FROM TRAUMA TO TRANSFORMATION: ART THERAPY IN INDIA

In a country where emotional wounds remain hidden, art therapy is emerging as a tool for healing, says Mohit Mishra from Mumbai.

- Mohit Mishra

Today, when words are insufficient to bear the burden of stress—color, rhythm, movement and form offer not just an escape, but an expression. From children’s scribbles, a soldier’s small clay structures during wartime, to a community of cancer patients making murals in the hospital corridors—art is proving itself as a subtle yet effective force for healing all over the world. In India, it is yet to gain popularity but the promise of Art Therapy has immense potential.

What Is Art Therapy?

Art therapy is not just an act of creating art—it is the conscious engagement with the creative expression to support physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Rooted in psychology and fine arts, art therapy approaches and unravels the repressed psyche, utilising creative materials, movements and metaphors to equip people in processing trauma, communicate complex feelings and achieve inner harmony. What matters is the willingness of a person to participate rather than his skill.

Various areas of art therapy consist—painting, drawing, dance, music, poetry, sculpture, photography and even cooking and gardening to some extent—art therapy is a space for limitless expressions. Internationally, it is practiced in hospitals, prisons, schools, community centers, and private facilities—and in an emotionally complex, culturally diverse country like India, its relevance is greater.

The Indian Context: A Growing Demand