45 Art Therapy Worksheets for Emotional Wellbeing and Creativity

Using Creativity and Art Therapy as Support for Recovery

Does working on a crafting or art project help you feel calm and peaceful? Immersing yourself in creative activities can increase well-being and encourage self-discovery. Negative emotions seem to melt away as the different materials take shape, and solutions and new ideas emerge. Our art therapy worksheets don’t require great artistry—they’re adult coloring book sheets that require nothing but colored pencils or markers.

Icarus Behavioral Health, a Joint Commission accredited rehab facility based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, uses only evidence-based approaches to support those in recovery. Why art therapy? We know that people who struggle with mental health challenges sometimes lack the necessary self-expression skills to ask for help—even when they need or want it.

That’s where a professional art therapist can help, guiding the person as they create art as a visual representation of their emotions.

Please keep reading to learn how art therapy activities encourage self-exploration and healing. While you’re here, remember to download your art therapy worksheets.

Download Our Art Therapy Worksheets

Our art therapy worksheets are a collection of 45 coloring mandalas, with each page featuring an uplifting affirmation. Focusing on the affirming statement while coloring helps improve feelings of self-worth, while completing the mandala template gives you purpose.

These pages do not give you the complete benefits of working one-on-one during art therapy at Icarus. However, they give anyone interested in learning more a look at how it can help them on their journey to a life in recovery.

Mandala Coloring Activities

Mandalas are geometric, usually symmetrical designs. Engaging with the different colors while you create your art promotes focus, relaxation, and being mindful. The structured, repetitive appearance of mandalas provides a form of predictability and order, which can be comforting for clients in recovery and seeking effective support tools and symbols.

Positive Affirmations: Statements of Self-Worth

Each mandala coloring page we have provided you also includes a positive affirmation. Including the affirmations uplifts emotions and helps reduce feelings of anxiety. As clients color the mandala, they also see the uplifting message on the worksheets, boosting emotions.

What Is Art Therapy?

Art therapy at Icarus uses the creative process and art materials provided to help clients:

• Express their negative feelings
• Explore a healthy way for emotional release
• Address psychological challenges

This method uses nonverbal communication to help those not ready for talk therapy engage with their feelings and communicate with their therapists. This form of therapy integrates with positive psychology, psychoanalytic, and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Take our past client, ‘Dana,’ whose significant other passed away in a tragic accident. Unable to stop the pain, Dana started binge drinking every night to erase the pain. When the nightly alcohol abuse turned to addiction, Dana recognized the need for professional treatment support.

But Dana could not put the void inside into words. Putting their feelings into artwork gave Dana a new way to communicate the emotional turmoil to the clinical team, who was then better able to help them start processing their internal trauma and grief.

What Mental Health Disorders Benefit from Art Therapy Activities?

Doing art therapy worksheets increases self-awareness and gives a sense of purpose to therapy. Here are some different mental health disorders that benefit from it:

• Anxiety or panic disorders
• Depression and mood disorders
• Bipolar disorder
• PTSD, CPTSD, and trauma disorders
• Stress-related disorders
• Substance use disorders
• Eating disorders
• Processing grief after losing loved ones
• Personality disorders

Art becomes a positive, safe place for people to reflect on personal experiences and build emotional intelligence.

American Art Therapy Association Defines the Role of a Professional Art Therapist

An American Art Therapy Association fact sheet defines the art therapist as a skilled mental health professional with advanced training in applied psychological theory, usually at least holding a Master’s Degree. They use art to help adults and children manage or overcome various mental health concerns.

Art therapists work in various settings with clients who need a healthy way to reduce stress or manage an uncertain future. You might find these therapists at psychology clinics, school campuses, hospitals, cancer centers, and local communities. Many clients find comfort in expressing their emotions in a non-verbal way.

Art Therapy Prompts Provide Inspiration

Art therapy specialists help clients focus on guided exercises that help them relax and engage in the process. These and all of our prompts for recovery support are not a precise template but suggestions to help clients choose the activities that pique their interest and help them meet their goals.

Clients find a safe space to explore their inner world by using specific prompts or asking questions. Prompts are carefully designed to address therapeutic goals and mental health needs.

For example, the therapist might ask a client with anxiety to try finger painting, creating a self-portrait of their future self. They’ll tell them to stay in the present moment and experience the feeling of the paint’s texture and think about their breathing and appreciate the colors as they create artwork. The point of the exercise isn’t the finished art piece. It’s the visualization of a future world free of anxiety.

Art Therapy Can Enhance Social Skills and Reconnect Families

Art therapy worksheets are also helpful in a group therapy setting, which allows peers or family members to participate and build a stronger connection. Family and friends sometimes don’t feel safe or comfortable discussing their loved one’s happiness or mental health. They might be supportive but don’t have the words to lead a productive discussion.

Completing an art project creates space for recalling happy moments in life and helps them find ideas for healing together.

An example of this could be creating a collage created from old books. Each person can choose images that tell part of their family’s story. The activity can bring awareness, empathy, and understanding to the healing process. Art therapy in a group or family therapy setting can build bridges as they complete the project.

Art Therapy Worksheets: Practice Mindfulness on a Coloring Page

Mindfulness, or staying fully present in the moment, is key to accepting one’s thoughts and feelings without judgment. This technique is necessary for clients to master in recovery. It promotes self-esteem and emotional regulation. It underlies a sense of peace and calm.

One of the simplest art therapy activities is completing coloring worksheets. As you move the colored pencils or markers across the page, you focus on that very moment. This valuable mindfulness practice is an activity you can pack up, take anywhere, and complete almost anywhere.

Call Icarus New Mexico for Effective Recovery Support Programs

Icarus New Mexico has helped thousands of clients discover how to manage or overcome mental and emotional health challenges. We provide resources for substance abuse, anxiety, trauma, and depressive disorders to name just a few.

Our goal is to provide you a safe, supportive location where you can engage in proven therapeutic modalities with our compassionate, highly qualified counselors as you overcome your life challenges. If you’re not ready to have that discussion yet, art therapy is the tool that can still help you move forward.

Past clients have benefitted from our services. We’re confident that we can help you, too. Call us today to get the professional care you deserve.