Art Therapy
Uses creative expression — drawing, painting, sculpture, and other art forms — as a therapeutic medium for processing emotions, building skills, and improving wellbeing.
What Is Art Therapy?
Art therapy uses the creative process of making art to improve mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. It is facilitated by a trained art therapist who uses art-making, the creative process, and the resulting artwork to explore feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, and develop coping skills.
Unlike art classes, art therapy focuses on the therapeutic process rather than the artistic product. No artistic skill or experience is needed. The art therapist creates a safe, non-judgmental space where the act of creating serves as a vehicle for expression and healing.
Art therapy is particularly valuable for people who find verbal expression difficult — including young children, people with developmental disabilities, and those who have experienced trauma.
Who Benefits from Art Therapy?
mental health
Provides a non-verbal channel for expressing and processing difficult emotions. Particularly effective for trauma, anxiety, and grief when talking feels too overwhelming.
autism
Offers a non-verbal, low-demand way to express emotions and experiences. Art-making can be calming and regulating, and the visual medium plays to many autistic individuals' strengths.
brain injury
Supports emotional adjustment to disability, provides cognitive stimulation, and offers a creative outlet when other forms of expression are impaired.
cerebral palsy
Adapted art-making develops fine motor skills, provides emotional expression, and builds self-esteem through creative achievement.
What to Expect in a Session
First Session
An intake session gathers history and identifies goals. The therapist may offer a simple art-making experience to assess comfort level, fine motor abilities, and response to creative materials.
Ongoing Sessions
Sessions may involve free art-making, directed art activities related to therapeutic themes, discussion of the artwork, or a combination. The therapist follows the participant's lead while gently guiding toward therapeutic goals.
Your Child's Role
You or your child creates art using various materials. There is no 'wrong' way to make art in therapy. The focus is on the process of creating, not the artistic quality of the result.
Caregiver's Role
Parents may receive updates on themes emerging in therapy and suggestions for creative activities at home. Art therapy respects the confidentiality of the therapeutic relationship.
When to Start
Early Childhood (0-5)
Art therapy can begin as soon as a child can hold a crayon (around age 2-3). For very young children, the focus is on sensory exploration and emotional expression through creative play.
School Age (6-17)
Art therapy is effective for school-age children dealing with emotional difficulties, trauma, social challenges, and self-esteem issues.
Adults (18+)
Adults benefit from art therapy for mental health, pain management, rehabilitation, and processing life changes including disability-related adjustment.
General guidance: Art therapy is a gentle, non-threatening way to address emotional wellbeing. Consider it when verbal therapy feels too intense or when your child struggles to express feelings in words.
| Item | Range | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Assessment | $100–$200 | Art therapy intake assessment |
| Per Session | $80–$150 | 45-60 minutes |
| Insurance | Limited coverage; some plans cover it under counselling or psychotherapy benefits if provided by a registered therapist | |
| Tax Credit | May qualify for METC when provided by a registered psychotherapist who uses art therapy modalities | |
Money-Saving Tips
- Community art centres and studios sometimes offer therapeutic art programs at reduced rates
- Group art therapy sessions are more affordable and offer social benefits alongside therapeutic ones
- Some community mental health agencies offer art therapy as part of their free or sliding-scale programming
| Province | Status | Program | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| BC | Not Funded | — | Not covered by MSP; some community organizations offer subsidized art therapy programs for people with disabilities. |
| AB | Not Funded | — | Not publicly funded as a standalone therapy; some hospital programs incorporate art therapy into mental health services. |
| SK | No data | — | — |
| MB | No data | — | — |
| ON | Not Funded | — | Not covered by OHIP; some children's mental health agencies and hospitals include art therapy in treatment programs. |
| QC | Not Funded | — | Not covered by RAMQ; some CISSS/CIUSSS centres include art therapy in their rehabilitation programming. |
| NB | No data | — | — |
| NS | No data | — | — |
| PE | No data | — | — |
| NL | No data | — | — |
| NT | No data | — | — |
| NU | No data | — | — |
| YT | No data | — | — |
Evidence & Research
Art therapy has emerging evidence, with growing research support for trauma, anxiety, depression, and quality of life. Studies show benefits for emotional expression and coping in children with disabilities. More rigorous randomized controlled trials are needed to strengthen the evidence base.
Red Flags to Watch For
Be cautious of any provider who:
- The facilitator is not a trained art therapist — art teachers, counsellors, or artists without art therapy training are not qualified
- The therapist interprets artwork rigidly (e.g., 'drawing in black means depression') without considering context
- Sessions focus on producing 'good' art rather than the therapeutic process
- There are no therapeutic goals — sessions are essentially art classes with no clinical purpose
- The therapist does not have appropriate training in working with people with disabilities
How to Find a Provider
- 1
Search the Canadian Art Therapy Association (CATA) directory at canadianarttherapy.org
- 2
Ask your mental health provider for referrals to art therapists
- 3
Contact community mental health agencies — some offer art therapy programs
- 4
Check your children's hospital or treatment centre for art therapy services
- 5
Look for art therapists at university art therapy training programs who offer supervised services
Conditions That Use Art Therapy
מכיר שירות שעלינו לרשום?
המדריך הזה גדל הודות לאנשים מהקהילה שעוזרים לנו למצוא את מה שפספסנו. ספרו לנו על ארגונים, תוכניות או שירותים ברחבי קנדה.