Art Therapy: An Evidence-Based Approach to Supporting Children’s Mental Health and diverse Abilities
Art therapy is often described as an evidence-based approach that supports children’s emotional wellbeing, communication, and engagement through creative process. Rather than relying solely on words, art therapy offers children multiple ways to express themselves, explore experiences, and make meaning in forms that feel accessible and natural.
This is particularly important for children whose ways of thinking, feeling, and communicating don’t always fit traditional expectations — including neurodivergent children and those navigating big emotional experiences.
What Art Therapy Is
Art therapy is a counselling-based therapeutic support that integrates creative expression with psychological understanding. Sessions may involve drawing, painting, sculpture, movement, and sensory materials, depending on the child’s interests, needs, and preferences.
Because art therapy does not depend on verbal explanation, it can be especially supportive for children who find it hard to put feelings into words, who communicate visually or somatically, or who feel overwhelmed by direct conversation.
The focus is not on producing a certain kind of artwork, but on the process — exploring, expressing, and relating through creative means within a supportive relationship.
What Research Tells Us About Art Therapy
A growing body of research explores how art therapy can support children’s emotional, social, and developmental experiences. Across studies, art therapy is commonly described as supporting expression, engagement, and emotional awareness in ways that feel less demanding than purely verbal approaches.
Rather than “fixing” or correcting children, art therapy is understood as creating conditions that support participation, exploration, and connection.
Supporting Emotional Expression and Awareness
Research frequently highlights art therapy as a way for children to externalise and explore feelings that may feel confusing or overwhelming. Creative expression allows emotions to be represented symbolically, which can make them easier to notice, sit with, and talk about over time.
Studies describe art therapy as supporting:
emotional awareness and expression
exploration of inner experiences in a contained way
opportunities for reflection and shared understanding
Supporting Communication for Neurodivergent and Non-Verbal Children
For children who communicate in non-traditional ways, art therapy offers alternatives to spoken language. Research notes that creative processes can support communication through imagery, movement, and sensory engagement, allowing children to express themselves without pressure to explain or perform.
Art-based approaches are often described as particularly compatible with neurodivergent ways of being, as they allow flexibility, choice, and individual pacing.
Supporting Strengths, Creativity, and Participation
Art therapy is not only used in response to difficulty. Research also highlights its role in supporting creativity, problem-solving, and engagement.
Creative processes can support:
curiosity and experimentation
confidence through self-directed exploration
development of fine motor and visual-spatial skills
persistence and flexibility
These experiences can be meaningful for children with a wide range of abilities and interests.
Supporting Children Experiencing Stress, Loss, or Change
Some research explores how art therapy may support children navigating stress, grief, or major life transitions. Art-based expression can offer a way to approach difficult experiences indirectly, at a pace that feels manageable for the child.
Rather than requiring children to retell or explain experiences, art therapy allows space for expression that feels contained and respectful of each child’s readiness.
A Neuroaffirmative and Inclusive Approach
Art therapy is often described as adaptable and inclusive, meeting children where they are rather than asking them to conform to a single way of learning or expressing. This flexibility can be especially important for children with diverse abilities, health experiences, or developmental differences.
The emphasis is on supporting participation, identity, and connection — not on correcting or normalising children’s responses.
Closing Reflection
Art therapy is widely recognised as a researched and evolving therapeutic approach that supports children’s emotional expression, engagement, and relational experiences through creativity. While each child’s experience is unique, art therapy offers a space where children can explore who they are, how they feel, and how they relate — without pressure to communicate or cope in prescribed ways.
Through relationship and creative process, art therapy supports children to engage with their inner and outer worlds in ways that honour their individuality, capacities, and ways of being.
