Alternatives to Talk Therapy for Mental Health: 6 Creative Art Therapies When You Can't Talk About It by Erica Hornthal

Mental health is in the spotlight right now, and with it usually comes a push for more screenings. We are told to "talk to someone," but words aren't always accessible. Approximately 7.5 million people in the U.S. alone have problems using their voice. Now add the people who, due to trauma, cannot talk about the event itself and suffer silently for years.

There are alternatives to talk therapy that allow people to process emotions and feelings without talking about them. The creative arts therapies allow individuals to tap into the feelings, emotions and thoughts without relying on words alone. 

The National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies Associations, founded in 1979, is an alliance of membership associations dedicated to the advancement of the creative arts therapies professions. According to the NCCATA website, "Creative Arts Therapists are human service professionals who use distinct arts-based methods and creative processes for the purpose of ameliorating disability and illness and optimizing health and wellness. Treatment outcomes include, for example, improving communication and expression, and increasing physical, emotional, cognitive and/or social functioning."

NCCATA represents over 15,000 individual members of six creative arts therapies associations nationwide. The six creative arts therapies they represent are:

• dance/movement therapy
• art therapy
• music therapy
• drama therapy
• psychodrama
• poetry therapy

It is important to note that just because someone cannot speak doesn't mean they don't have anything to say. We must be educated on the options available to us and our children. Many of these therapies are covered by health insurance and are available across the U.S. For more information visit NCCATA.org.

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