles, or long seasons of exhaustion, words don’t always come easily. Sometimes you feel too tired to explain how you feel—even to yourself.
Art gives those feelings somewhere to go.
For me, it’s become a quiet space where my mind can slow down, my body can rest, and my thoughts can breathe a little.
And the beautiful thing is this: you don’t need to be “good at art.” Art therapy isn’t about producing something impressive. It’s about expression, processing, and presence.
Benefits of Art Therapy
There are many emotional and psychological benefits to creative expression, especially during difficult seasons.
Some of these are:
1. Reduces mental overwhelm
When thoughts feel tangled, drawing or colouring can help untangle them. It gives your brain something gentle to focus on.
2. Helps process emotions
Sometimes emotions sit in our bodies when we don’t have the words for them. Art provides another way to release them.
3. Encourages mindfulness
Creative activities slow us down. You become focused on the colours, shapes, and movement rather than the worries racing through your mind.
4. Builds a sense of accomplishment
On days when illness limits what we can do, completing a small creative piece can feel meaningful and uplifting.
5. Supports nervous system regulation
Gentle, repetitive creative movements—like colouring, sketching, or painting—can help calm the nervous system.
For those of us living with chronic health challenges, that calming effect can be incredibly valuable.
6. Offers a quiet space for prayer
Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you through your creative time. Then, as you process your thoughts, feelings and emotions, offer them to Jesus.
The Science Behind Art Therapy
Research has shown that engaging in creative activities can have measurable effects on mental well-being.
When we create art, the brain activates areas associated with:
- Emotional processing
- Problem solving
- Reward and motivation
Studies have also found that artistic expression can reduce levels of cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone.
Creative activities may also stimulate the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to pleasure and motivation.
In simple terms, creating art can help the brain shift from a state of stress into a state of calm engagement.
This is why many therapists incorporate art into trauma recovery, anxiety treatment, and emotional regulation practices.
Simple Art Therapy Exercises to Try at Home
You don’t need expensive materials to start. A notebook, some pens, pencils, or paints are enough.
(Though I did upgrade my own and use these acrylic paint pens, as they’re so lovely to use and beautiful colours.)
Here are a few gentle exercises you could try.
1. Emotion Colours
Choose colours that represent how you feel today.
Don’t think too much about it—just pick what feels right.
Fill a page with shapes, patterns, or strokes using those colours. Let your emotions guide the movement.
2. Scribble Release
Close your eyes and scribble on a page for 10–15 seconds.
Open your eyes and look at the shapes that formed. See if you can turn them into something—a pattern, a symbol, or even just add colour.
This can be surprisingly freeing.
3. Safe Place Drawing
Draw a place where you feel calm, safe, or comforted.
It could be somewhere real or somewhere imaginary.
Focus on the details: colours, textures, and atmosphere.
This exercise can help your mind return to that sense of safety when things feel overwhelming.
4. Gratitude Art
Write three things you’re grateful for and illustrate them in some simple way.
It doesn’t have to be detailed—just symbolic.
For example:
- a sun for warmth
- a heart for someone you love
- a cup for a comforting drink
5. Reflect & Create with God
Take a few quiet minutes with a notebook, sketchbook, or colouring page.
Start by reading Psalm 147:3:
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Now ask yourself:
- What emotions am I carrying today?
- If those emotions had colours, what would they look like?
- If peace had a shape or pattern, what might it be?
Let your hand move freely across the page. Use colours, shapes, or patterns that reflect how you feel. There is no right or wrong way to do this.
As you create, quietly pray:
“Lord, meet me here. Help me release what I’m carrying and receive Your peace.”
Let the process itself become a moment of stillness with God.
My little art therapy experiment.
Art therapy isn’t about perfection.
It’s about making space for your inner world to be seen.
Some days you might feel creative. Other days you might just colour quietly for five minutes. Both are enough.
If you’re walking through a difficult season, art can become a small but meaningful companion on the journey.
A quiet place where your heart can speak through the art, to God or both—even when words feel far away.
Share your experiences with Art Therapy or let me and us know how you get on in the comments below, and share with your loved one who could benefit from art therapy themselves.
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