For many teenagers, anxiety does not arrive with a neat explanation. It shows up as a racing heart before school, a stomachache on Sunday night, or a mind that refuses to quiet down at bedtime. When a counselor asks them to describe what they are feeling, the honest answer is often "I don't know." That gap between feeling something intensely and being able to put it into words is one reason mental health professionals have expanded their toolkit beyond traditional talk therapy.

Many people assume that using art, music, or movement in therapy requires a separate creative arts credential. In fact, licensed marriage and family therapists (MFTs) and licensed professional clinical counselors (LPCCs) may integrate expressive techniques into psychotherapy when those techniques fall within their training, competence, and professional scope. At Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU), the School of Psychology emphasizes integrative, depth-oriented clinical education that considers the whole person. For students preparing for clinical licensure, this approach creates opportunities to connect established psychotherapy methods with thoughtful, creative ways of engaging young clients.

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Licensed Therapists Can Use the Expressive Arts

Expressive arts approaches use creative activities as part of the therapeutic process. They can include drawing, painting, music, movement, drama, and creative writing. A therapist might focus on one medium with a particular client or move between several within the same session, depending on what helps most.

A common misconception is that only specialized creative arts practitioners can bring creative activities into psychotherapy. Licensed MFTs and LPCCs can incorporate drawing, music, or movement as clinically appropriate interventions within their scope of practice and competence. However, incorporating an expressive activity does not make a clinician a credentialed art, music, or dance/movement therapist. Distinct professional credentials have their own education and training requirements.

The clinical license is actually what gives these creative tools their full reach. MFTs and LPCCs complete rigorous graduate training and supervised clinical hours that qualify them to assess, diagnose, and treat mental health conditions and to build complete treatment plans. When a licensed therapist adds expressive arts to this foundation, each creative activity becomes an integrated method guided by a clear clinical purpose.

It is also worth emphasizing that the finished product is not the point. A teen does not need artistic talent to benefit from creative work in therapy, and no musical training is needed to benefit from music. What matters is the process of creating and what that process reveals.

Why Creative Approaches Resonate With Teens

Adolescence is a period of intense emotional change. The brain regions that drive emotional reactions mature earlier than the regions responsible for planning, reasoning, and self-control. As a result, teens often feel emotions strongly before they have the tools to name or manage them.

This is where creative approaches can help. Drawing a worry, drumming out frustration, or moving through a feeling of tension gives a teen a way to express something before they can explain it. Many young people find this far less intimidating than sitting across from an adult and answering questions. A creative session can feel more like an activity than an interview, which lowers defenses and builds trust.

Creative work also gives teens a sense of control. Teen anxiety often comes with the feeling that racing thoughts and physical sensations are running the show. Choosing colors, setting a tempo, or deciding how to move restores a sense of agency. Over time, that experience can carry over into greater confidence at school, at home, and with friends.

These benefits matter because anxiety rarely travels alone. Many teens who struggle with constant worry also experience low mood, withdrawal, or a loss of interest in things they once enjoyed. Parents and educators who learn to recognize teen depression symptoms alongside signs of anxiety are better prepared to help young people get comprehensive support early.

How Licensed Therapists Use Art, Music, and Movement

Visual Art

Visual art activities can include drawing, painting, collage, or clay work. A therapist might ask a teen to draw what their anxiety looks like and then explore the image together. Giving a worry a shape and a color can make it feel smaller and more manageable. Artwork can also reveal themes a teen has not yet spoken about, opening the door to deeper conversation.

Music

Therapists can bring music into sessions through listening, songwriting, improvisation, or simple rhythm activities. Slow, steady rhythms can help calm the body and encourage relaxation. Writing lyrics gives teens a structured way to describe their feelings. Making music together in a group builds connection, which is especially valuable for teens who feel isolated by their anxiety.

Movement

Anxiety lives in the body as much as in the mind. Tight shoulders, shallow breathing, and restlessness are common physical signs. Movement-based activities help teens notice these sensations and release tension in a safe, guided way. Grounding exercises, mirroring activities, and breath-centered movement can help teens feel more present and less overwhelmed.

Rooted in Rigorous Clinical Training

 NDNU's clinical psychology programs expressive arts techniques can be integrated into a thoughtful clinical treatment plan rather than treated as a replacement for psychotherapy. This is consistent with the integrative, depth-oriented perspective emphasized in NDNU's School of Psychology. Psychodynamic approaches explore the influence of early experiences, emotional conflicts, and unconscious processes. Humanistic psychotherapy emphasizes empathy, authenticity, and a person's capacity for growth. Systems approaches consider family, school, culture, and community relationships, while relational psychotherapy attends to the therapeutic relationship as a source of understanding and change. Clinicians may also draw on cognitive behavioral or other evidence-informed techniques when appropriate. The choice of intervention depends on the teen's needs, clinical assessment, and treatment goals; medication management by a qualified prescriber may also be part of coordinated care.

