The Importance of Art For Mental Health

Utilizing art as a tool to support one’s mental health involves engaging in self-expression through a variety of art forms: painting, drawing, dancing, modeling, poetry, storytelling, music, and more. Art is important when thinking about one's mental health because it can serve as an outlet for people that do not feel comfortable expressing themselves in other ways such as talking with a therapist; in fact, art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that utilizes art in combination with other traditional aspects of therapy. The goal of art therapy is not to become a great artist, the goal is to create art that can help you acknowledge and recognize feelings that you haven’t been able to address otherwise. It is about boosting your self-esteem and releasing negative emotions or stress that has been affecting you in a negative way. Connect-OC is hosting an Instagram Live Event on the 10th of December at 4 pm to raise awareness of how art (and art therapy) can be very beneficial to mental health and to those who desire a more creative outlet. During this event, we are going to invite young artists to share their work and share why art has been beneficial to them their mental health.