The expressive arts approach to psychotherapy starts with the therapists view of the art of healing. The role model for expressive arts therapists is more closely related to the shamanic tradition than to the medical model. We view the psyche, the unconscious, and the Self as constructs of the imagination. They reside in the imaginal realm. The primary medicine for disorders whose roots are in the unconscious is imaginal medicine.
Imagery is essential for healing and is always present in art-making.
When the images emerge from the body and participate in the therapeutic relationship, the power of these images is multiplied. It is in the act of creating these healing images, whether in dance or drawing, that the soul is expressed. That soul song, that soul dance, that soul image is the root core of healing in the expressive arts. Judith Greer Essex has used the arts in psychotherapeutic settings since 1974. She is a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist, the highest certification offered by the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association and a member of the Academy of Dance Therapists.