Integrating the Creative Arts into Trauma and Addiction Treatment:

Weaving creative arts into the practice of trauma and addiction therapy provides rich ground for gaining insight, catharsis, and the integration of a compartmentalized self and lifestyle. In this chapter, the word art is used to include all creative arts: imagistic, dramatic, literary, dance, and music. Although the theoretical stance of expressive arts psychotherapy suggests an inter-modal or multi-modal approach, the terms creative arts and expressive arts will be used interchangeably. Eight essential processes of creative arts psychotherapy will be described and illustrated through a case study and photos of artwork. Creative arts specifically described in this chapter are life-sized silhouette (body map), timeline, and psychodrama. The power and beauty of creative arts enhances trauma and addiction therapy.