Using art as a creative process is therapeutic. The brain is relaxed and as a result, anxiety is reduced. You have a sense of calm that envelopes your body and you will get lost in the process. One of the therapeutic processes I use is the tissue paper collage.
You rip up tissue paper (as seen in the pic) and use a glue stick to “paint” the glue over the tissue (one can also use elmers glue and water as a paint mixture). Then, I have my client rate their relaxation on a scale of 1-10. This activity is usually done in the beginning of the session.
According to Dr. Henry Benson, Institue for Mind-Body Medicine, Boston, MA “Invoking the relaxation response can actually change your gene’s activity. Changing our brain’s activity can have concrete medical benefits.”