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Art therapy: Healing the mind, freeing the creative spirit
An art therapist leads sessions online and at her studio in Florence, Italy. But she believes anyone can enjoy art as a form of emotional release or self-expression from the comfort of home.
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Burst of color: A combined photo showing two paintings by fashion designer Didit Hediprasetyo, displayed during the Expression of the Journey exhibition, held from May 2 to 4, 2025, at The Dharmawangsa in Jakarta. (JP/Sylviana Hamdani)
Mental health matters.
More people are beginning to acknowledge that, and many are now open to seeing a therapist. But then comes the quiet fear: What am I going to say?
Describing a fever is easy. But how do you explain a heavy heart? Where do you start? Your childhood, a recent panic attack? What if the words come out wrong?
For many, that uncertainty becomes a wall that shuts them in.
Mexican art therapist Monica Ogaz offers another path. At a recent session hosted by Didit Hediprasetyo Foundation (DHF) in Jakarta, Ogaz invited participants to paint, rather than to talk their hearts out.
Art to reconnect
“Art is a universal language we’ve forgotten how to speak,” said Ogaz during a special interview with The Jakarta Post on May 5. “At some point, someone, maybe a teacher or a parent, told you that you weren’t good at it. So, you let it go.”
