What to Expect During a Creative Therapy Session

Creative therapy is an umbrella term that covers art therapy, music therapy, drama therapy, dance and movement therapy, and writing or poetry therapy. The common thread is that these approaches use a creative medium as part of the counseling work. The medium is not the goal. It is a way in.

If you have heard about creative therapy and are curious about what a session actually looks like, this is the place to settle some of the most common questions about how the work goes.

The Premise of Creative Therapy

Talking is not the only way to access what is going on inside you. Some things are hard to put into words. Some things were never stored as words in the first place, especially experiences from early childhood or from times of high stress. Creative approaches give you another route in.

A trained creative therapist uses the medium to help you express, process, and sometimes just sit with material that is not coming through talk alone. The work tends to be slower in some ways and faster in others. It can be quiet and reflective, or it can be active and physical, depending on the approach and what the session calls for.

The Different Types of Creative Therapy

Each form has its own training and licensing requirements, and each has its own strengths.

Art Therapy

This is the most common version. An art therapist holds a graduate degree in art therapy and counseling, and they are credentialed by a national board. Sessions use drawing, painting, clay, collage, and other materials. The art becomes part of the conversation rather than something you are graded on.

Music Therapy

Music therapists are also credentialed at the graduate level. Sessions might involve listening to music, playing instruments, songwriting, or singing. Music can reach parts of the brain that talk cannot, which makes this work useful for people with dementia, autism, and trauma, among other concerns.

Drama Therapy

This uses role play, improvisation, storytelling, and theater techniques. People sometimes get nervous when they hear about drama therapy, but it is not performance based. It uses the structure of acting to let people explore different parts of themselves safely.

Dance & Movement Therapy

This works with the body as a way to access feelings and patterns. It is especially useful for trauma, where the body is often holding more than the mind has language for.

Writing or Poetry Therapy

Sometimes called bibliotherapy, this uses reading, writing, journaling, and poetry as part of the counseling work. It can be especially helpful for people who think and process through words.

What a Session Usually Includes

Different creative therapies have their own shape, but most sessions move through similar stages.

Settling In

A session starts with talking. Your counselor will ask how the week has gone, what is on your mind, and what brought you in today. This part is no different from any other counseling session.

The Creative Work

The middle of the session is the creative process itself. Depending on the form, you might be drawing at a table, playing on a small keyboard, moving across the room, or writing in a notebook. Your counselor is in the room with you, sometimes participating and sometimes just witnessing.

This part of the session can take anywhere from ten to forty minutes. There is usually no rush. The pace is set by what is happening in the work.

Reflecting Together

The last part of the session is where you and your counselor look at what came up. Not in a graded way. Not in a meaning making way that imposes interpretation. Your counselor will ask open questions and let you find your own meaning in what you made or did.

This is often where the words come back. Things that were hard to say at the start of the session can become possible after working in the medium for a while.

What Creative Therapy Helps With

Research supports creative therapy for trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, eating concerns, chronic illness, dementia, and developmental conditions. It is used in schools, hospitals, hospices, prisons, and private practices like Artisan Counseling that include creative therapists on their team.

It can be especially helpful when traditional talk therapy has gotten stuck, when words feel like they are not enough, or when the person in counseling is a child who does not have the vocabulary for sit down conversation.

Common Worries People Have

A few things tend to come up when people are thinking about trying creative therapy.

I Am Not Artistic

You do not need to be. The medium is a tool, not a test. Your stick figures are fine. Your singing voice is fine. Your dancing does not have to look like anything.

Will I Have to Show My Work to Anyone

No. The work stays between you and your counselor. Some people end up keeping their pieces. Some people throw them away after the session. That choice is yours.

Will I Be Asked to Perform

Not in the way you might think. Drama therapy and movement therapy are interactive, but they are not performances. There is no audience. There is no critique.

How to Find a Creative Therapist

Look for someone with the specific credential for the form you are interested in. ATR-BC for art therapy. MT-BC for music therapy. RDT for drama therapy. BC-DMT for dance and movement therapy.

Ask in the first session what to expect, what materials they use, and how the work tends to unfold over time. A good creative therapist will be glad to walk you through it.

Creative therapy is not a replacement for traditional counseling for most people. It is an option that works alongside or instead of talk therapy depending on what you bring in. For some people, it is the door that opens when talk has not been able to. For others, it adds something to work that was already going well. Either way, the medium is a tool that helps the work happen.