What is Art Therapy?

[Art as the synthesis and ultimate harmony of every experience.]

Since I was a child, I found myself surrounded by great instability, and art was always my anchor. It allowed me the time and space to process and integrate what was happening to me—an unconscious instinct for well-being. This is why I chose to deepen my understanding of its therapeutic power: to truly share it with others.

Artistic Therapeutics is a path of expression and transformation that does not demand rational explanations; instead, it welcomes what emerges from within through the act of creating. One does not need to be an artist to access it. All that is required is the desire to listen deeply to oneself, especially when words are not enough.

Artistic Therapeutics does not interpret, judge, or correct: it accompanies. It accompanies the individual in giving form to feelings, recognizing inner symbols, and narrating one’s story in a new way. It is a journey of reconnection and care that allows one to explore emotions, untie inner knots, and embrace the complexity of one’s own lived experience. Through creative expression, it becomes possible to reach those depths that rarely find space in daily life. The participant thus rediscovers an intimate dialogue with the self, nourished by creative processes and the transformative potential of the relationship.

Our inner world, usually invisible and undervalued, becomes tangible the moment it is represented. Bringing a state of mind, a thought, or a deep-seated feeling outside of ourselves offers the opportunity for a direct confrontation. To stand before fragments of our own identity is to have a sensory and immediate experience with ourselves: it is like looking into a mirror that reveals who we are and where we stand in a precise moment of our existence.

Representing oneself through a video, a drawing, a performance, or a sculpture is a poetic act of sublime power. When our inner world manifests in a visible, tangible, and sensory form, we become observers of ourselves and discover what it means to inhabit an authentic present: a space where, with judgment suspended, we pause simply to witness what "is." By giving ourselves permission to know ourselves, we find we have more room to welcome those around us. We realize that the experiences we once thought we carried alone can finally be shared, as soon as we find the language and the courage to show ourselves.

Artistic representations, by enduring through time and space, have the power to make us spectators of the transformations we undergo. Often, evolution happens both within and around us, but without the time to perceive its movement, we risk remaining trapped in old structures that make existence less vibrant and fulfilling than it could be.

By placing our artistic production along an imaginary timeline, we can observe the tangible testimony of the transformations we have moved through. Many therapists and art scholars notice how an artist’s style shifts profoundly in response to significant biographical events: this makes art a true emotional and existential archive of the human experience. I remember that back in high school, I struggled to understand the value of Picasso’s work. I truly grasped his essence only after visiting his museum in Barcelona: there, the chronological arrangement of the works guided me through a visual narrative of his life and his profound artistic and existential quest.

My Art Therapy sessions offer an experience of awareness on multiple levels: from the emotional-existential to the social and relational. During the workshops, listening to one’s own individuality intertwines with the group experience: dialogue thus becomes a tool for shared growth, a safe container, and a precious resource for awareness. According to social psychologist George Herbert Mead, the development of the Self is deeply dependent on the relationship with the "other." In this view, play is the ultimate form of interaction in which the individual can experiment with different aspects of social life in a protected space, where it is possible to risk change and open oneself to the unknown. Artistic Therapeutics is uniquely equipped to facilitate this journey through:

• A sensory and physical confrontation with the inner world: the artwork becomes the reflection that allows us to be conscious observers of our own Self.

• A longitudinal confrontation with life’s changes: the ability to observe and understand growth and transformation over the course of a lifetime.

• A protected space to explore social identity: the group as an opportunity for shared growth and collective awareness.

Write to me if you want to know more or if you are interested in beginning this journey

lanottedigiorno@gmail.com

+39 340 575 2656

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