Mindful Motherhood: Why Every Mom Should Try Art Therapy

One objection I hear people say when they are on the fence about art therapy is, “I don’t know if this will work for me.” It makes sense that people want to start with what they know. Fear of the unknown is real. As human beings, our brains are wired to keep us safe and comfortable. Taking a risk or trying something new does not feel safe to our nervous systems.

Trying art therapy may feel like meeting a bear in the wild to your brain, whose purpose is to protect you, especially if you have created the story that you are not good at art. However, my question to you is, “How do you feel right now?” If your wellbeing is currently suffering, then art therapy may be for you!

In this post, we’ll explore how art therapy can be a powerful and holistic tool for emotional healing, why it’s particularly beneficial for moms, and how it might just be the unexpected solution you’ve been searching for. Let’s dive into what makes art therapy so uniquely effective and how it can support you on your journey through motherhood.

Art Therapy Provides Relief and Growth in Motherhood

In modern US culture, parents are more stressed than ever before. For many parents, it feels impossible to keep up with the pace of society, demands from work and caregiving and lack of community support. Art therapy invites you to take a pause from the stress, reconnect with yourself, and learn how to ride the waves of motherhood.

Art therapy invites you to gently pause

Motherhood often feels like a never-ending cycle of responsibilities, leaving little room for anything else, let alone something new. I know it might seem intimidating to try art therapy when you're already balancing so much. But here's a comforting thought: art therapy can be a gentle, less intimidating alternative to traditional talk therapy.

Yep, the art can speak for you. When you participate in art therapy, you can take a little break from all the stuff you have been holding in your life. It allows you to put down your burdens, even if just for a moment, and let your creativity—and your art therapist—guide you.

Art therapy positively influences your mothering

Therapeutic art-making reminds me of mothering. Mothering is not about the end journey; it’s about the unfolding of becoming a mother, the process of raising your children, and the building of your life together. The juiciness in art therapy comes from what you learn as you are creating art, and less from how your art looks.

In art therapy, we get curious about how making art can move you through your feelings and what the artwork can tell you about yourself. Sometimes there are messages waiting for you in your art or new information that comes to the surface. The insights you gather from creating art—like moving through your emotions, healing yourself, learning to trust yourself, believing in your worth—will positively influence the way you mother.

Art Therapy is Holistic Support

Holistic support considers and values the entire person—mind, body, spirit, relationships, community, environment—and how all of these parts are interconnected. Mothers need to be held in each of these areas to feel well-supported in motherhood.

Art therapy can help you feel better faster

Art therapy is a holistic approach to healing because you literally use your body and mind to create art. Your creative process is yours alone; it’s an inner knowing. Connecting with the spirit is a natural result of making therapeutic art because you are reminded of your truth, your wisdom. Could you use more trust of your gut rather than taking advice from others on mothering?

With the support of an art therapist, art therapy can get to the root of emotional issues quicker than through words alone. Feeling better faster can be especially helpful in motherhood where you are responsible not only for yourself, but the wellbeing of your family. Plus, moms deserve to feel good!

Art therapy will hold all of your ugly parts

No one prepares you for all the ways parenting will bring you to your knees, dredge up your childhood traumas, or open up your unhealed wounds. No one talks about how our children will mirror back to us all the parts of ourselves that we want to keep tucked away. There are no parts of ourselves that are left untouched in motherhood. Therefore, it is vital that we choose a route of support that will hold all of our vulnerable parts.

Art therapy can hold all of your ugly parts (and the beautiful ones, too). In fact, it feels really good to get it out of your body and onto the page. An art therapist is trained to support you with navigating through all the shadowy stuff that got kicked up in motherhood. Art actually speaks the language of pain. Our hurts are stored in the body, so we must use the body to heal our pain. Art therapy can help you get out of survival mode so that you can get on with the motherhood you’ve been dreaming of.

Curious about how therapeutic art-making can support you? Click here to see Leanne’s current offerings at her practice, Wild Sunflower Wellness.