Where many persons affected by violence are unable to talk about their experiences, it is worthwhile to apply non-verbal therapeutic methods such as art therapy. Expressing painful feelings through art, music, dance and theatre can often be very helpful. Such methods are less language- and culture-bound and can therefore be more widely applied.

Through the ages, people from all cultures have given shape to what kept them occupied and to the world around them with the help of art. As a result of this, even now we can understand what was important to them. Art was and is also used in many healing rituals.

Descriptions of how visual art is applied to people with psychiatric problems originate in Europe at the end of the nineteenth century.

At that time, psychiatrists, artists and other interested persons placed art-materials at the disposal of patients to keep them busy. These drawings and other artistic expressions often appeared to be so fascinating that the thought soon arose that by looking at these expressions of art, one could possibly understand more of what occupied the minds of the patients. Art therapy, as we know it now, originated from this movement.

The experiences of survivors of concentration camps of the Second World War and of the war in Vietnam formed material for studies.

Soon, treatments that focused exclusively on verbal expression appeared to be by no means sufficient for all the victims. This led to the development and implementation of various forms of art therapy for victims of war.

In talking, the participant seldom gets beyond facts, thinking and knowing – whereas in art therapy, an emotional recognition and understanding may arise that goes with the experience of what has been designed, drawn, played, expressed.