Some patients find that their pain
symptoms are relieved through creative
arts therapies, including visual art therapy,
music therapy, and drama therapy.
The beneficial effects of arts therapies
do not depend on patients’ talent or
skill levels, but the mechanism that
does produce these effects has not been
precisely identified. Some therapists
believe that creative activity simply
relaxes and distracts patients from their
pain. Even if pain is the subject of
patients’ work, the act of creation may
require them to break their normal patterns
of thinking and reflect on pain
with a different mindset. Making
something out of their pain could also
empower patients, providing them a
way to control their experience of pain;
the helplessness felt by some chronic
pain patients can exacerbate the intensity
of their pain. Creative activity provides
patients an outlet for expressing
their emotions, some of which they
may not have ever fully expressed
before.