Neuroscience in the service of art therapy: Transcending classic approaches and advancing our understanding through principles of embodiment

This chapter explores the integration of neuroscience concepts with clinical art therapy. It emphasizes how understanding the brain’s mechanisms can help art therapists develop evidence-based approaches. Key concepts introduced and defined include embodiment, embodied cognition, interoception, interoceptive awareness, neuroaesthetics, and flow. The Expressive Therapies Continuum is presented as an embodied neuroscientific tool that can be used to understand how different art materials and their kinesthetic/sensory properties can create varying emotional and creative experiences by activating specific brain regions. The authors delve into the neuroscience of threat and reward in art making, explaining how approach behaviors are driven by reward systems (e.g., pleasure from creating art). They emphasize that art therapy can foster a sense of safety, allowing for exploration and regulation of the autonomic nervous system, leading to relaxation and pleasure. The therapeutic relationship is identified as a crucial mechanism of change, enhancing emotional awareness and acceptance by engaging and modulating neural circuits. Recommendations are provided for future research and research methodologies with the aim of encouraging neuroscientific updating of art therapy theories through informed, collaborative, and interdisciplinary research.