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Consider how these approaches can work together. A psychodynamically oriented therapist might invite a teen to draw a recurring dream or worry and explore the emotions and associations that emerge, without assuming that a drawing has a fixed meaning. A humanistic therapist might use music or movement to support emotional expression and a sense of agency. A systems-oriented therapist could invite a teen to map family relationships through images or collage and then discuss patterns in a developmentally appropriate way. A relational therapist might pay attention to what the creative process reveals about trust, collaboration, and communication in the session. Across these orientations, the therapeutic relationship and the teen's preferences help guide whether an expressive activity is useful.

How these approaches are delivered depends on the level of care a teen needs.

  • Outpatient care: Teens attend weekly or biweekly sessions while living at home and attending school. Licensed therapists may weave creative activities into individual, family, or group sessions as part of a broader treatment plan.
  • Intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs: These programs provide several hours of structured treatment on multiple days each week. Expressive arts groups are often built into the schedule alongside skills training and individual therapy.
  • Residential treatment: For teens whose symptoms seriously disrupt school, sleep, or safety, residential programs offer around-the-clock support in a structured setting. Creative activities can be woven into daily routines, giving teens consistent chances to practice coping skills and process difficult emotions.

Across every setting, coordination is essential. Outcomes tend to be strongest when the treating therapist, the broader care team, the family, and the school share goals and communicate regularly.

What the Research Says

Research on expressive arts approaches has grown considerably over the past few decades, and the overall picture is encouraging. Reviews of art-based interventions have found that creative activities can help reduce anxiety and strengthen emotional regulation in children and adolescents. A widely cited Cochrane review concluded that adding music-based treatment to usual care likely improves symptoms of depression in the short term. Studies of movement-based interventions have also reported reductions in anxiety along with gains in overall wellbeing.

Mindfulness practices, which often appear in integrative treatment plans, have a particularly strong research base for easing stress and worry. Many expressive arts activities naturally build mindfulness skills because they ask teens to focus on the present moment, the colors on the page, or the rhythm of a song.

The research also has honest limitations. Many studies involve small groups of participants, use different methods, or follow teens for only a short time. More large, rigorous trials are needed to understand which approaches work best for which young people. For this reason, most clinicians view expressive arts approaches as valuable complements to established treatments rather than standalone cures. Used thoughtfully within a full treatment plan, they can make therapy more engaging, more personal, and more effective.

How NDNU Prepares Licensed Therapists to Integrate the Expressive

Arts

Notre Dame de Namur University's School of Psychology prepares students to study psychological experiences from an integrative, depth-oriented, whole-person perspective. Its Master of Science in Clinical Psychology programs examine emotional, relational, developmental, cultural, social, and biological influences on mental health while emphasizing applied clinical learning. This broad theoretical foundation is especially relevant for future therapists who hope to thoughtfully incorporate expressive arts into work with adolescents, families, and other clients. NDNU's faculty include practicing clinicians who bring real-world experience into the classroom.

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For students pursuing clinical licensure in California, NDNU offers two graduate pathways:

 BA in Psychology degree completion programBoth licensure-oriented pathways are designed to fulfill California Board of Behavioral Sciences educational requirements for their respective license paths; additional supervised experience, examinations, and other state requirements apply after graduation. NDNU offers in-person and live, synchronous online study options. Students still completing an undergraduate degree can explore NDNU's online Bachelor of Arts in Psychology degree completion program.

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Expressive Arts Training, Practicum, and Research

NDNU's clinical psychology curriculum includes coursework in psychodynamic psychotherapy, family systems and relational psychotherapy, clinical assessment, and expressive arts interventions. This enables students to study creative methods within a broader foundation of clinical theory, ethics, and assessment. Supervised practicum experiences give students opportunities to develop clinical judgment and apply appropriate interventions with clients under qualified supervision. NDNU also highlights its clinical practicum partnerships and practitioner-oriented faculty, helping students connect classroom learning with professional practice. Specific placements and experiences vary by student and site.

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The value of this preparation is not a separate expressive arts credential. Rather, it is the ability to understand clients through multiple clinical perspectives and make informed choices about therapeutic methods. For adolescents who struggle to communicate anxiety through words alone, appropriately selected expressive techniques may provide another avenue for engagement, reflection, and connection.

Continuing to Grow After Licensure

Learning does not stop at graduation. Once licensed, therapists can deepen their expressive arts skills through continuing education, specialized workshops, consultation groups, and advanced training. Over time, many clinicians develop a signature style that blends talk therapy with creative work tailored to the clients they serve. Because license titles and requirements differ from state to state, therapists who plan to practice outside California should review the rules where they hope to work.

The Bigger Picture

Talk therapy remains a cornerstone of mental health care, and for good reason. Yet not every teen can find the words for what they feel, especially when anxiety is at its loudest. Licensed therapists who integrate art, music, and movement offer another language, one that can reach young people where they are and help them build skills they can carry for life.

When expressive techniques are thoughtfully integrated with evidence-informed psychotherapy, teens may gain additional ways to express emotions, reflect on relationships, and develop coping skills. Families concerned about a teen's anxiety should consult a qualified mental health professional for individualized assessment and care. For aspiring therapists, NDNU's integrative, depth-oriented School of Psychology offers a foundation for studying the relationship between clinical science, human connection, and creative therapeutic practice. Explore the School of Psychology and its clinical psychology pathways to learn more.

Explore NDNU's School of Psychology.