The purpose and importance of personal creativity for creative arts therapists: A brief literature review

Creative arts therapists who cease to create their own art are at a risk of clinification, a term defined and explored by P. B. Allen. The field of creative arts therapy will neither survive nor progress if creative arts therapists are not habitually engaged in the practice of creativity and art-making themselves. This article will briefly review existing literature on the importance of art-making by creative arts therapists for personal purposes. Although creative arts therapists may make art with clients for clinical purposes, this article will focus on the need for a consistent and personal exploration through and with art in order to fully understand the art form and its transformative properties. In addition, this article will demonstrate a need for additional research in this field.