Creative Therapy: A Holistic Approach to Healing and Self-Care

Creative therapy uses art, music, movement or drama — guided by a trained therapist — to help you process and express things that are hard to put into words. It isn't the same as doing something creative as a hobby, though the two are related, and it isn't a replacement for talking therapy so much as a different route into similar work.

This guide covers what creative therapy actually involves, what the evidence supports, how it's regulated in the UK, and how to bring creative practices into your own routine even outside a clinical setting.

What Creative Therapy Actually Is

In a session, you work with a trained creative therapist using a specific medium — art materials, instruments, movement or drama techniques — to explore feelings and experiences you might struggle to articulate directly. The therapist isn't there to interpret your work for you or tell you what it means. Their role is to help you notice what came up while you were making it and why.

This distinguishes it from doing something creative as a hobby, which is valuable for its own reasons but isn't structured around processing a specific psychological difficulty with a trained professional.

What it can help with

NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) recommends that arts therapies be considered for everyone with psychosis or schizophrenia, particularly to ease negative symptoms, when delivered by an HCPC-registered arts therapist. Beyond that specific recommendation, research suggests creative therapies can help with processing trauma, since traumatic memory is often stored non-verbally and can be harder to access through talking alone. Evidence for other conditions is more limited — many of the underlying studies are small — so creative therapy is usually offered alongside other treatment rather than instead of it.

The Main Types

Art therapy

Uses materials like paint, pencils, clay or collage. You don't need any artistic skill or experience — the therapist isn't interested in the finished piece so much as what making it brought up for you.

Music therapy

Uses instruments, voice or listening to explore and communicate feelings that are hard to say directly. No musical training is required.

Dance movement psychotherapy

Uses body movement to access and process emotion, on the basis that the body holds onto experience in ways that words alone don't reach.

Dramatherapy

Uses role-play, storytelling and performance techniques to explore difficult experiences from a safer distance than direct disclosure allows.

How it's regulated

Anyone practising as an art therapist, dramatherapist or music therapist in the UK must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), and belong to their relevant professional body — the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT), British Association of Dramatherapists (BADth), or British Association for Music Therapy (BAMT). Dance movement psychotherapists aren't HCPC-regulated but are accredited by the Association for Dance Movement Psychotherapy UK (ADMP UK). It's worth checking a therapist's registration before starting, particularly if you're paying privately.

How to Access It

Through the NHS

Availability varies significantly by area. Your GP or community mental health team can tell you what's on offer locally and refer you if it's appropriate for your situation.

Through the charity sector

Some charities offer creative therapies directly, or can point you toward local provision you wouldn't otherwise know about.

Privately

You can search the register of the relevant professional body — BAAT, BADth, BAMT, or ADMP UK — to find a qualified therapist near you. This is typically the fastest route if NHS waiting times are a barrier, though it comes at a cost the NHS route doesn't.

Bringing Creative Practices Into Your Own Routine

You don't need a therapist to benefit from creative expression as a form of self-care — clinical creative therapy and using creativity for your own wellbeing are related but distinct. If you're not accessing formal therapy, or you want something to sit alongside it, these are accessible starting points.

Writing

Writing gives you a private, low-cost way to get thoughts out of your head and onto a page, where they're often easier to examine than while they're circulating. The Morning Mindset Journal gives you a structured way to do this each morning, without needing a blank page to fill from scratch. See the Morning Mindset Journal.

Drawing, painting or collage

You don't need to be skilled at any of these for them to be useful. The point is the process, not the finished result — and there's no wrong way to do it.

Photography

Choosing what to notice and frame is itself a form of attention training, and can be a low-pressure way to engage with a difficult period without needing to articulate it directly.

What If It Doesn't Work for You

Not every approach works for everyone, and that's not a failure on your part. If creative therapy or self-directed creative practice isn't landing, that's useful information about what you actually need — worth raising with your GP or a therapist rather than assuming the problem is you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the different types of creative therapy?

Art therapy, music therapy, dance movement psychotherapy, and dramatherapy are the main recognised types in the UK. Each uses a different creative medium, but all involve working with a trained, regulated therapist rather than doing the activity alone.

Do I need to be creative or artistic to benefit?

No. None of these approaches require existing skill or experience in the medium. The value comes from the process of expression, not the quality of the output.

Can creative therapy be used alongside talking therapy?

Yes, and it often is. The two aren't competing approaches — creative therapy can access material that's harder to reach verbally, while talking therapy provides a different kind of structured reflection.

How do I find a qualified creative therapist in the UK?

Check the register of the relevant professional body: BAAT for art therapy, BADth for dramatherapy, BAMT for music therapy, or ADMP UK for dance movement psychotherapy. Confirm HCPC registration where it applies before booking privately.

Is creative therapy available on the NHS?

It can be, but availability depends heavily on where you live. Ask your GP or community mental health team what's accessible in your area.