Two Art therapy Activities that can help increase Emotional Awareness

Hi all, How are we doing as we move into mid November?  LA is bracing for rain again and I’m thinking about how art therapy can help one increase awareness of emotions.  Which is super important because emotions are signals.  They can tell us what we need and what needs are being unmet. 

For example, if you are feeling angry, what need is not being met? Do you need to be heard? Cared for?  Validated?  Do you need self protection or protection from someone else?  Do you need something to change in your environment?  

Identifying emotions then helps with emotional regulation. One common definition of emotion regulation is the conscious or unconscious processes of monitoring, evaluating, modulating, and managing emotions.  It’s synonymous with other terms including emotional control; emotion-related self-regulation; stress-regulation; mood-regulation; affect-regulation and emotional intelligence.  All important stuff.  So first comes identifying our emotions & then comes the regulating or responding to that emotion in a healthy way.  

Another (simpler) definition is that emotional regulation is your ability to notice what’s happening inside your body and respond in a way that supports you instead of sabotaging you.  It’s not about being chill or calm or all the time. It’s about being able to come back to center when life becomes chaotic or uncomfortable.  

So first comes our ability to identify our emotions & then comes the space to regulate or respond to that emotion.  And this is where art therapy can be really, really helpful. Creating art can help someone slow down and really check in with one’s self & it can help one externalize a feeling rather than stuffing it down or attempting to ignore it.  Art makes the invisible be seen and acknowledged.  

There are many ways to identify one’s feelings through art but here are two art therapy activities that I have encouraged my clients or group members to try.    

1. Daily Check In through collage or art materials….This basically means creating 

an image that represents how you are feeling each day.  Just give yourself a handful of minutes to sketch out how you are feeling; it can be abstract or realistic.  Think about what colors, lines, shapes or objects correlate to your emotions.  

Below is an example I did recently. I didn't have a ruler so I just traced a glass to get the circles on the page.  I like creating a small frame for each day.  The frame acts as a container and also I make the “frame” small so I can complete it in a reasonable time.  When I am working on my image, I often find it helpful to put on favorite music, take some deep breaths and turn my focus fully on my artwork (easier said than done when life is so busy…but…important and nice to slow down).  I find carving out just a couple of minutes each day to can really help me acknowledge what is going on AND being creative then shifts my mood or thoughts AND it gives me space before intentionally responding rather than impulsively reacting.

2. Another activity is to create an emotional landscape. First, name how you are 

feeling and then draw or paint those feelings.  (Watercolors can work out well for this activity.)  This is similar to above but a longer exercise.  Doing this, not only helps someone identify their feelings, but also allows one to sit with them.  The ability to sit with a feeling is a good skill to have.  Knowing one can tolerate an uncomfortable feeling without taking immediate action is powerful. Most people jump into action when feeling uncomfortable.  Some will distract themselves via scrolling, over thinking, drinking using substances or basically doing anything else to not feel uncomfortable.  Which makes sense, it is hard to sit with emotional pain or discomfort. 

So what do you think?  Which one will you try?  Or if you have your own creative practice already for identifying and acknowledging and sitting with emotions, let me know about it.  I love to hear what is working for others.  

Please reach out if you have any questions or comments or if you would like to work together.  I’m a licensed LPCC (licensed professional clinical counselor)  in California and an ATR (registered art therapist).  I provide traditional talk therapy and art therapy and EMDR to clients throughout all of California via telehealth or if you live in the Los Angeles area, I have a small office in Mar Vista for in person sessions.  

The best way to reach me is via email. 

With kindness, 

Kim

 Kim@kimberlygibsoncounseling.com.