As both a writer and a therapist, trust me, I love words. Talking therapy can be incredibly helpful, but sometimes, words alone just aren’t enough.
In this blog, I’m going to share why creativity can be such a powerful (and often necessary) part of the healing process, and offer some practical, creative exercises you can try yourself, whether you’re working with a therapist or exploring on your own. And don’t worry, this isn’t about being ‘good’ at art. It’s about finding new ways to express yourself when words aren’t quite enough.
Why Creativity Can Be So Helpful in Therapy
Creativity allows us to tap into things that can be hard to say out loud, or that we don’t have the words for at all. Sometimes, creativity acts like a bridge, helping us find the right words. But sometimes, we don’t need words at all and the creative expression is enough in itself.
This is especially true when it comes to trauma. When we experience something traumatic, our brain stores that memory differently. Unlike ‘normal’ memories, which have a clear beginning, middle, and end, trauma is often remembered as a jumble of sensations, images, sounds, or sensations, often disconnected from words or a sense of time.
Art allows us to begin to put together these pieces without having to fit them into a neat narrative (think collage, rather than jigsaw!) and can provide a safer way to express things that may feel overwhelming to say out loud.
Creativity and Early Childhood Memories
Creative approaches are also incredibly helpful when it comes to exploring early childhood experiences, especially things that happened before we were talking. Our very earliest memories simply couldn’t be stored in language, because we didn’t know any yet! Instead, these memories are held in the body as ‘implicit memories’. These memories can be experienced as sensations, emotions, images, and reactions. To connect with them, we need ways of expressing that are less about talking, and instead come from the body, imagination, and senses.
This is also true when we’re working with any childhood experiences. Even if we do have the words for certain memories, it’s important to recognise that a child’s natural language isn’t talking- it’s play, imagination, movement, and creativity. So if we want to connect with our inner child, it makes sense to meet them in their language, rather than asking them to fit into ours.
Creativity Isn’t Just for Trauma or Childhood Work
Even if you’re not exploring traumatic or childhood memories, creative approaches help you to uncover what’s going on beneath the surface. Creativity can help us access our subconscious- the quiet, hidden parts of ourselves that can be easily missed. (To learn more about parts work you can check out my Beginner's Guide to IFS blog here)
That’s not to say that logical thinking isn’t welcome, it can be incredibly helpful. The cognitive, logical parts of our brain can help us plan, problem solve, spot patterns, and make sense of our experiences. But if we only rely on logical thinking, we’ll always be missing part of the story. Creativity helps us to invite other, more subconscious parts of ourselves into the process, parts that hold just as much wisdom, but speak a different language. When we bring all of these parts together, that’s when things really start to shift.
Metaphor and Safe Emotional Distance
Creativity also gives us a safe distance when we need it. If something feels too raw or overwhelming to talk about directly, creativity can allow us to, quite literally, hold it at arm’s length and observe it from a distance. We can use metaphors, images, symbols, or stories to say what we need to say, without saying it outright. And that distance can help us feel safe enough to stay with whatever is there, rather than having to shut down or turn away from it.
But What if I’m Not Creative?
Talking about art and creativity can bring up some panic. I often hear things like, “But I’m rubbish at art,” or “I’m just not creative!”
Luckily, creative therapy isn’t about being good at art. Not even a little bit. It’s about the process of creating itself, of finding a close enough representation of something, translating it into shapes, or colours, or finding a symbol that captures an aspect of it in some way.
There’s no right or wrong. No one even has to see what you’ve created if you don’t them to. No one will be there to judge, or give you a grade. It’s just you, your inner world, and whatever glorious mess you feel called to create.
Ways to Explore Creativity in Therapy (or by Yourself)
If you’re curious about bringing creativity into your healing work, here are some ideas to get you started, whether you’re working with a creative therapist or exploring on your own.
Journalling
Write a letter to your feelings: “Dear Anxiety, what do you need me to know right now?”
Try stream-of-consciousness writing: set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes and just write whatever comes, without stopping to think or edit.
Use a metaphor as a starting point: “If my sadness was a weather forecast, it would be…” or “If my anger was an animal, it would be…”
Drawing
Draw your emotions as weather, landscapes, or monsters.
Draw a map of your inner world - what’s inside you today?
Create a comic strip of a recent difficult moment - but with animals, or as an alien adventure.
Use your non-dominant hand to draw how your inner child feels right now.
Collage
Cut out pictures, colours, textures, or words that catch your eye without thinking about why, and see what story they tell when you arrange them.
Create a collage of ‘me today’ vs ‘the me I’d like to become.’
Make a ‘feelings wheel’ collage- divide a circle into sections and turn each section into an emotion.
Clay or Playdough
Try shaping your feelings with your hands- what does your sadness feel like to hold?
Create a sculpture that represents an experience you’re working through.
Make a ‘container’ for a feeling- something to hold it safely until you’re ready to come back to it.
Painting
Pick a colour for each emotion you’re feeling right now, and let them overlap on the page however they want to.
Paint with your fingers- feel the paint, let your body lead.
Try painting to music- what does this song feel like in colour and shape?
Let yourself scribble, splatter, or smear- the messier the better!
There’s no one right way to do this. The key is to stay curious, and to trust that sometimes your hands will know what to do before your head does.
Final Thoughts
So, to sum up: creativity offers us a way to access, express, and process the things that can be hard to say out loud, or even hard to fully understand. Whether we’re working with trauma, early childhood experiences, or just the everyday messiness of being human, creative expression can help us find meaning, safety, distance, and new perspectives. And remember, this isn’t about being a talented artist, it’s about being willing to show up and being open to what wants to emerge.
If you’re interested in exploring creative therapy further, I’d love to see you at one of my upcoming workshops, or feel free to get in touch to arrange 1:1 creative therapy sessions.
Comments