Does painting, playing music, writing, or dancing help you feel better when you’re “off?” It’s not just the beauty of the art—it’s neurobiology.

If you haven’t already, check out another recent article about the synergistic link between creativity and mental health.

Have you ever had a bad day—one that just doesn’t get better—but doing something even mildly creative like listening to music or consuming your favorite TV show provides a bit of comfort?

Turns out, that “comfort” makes sense. It’s not the power of the song’ it’s the power of your brain.

Creative therapies including art, music, dance/movement, drama, and creative writing are associated with improved mental health through multiple well-documented mechanisms. Psychologists and even some psychiatrists will use the creative arts in conjunction with other treatments to improve the mental health of their patients.

Why?

These therapies facilitate emotional expression, support adaptive emotional regulation, and foster social connection, all of which contribute to reductions in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress across diverse populations and age groups.

Let’s take it to a neurobiological level: when you engage in the creative arts, you’re activating certain regions of the brain involved in emotional regulation (specifically the medial prefrontal cortex and the amygdala). The actions you take when in the creative process actually mirror those mechanisms in established emotional regulation strategies.

So, when you paint, sing, dance, write, or draw, you’re actually using unique therapeutic factors like embodiment, concretization, and the use of symbolism and metaphor that enable you to process and externalize distress, enhance self-concept, and regain a sense of agency. 

As a complementary intervention within mental healthcare, creative arts make a great choice when integrated with other evidence-based treatments.

What creativity can do for you:

  • Reduce depressive symptoms
  • Improve quality of life
  • Promote resilience
  • Foster a sense of belonging (when being creative in a group setting)

What creativity is not:

  • A solution to core psychotic symptoms like hallucinations or mania
  • A first-line complementary intervention in certain anxious populations

Sources:

Chiang M, Reid-Varley WB, Fan X. Creative Art Therapy for Mental Illness. Psychiatry Research. 2019;275:129–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2019.03.025

Carr CE, Medlicott E, Hooper R, et al. Effectiveness of Group Arts Therapies Compared to Group Counselling for Diagnostically Heterogeneous Psychiatric Community Patients: Study Protocol for a Randomised Controlled Trial in Mental Health Services (The ERA Study). Trials. 2023;24(1):557. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-023-07232-0

Abbing A, Haeyen S, Nyapati S, Verboon P, van Hooren S. Effectiveness and Mechanisms of the Arts Therapies in Forensic Care: A Systematic Review, Narrative Synthesis, and Meta Analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2023;14:1128252. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1128252

Uttley L, Scope A, Stevenson M, et al. Systematic Review and Economic Modelling of the Clinical Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Art Therapy Among People With Non-Psychotic Mental Health Disorders. Health Technology Assessment. 2015;19(18):1–120, v–vi. https://doi.org/10.3310/hta19180

de Witte M, Orkibi H, Zarate R, et al. From Therapeutic Factors to Mechanisms of Change in the Creative Arts Therapies: A Scoping Review. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021;12:678397. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.678397

Barnett KS, Vasiu F. How the Arts Heal: A Review of the Neural Mechanisms Behind the Therapeutic Effects of Creative Arts on Mental and Physical Health. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 2024;18:1422361. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1422361

Hugh-Jones S, Munford L. The Effects of Engagement in Arts and Cultural Activities on Adolescent Mental Health: Results From a Large UK Panel Study. Social Science & Medicine. 2025;382:118343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118343

Dunphy K, Baker FA, Dumaresq E, et al. Creative Arts Interventions to Address Depression in Older Adults: A Systematic Review of Outcomes, Processes, and Mechanisms. Frontiers in Psychology. 2018;9:2655. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02655

Hu J, Zhang J, Hu L, Yu H, Xu J. Art Therapy: A Complementary Treatment for Mental Disorders. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021;12:686005. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.686005

Porras-Segovia A, Escobedo-Aedo PJ, Carrillo de Albornoz CM, et al. Writing to Keep on Living: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on Creative Writing Therapy for the Management of Depression and Suicidal Ideation. Current Psychiatry Reports. 2024;26(7):359–378. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-024-01511-6