Zophia Mushamanski hanging up a painting at their creative arts therapy class

By Sam Bennison

To Your Health

March 15 to 21 is Creative Arts Therapy week

Mar 18, 2025 | 5:00 AM

PRINCE GEORGE— Creative arts therapy is a form of mental health care unknown to many, and is an alternative to traditional talk therapy. Whether its through dance or drawing, creative arts therapist Zophia mushamanski says its just as effective.

“It’s to express whatever you’re feeling inside and deal with that in a safe way without hurting yourself or others,” says Zophia. “It stimulates part of the brain, and it creates new neural pathways. It helps you to develop problem solving skills and all kinds of different skills.”

Zophia leads a class at the wellness centre, but it’s only open to disabled adults. They hope that one day creative arts therapy can be an option for everyone.

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“Usually within an institution, inside the hospital or the jail that people can access art therapy,” says Zophia. “It’s not as accessible as I would like it to be. I’m actually going to school to pursue being a full time art therapist so I can make it more accessible.

But, Zophia says low income earners can face systemic barriers in accessing these programs, due to the sliding scale costs of mental health care in B.C. That being said it can be a self-facilitated practice.

“I would recommend finding a medium that they would like,” adds Zophia “Because everybody has different preferences. And, I would recommend maybe watching a YouTube tutorial if they don’t have any experience in making any art. Other than that, just do whatever you feel like, there’s no guideline and there’s no such thing as bad art.”

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Email: sam.bennison@pattisonmedia.com