Question
Following two topic Ho, William, and Xin Ma. ″The state-of-the-art integrations and applications of the analytic hierarchy process.″ European Journal of Operational Research 267.2 (2018): 399-414. https://www.sciencedirect.com/
Answer
The Role of Arts in The Education of Creative Arts Therapists
Currently, it is difficult to separate creativity and education. Since teachers and psychologists recognize creative thinking as an important tool in education, education and creativity are regarded as complements. Arts remains an important resource that has helped learners merge literal expression with learning in the classroom. This essay analysis’s role of arts, what it means, its importance for psychological and educational purposes, which then makes it easy to comprehend why it should be strengthened in the education system. Although a recent discipline, it is rapidly evolving, giving it different definitions over time. The attention on the intention to have art therapy spread in a learning environment such as classrooms is also changing rapidly due to its importance. One can engage in various creative activities, including; sketching, journaling, and making collages. Art therapy deserves a sizable space in the education system as it helps learners get a safer outlet to relieve emotions, build stronger self-esteem and develop a sense of self-control over emotions.
Art therapy is literally using art in psychological therapy. However, there are two major universal definitions of art therapy that make it acceptable within the academic environment. The first definition is from the Spanish professional association of art therapists, where art therapy is used for caregiving, solving emotional and psychological challenges, and promoting expression. The second definition is given by the British Association of Arts Therapists, which considers art therapy to be a type of psychotherapy that utilizes various artistic techniques to aid patients in their communication (Kalmanowitz et al., 124). Based on the two major definitions, art therapy is regarded as a tool for expression, an important tool for mental healthcare as well as an education tool. To accomplish the same, there is a need to intersect education, the practice of art, and expression through a comprehensive education system.
Learners do not have to be talented artists to find art therapy working out. Humans being innately creative should, can benefit from the same by successfully completing the artwork honestly as instructed. According to Sajnani and others, “It depends on the extent to which the participants in any particular community of inquiry are able to construct meaning through sustained communication” (Sajnani et al. 17). Once the creativity of a learner is unleashed, their inner artist is likely to work out as expected. Creative arts stimulate the creation of dopamine, a chemical that is produced when one does something pleasurable and it makes them feel better (Bianca Lee, 204). When the level of feeling good is increased, one can easily succeed in handling depression and anxiety. As supported by mental health professionals, art therapy comes with a series of benefits, including; boosting self-esteem, emotional relief, and giving a sense of control over the emotional and psychological challenges one goes through. During art creation, learners are trained through a journey of self-recovery that helps to get rid of things that affects one’s emotion while improving their ability to communicate effectively with others.
With its foundation in psychology, art therapy remains a useful tool that helps learners with mental and emotional challenges such as stress and trauma. Although the artistic expression is sometimes used as a relaxing and inspiring activity, its benefits stretch beyond relaxation, especially in the educational context. Various studies in the past have suggested that art therapy is essential in treating depressive disorders. According to Gambrel, artistic expression is effective in managing issues such as anxiety, depression, and phobias (Gambrel et al., 87). It is an effective way of expressing one’s emotions without using words to find relief from a condition.
In some cases, it helps deal with issues of physical disabilities. Usually, health conditions that hinder verbal communication and other cognitive processes are mitigated through the integration of therapy into the educational experience. The objective of art therapy in education is to ensure all students can learn effectively by managing their behaviors and feelings. Creative art activities ensure one is engaged in what they find interesting and bearable for them. According to Sajnani and others, “Arts supports cognitive objectives through its ability to instigate and support critical thinking among community of learners” (Sajnani et al. 19). Therefore, engaging learners in various artistic activities will be possible to engage them through practical and real-life skills.
Artistic expression promotes self-discovery: Learners are encouraged to acknowledge and deal with the various feelings that could be lurking in subconscious. According to Gambrel, one of the ways through which people dealing with psychological problems overcome the conditions is by acknowledging the conditions and accepting to deal with them (Gambrel et al., 86). Incorporating artistic activities enables the learners to engage in activities that make them feel better and avoid such activities that they are not comfortable with. Although Sajnani and others argued that “Art therapy depends on one's ability to recollect and completely distance themselves from the psychological challenges they are going through” (Sajnani et al., 23), the author fails to discredit the ability of such creative arts to overcome such psychological challenges. Therefore, self-recovery is a skill that can be enhanced in institutions of higher learning with a greater focus on the creative arts. Learners are also trained to avoid activities that are likely to worsen their situation and instead focus on artwork that improves their health.
Artistic expression enhances self-esteem among the teachers and learners within the educational facilities. Most patients and caregivers lack the necessary self-esteem to deal with problems within the educational facilities and in the community (Bianca Lee, 206). Strengthening art therapy as part of the education will inflict self-esteem among the learners and educators, a feeling of self-accomplishment through which a person’s level of confidence and self-appreciation will increase. It implies that learners and educators who have been through a feeling of low self will be able to appreciate their conditions and overcome them through engagement in positive exercises. As explained by Gambrel, depressive disorders require a high level of self-esteem to overcome; that is, the patients have to engage positively through activities that will enhance their self-worth (Gambrel et al., 83). The assertions by the researcher imply that focusing on a condition's positive sides is key for an individual to overcome depressive or other psychological problems.
Artistic expression enhances emotional release. According to Edwards, psychological problems such as depression are associated with destructive emotional experiences, which must be dealt with prior to the treatment process (Edwards, 105). Artistic expression comes in aid of this by providing a healthy outlet through which people express themselves freely and let go of the emotional challenges that they are going through. According to Sajnani and others, “Activities that include humor as part of the teaching can be particularly effective when teaching about potentially emotionally-loaded topics” (Sajnani et al. 22). Through artistic engagements, learners express their feelings of fear freely. Some complex emotions like the sadness and feeling of anger that cannot be expressed in words can be expressed through the artistic activities when incorporated fully as part of education. When learners are not able to express themselves but they have the desire to be relieved of emotional challenges, using arts is an important solution. Although some researchers have argued that communication through arts cannot be effective in releasing emotions compared to words, some people find it difficult to speak about private challenges that they go through in life; hence substituting the word with arts serves a great deal.
Utilizing art is a relief from stress and other related disorders. Most people find it difficult to fight anxiety and depression as it is sometimes accompanied by physical and mental stress. According to Tompkins, some people decide to suffer silently from stress-related disorders due to the fear of mental and physical damages that come with other management practices, especially through counseling, where patients are expected to express themselves in words (Tompkins, 18). Engaging in arts helps one to develop a more peaceful way of relieving stress and relaxing one’s mental and physical body. Although some researchers have argued that stress relief through arts may not work for all the conditions, it remains a more peaceful way; hence it should be part of the skills and knowledge that people obtain at the institutions of learning.