Art as therapy in stress and anxiety management

Abstract

Stress and anxiety can be described as the plague of the times we are living in and it can be said that a large number of those one comes in contact with are suffering or have suffered from both. Whether the condition is chronic or temporary, a solution can be found in Art Therapy which enables creativity to flow, consequently creating a mental diversion from the stress and anxiety being experienced. This dissertation aims to discover how art can be an effective form of therapy and indicate the way the process can be implemented. This work examines incidents in history in order to reveal the way art has been used for its therapeutic effect over the years. Through research and in depth email interviews, these questions about art as therapy were addressed leading to the development of my project, ‘Calm System’.