How Does Art Therapy Help with Burnout Prevention & Treatment

If you are experiencing burnout, you are not alone! According to this 2023 article, 78% of Canadians feel burnout at some point in their careers and 35% say they are currently burnout. Burnout can leave someone feeling mentally and physically exhausted, short-tempered, depressed, cynical, and overwhelmed. So how does art therapy help? Creative Arts Therapy has been shown to significantly reduce the stress of clients (Martin et al., 2018). It is key to keep stress levels in a manageable range because when stress levels are too high for a period of time it can lead to exhaustion and burnout. There are various ways to keep stress levels low, one of those is mindfulness, research (Luken & Sammons, 2016) has found mindfulness-based strategies to significantly decrease levels of job burnout. Mindfulness is natural component in art therapy as engaging in the art materials encourages being present, engage in our senses, and helps us to feel more grounded. Please find below four ways art therapy helps with burnout prevention and treatment:

1. Explore & Understand Stress. Art therapy allows space for you to examine your sources of stress, current levels of stress, understand how stress shows up in your body, and understand what your body needs to cope.
2. Nurture Self-Compassion. Self-compassion is a key piece in recovery as our thoughts and our inner dialogue can have profound effects on our mood and our motivation for recovery. Mindful-Compassion Art Based Therapy was found to have robust effectiveness and positive effects on reducing burnout, building resilience, nurturing compassion, and promoting mental wellness (Yan Ho et al, 2021).
3. Engage in Creative Expression. A pilot study (Kaimal et al, 2016) found that adults had a statistically significant reduction in cortisol levels in a 45-minute art making session. Engaging in creative means can engage the above two concepts, and support having an outlet of expression.
4. Cultivate Self-Care Practice. Engaging in art therapy for many clients builds a regular practice of engaging in a form of creative emotional expression in the session which eventually tends to transfer as a habit outside the session whether they are a client who never engaged much in forms of art or a client who is more art savvy. Taking care of your emotional needs is an important part of self-care. A study (Adnan et al., 2022) evaluating the solutions for burnout, categorized self-care was seen as a prime component for decreasing burnout.

If you are curious to learn more, reach out to me. I am Nicole Levy, and I am here as your helping hand. Let’s get started, book your complimentary initial consult today https://www.mindfulhealingjourney.ca/#/
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