By: Darian Colpitts

One of the programs offered by the Victoria Brain Injury Society is the Art Program. It is in an open studio format, no experience is required, and all the supplies are provided for participants. Participants can work on their own projects that they may take home, or can receive guidance from the facilitator. This program exists because we know that engaging in the arts is not only fun, but has many benefits for brain injury recovery and overall well- being.

After a brain injury, one might find that they struggle to cope with the fact that they are not the same person they used to be. This can be damaging to one’s sense of self and cause feelings of grief, guilt, shame, and can lead to mental health complications such as anxiety and depression. A study that examined art therapy’s effect on military personnel who experienced traumatic brain injury and PTSD during their service found that art therapy of varying durations were helpful for counteracting certain prominent symptoms in their participants. They found that short term art therapy interventions increased positive sense of self and the ability to self-express, whereas long term interventions that included one-on-one sessions, open studio, and group classes improved feelings of guilt, trauma, loss, and grief. One of the ways that making art can improve the sense of self is that while creating art you are developing your own unique style.

Some participants reported feeling like the art therapy allowed them to gain internal insight and gave them a better perspective on their feelings. It also made them feel connected to the group they were in and less alone because they were able to see how other participants were struggling with similar situations. The art therapy sessions also helped participants feel more calm, distracted from negative feelings, and it allowed them to open up. Particularly relevant to brain injury was the commentary that some participants felt it was easier to visually represent their struggles as opposed to verbally. In this sense, people who struggle to verbally articulate or have language difficulties associated with their brain injury may benefit from visual representation of their experience. 

Engaging in activities (especially social ones) is an important part of coping with a brain injury and an art group provides an easy activity that can help someone feel engaged and can even help refine fine motor skills. The symptoms that were best addressed by art therapy in the previously mentioned study were their better sense of self, interest in activities, anger, guilt, and ability to experience positive emotions.

Another study examined the ways that creating art and passively appreciating art activated the brain. They found that creating art can result in activation in areas of the brain associated with emotional regulation such as the medial prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. Actively creating art had a stronger effect on brain stimulation than passively appreciating art, however appreciating art still had an effect. When certain brain areas are stimulated, it reinforces those connections. After a brain injury, some connections may be lost but art therapy can be a tool to get your neurons firing again in a positive pattern and help develop new skills. Social connection is also valuable when learning to cope with a brain injury, and that is just another reason why our Art Program is such a valuable tool offered by VBIS. Let us know if you are interested in joining!

References:

Barnett, K. S., & Vasiu, F. (2024). How the arts heal: A review of the neural mechanisms behind the therapeutic effects of Creative Arts on Mental and physical health. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 18. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1422361

Kaimal, G., Jones, J. P., Dieterich-Hartwell, R., Acharya, B., & Wang, X. (2019). Evaluation of long- and short-term art therapy interventions in an integrative care setting for military service members with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 62, 28–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2018.10.003