Running head: Art & Shame

Art Therapy, Shame and Addiction

Melanie A. Keiser
Union Institute and University

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Abstract

Art therapy used to treat substance abuse, addictions and especially addiction stemming from
original feelings of shame. Integrative therapies enhance programs toward recovery from
addiction and mental health.

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Art Therapy, Shame and Addiction

By definition, Art therapy is a mental health profession in which clients, facilitated by

the art therapist, use art media, the creative process, and the resulting artwork to explore their
feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions,
develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety, and increase self-esteem. A goal
in art therapy is to improve or restore a clients functioning and his or her sense of personal wellbeing. (American Art Therapy Association) This having been made clear, the intention now is to
explore how all of these benefits would fit into addiction recovery and enhance any program.
Making art, in and of itself, is a relaxing activity. Adding intention to help realize any of the
improvements listed above is the piece that makes art therapeutic.
Addiction is a word for having lost control of the choice to do a specific activity or abuse
a substance. When there is no choice left, the addict ends up losing all relationships except the
one maintained with the addiction. Addictions can be related to gambling, sex, food or
substances. The focus in this case, will be more on substance or alcohol abuse for this
exploration. Marie Wilson in the Handbook of Art Therapy, explains that shame is the base for
addictions. People who feel shame, not for something they did that they feel remorse about, but
shame that is toxic and makes a person believe that it is what I am (Malchiodi 2003). People
who feel shame like that are more likely to be vulnerable to addiction. Especially addiction that
enables the person to hide from the stress and pain of life by altering their state of mind or
numbing it. Strongly connected to the mechanism of shame is the mechanism of denial, which
is considered a primary symptom of chemical dependence. Denial is the inability to correctly
perceive and unacceptable or painful reality. Denial protects the ego of the addicted individual
from the thereat of inadequacy (Thombs, 1999), and is used to manage the shame...The addicted

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person's struggle to avoid recognition of their powerlessness over their addiction is also their
struggle to avoid feelings of shame. (Malchiodi, 2003) People with addictions need not only
support when a decision is made to stop partaking in the substance or alcohol abuse, but they
need outlets to express the process and communicate feelings they have during this very difficult
and sometimes physically painful, and always emotionally painful process. Art therapy at the
very least would be stress reducing.
Motivational Interviewing in empathic Rogerian style are being used and tested as a new
way of treating addiction, as opposed to the Alcoholics Anonymous model. The Alcoholics
Anonymous model with 12 steps beginning with the tearing down of the ego and admitting that
they are powerless over the addiction. Motivational Interviewing as an alternative, works toward
helping to bring about choice to the individual. Miller (1996) has reflected on why
nonconfrontive MI may be effective: The voluntary road away from the gratification cycles of
addiction seems to involve the human frontal cortex, the processes of valuing and choosing and
deciding. Models for effective and lasting change may have more to do with processes
colloquially described as making up ones mind than with counterconditioning and skill
training. (p. 841) (Horay, 2006) Interestingly, art making also enables an individual with an
addiction to discover and explore the choices involved. Whether one is deciding what media to
use, or creatively deciding what materials to gather, making of the art, perhaps changing what
has been made, incorporating tools, all of these are choices that lead to a different outcome.
Artmaking, no matter what media or directive, generally involves utilizing those same cognitive
processes of valuing, choosing, and deciding. (Horay, 2006) When one has choices, and is
able to reflect upon having choices by by taking part in the choosing, it brings forth possibilities
to realize that there are other options in life than being dependent on substances or alcohol.

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Since the creative arts are accustomed to speaking the language of the soul, they have
more immediate access to deeper forms of psychological pain such as shame. Often preverbal in
origin, shameful feelings flow more easily via imagery and symbolism. The creative process
itself is self-affirming, life giving and inherently shame reducing and corrective. (Malchiodi,
2006) Having discussion shame leaving individuals vulnerable to becoming addicts, it is
important to note that the addiction itself causes shame as well. Victims of addiction typically
will keep it a secret and hide that part of life from loved ones as well as society for as long as
possible. This creates deep issues and feelings of isolation. Feeling isolation tends to close
individuals emotionally. All of these issues snowball, along with whatever effect the addiction
has directly on the actions or behavior as well as health, mental and physical. Addiction as we
can see, is very involved and could possibly take a long time and hard work to untangle the
physical, mental, emotional, familial, and possibly financial harm that has been done over a long
period of time. Typically an addict will not seek out help or admit they have a problem unless
they are forced to because of legal implications or they have hit rock bottom and their life has
been destroyed because of the addiction. Many use the 12 step Alcoholics Anonymous or
Narcotics Anonymous, some may go into a rehabilitation facility where they may use several
programs at once, including therapy. Alternative options are becoming more and more prevelant,
especially in facilities where the addict is an inpatient and needs other activities to fill the time.
Some other forms of alternative therapy or techniques to assist an individual in becoming
healthier in mind and body are meditation practice, mindfulness practice, acupuncture, reiki,
yoga for relaxation and health, as well as the creative therapies. Creative therapy or Expressive
Art Therapy includes includes dance, movement, drama, poetry and journaling, play therapy as

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well as art. Creative interventions have been formalized through the disciplines of art therapy, music
therapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy or psychodrama, poetry therapy, and play therapy,
including sandtray therapy. (Malchiodi, 2014) Within the context of psychotherapy, counseling,
rehabilitation, or medicine, the expressive therapies referred to as integrative when various arts are
used purposely in combination of other treatments. This is why when it comes to shame and addiction,
whether the AA model is being used, or other modern methods of rehabilitating individuals such as
Motivational Interviewing and other approaches, the integrative therapies such as Art Therapy can
enhance any of these programs. Art Therapy can be a way for addicts to rejoin the world again by
communicating shame and denial and work toward communicating emotions that will release negative
aspects of the addiction, making it possible to begin the recovery and healing process in a safe way.

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References

American Art Therapy Association (2013). What is Art Therapy PDf. Retrieved from http://Web
addresshttp://www.arttherapy.org/upload/whatisarttherapy.pdf

Hanes, Michael J. "'Face-to-Face' with Addiction: The Spontaneous Production of Self-Portraits in Art Therapy." Art
Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association 24.1 (2007). Educators Reference Complete.
Web. 24 June 2015.

Malchiodi, C. A. (Ed.). (2003). Handbook of Art Therapy. New York, NY, USA: Guilford Press. Retrieved
from http://www.ebrary.com

Malchiodi, Cathy A.(2014)Creative Arts Therapy and Expressive Arts Therapy.Here is a basic guide to
creative, brain-wise approaches to therapy.Psychology Today: Retrieved from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/arts-and-health/201406/creative-arts-therapy-andexpressive-arts-therapy on June 25, 2015.

Tombs, (1999) http://proxy.myunion.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? id=GALE

%7CA174309108&v=2.1&u=vol_m761j&it=r&p=PROF&sw=w&asid=053480233059b969dc7608fc9aa694eb
Retrieved June 2015 from ebrary Union Institute library.