Episode Details

Many victims of emotional and psychological abuse wonder if art therapy for trauma can help with symptoms. Here’s what you need to know.

If you relate, you may wonder if you are experiencing emotional abuse. Did you know there are 19 different types of emotional abuse? See if you’re suffering from this type of trauma by taking our free emotional abuse quiz.

Transcript: How to Use Art Therapy For Trauma

Anne: I have a member of our community, Betrayal Trauma Recovery has live group sessions, on today’s episode. We’re going to call her Corrine, she’s an artist.

Corrine: Hello.

Anne: You used your art as therapy for the trauma you experienced when you discovered your husband’s sexual addiction. How did you find out?

Corrine: It was kind of baptism by fire. I got married, only to find out that my husband had a lot of issues that I wasn’t aware of. It involved lying, it involved covering things up. A lot of unhealthy things that were very hurtful and led to a lot of trauma, where I would put up walls, isolate myself even further, and of course nothing would get solved. It’s very, very dysfunctional. But I didn’t know how this led to my shopping, eating, anger, not healthy cycles.

Anne: Yeah, when we met, you had been processing your betrayal trauma through the context of codependency.

Things had to change from codependency

Anne: Can you tell me how you thought of them in the context of codependency, and then how you’re feeling now about the abuse model. Since we have discussed weaponized codependency. How has it been like transitioning to thinking about his addiction as an abuse issue?

Corrine: So, I noticed a cycle of betrayal that resulted in trauma, this unseen wound, which led to PTSD symptoms within myself, which created a wall within myself, so I could not receive or give love. I became selective in who I would talk with, like I would function, and talk to people, but I wouldn’t let people in. I was good at doing what was expected, getting along, making things smooth, but I was not good at being personal and talking to people in a real way.

Anne: So, let me see if I can restate. Were you resisting the abuse, trying to keep yourself safe? And since you weren’t aware that you were being abused, It felt like hiding yourself in that way. It made you a little safer.

Corrine: Yeah, exactly. And so I became very non-authentic for a long time, and it hurt me. It hurt my art. Just a few years ago, it kind of came to a head. It really hit me that things had to change. Obviously, we can only change ourselves. And when I did that, I started healing.

Anne: We’ve had women on who talk about songs about healing from trauma, but not someone who uses art. So as you focused on your own healing. What kinds of breakthroughs have you seen with art therapy for trauma, and how have these breakthroughs played out?

Art Therapy for trauma: Breakthroughs in Healing

Corrinne: I remember one night coming back from a class, and I knew I had to be honest with myself. Because I didn’t feel safe. I had shut down my feelings. I had shut down certain memories as a protective measure. And so I was able to get really honest and have that breakthrough, even though it was so difficult. One of the best things I learned was that I needed to trust them to be themselves. It wa