Can art therapy give people hope in difficult times?

This is a question that arose yesterday during a session in which I participated with a group of art therapists from several countries. Particularly I think YES, because I have seen it during my work as an art therapist in refugee and immigrant camps, in different countries. Since Art is something that is an innate part of the human being, it is through it that man, from prehistoric times to the present, has been able to process his psychological, physical, spiritual evolution, and also that of his geographical environment. Therefore the healing or restorative benefit of it is intrinsic. In the camps, art is one of the activities most requested by immigrants or refugees; it arises spontaneously and intuitively. For example, I remember coming to an elderly adult man, sitting down and painting, every day for hours, a large-scale painting. We thus see a way to reorder all the experiences lived before and during their journey, to give them a new meaning. This is a complex process to explain, and it occurs at unconscious levels but it goes revealing to the person, when they begin to feel relief not only psychologically, but also of the spirit. There is chaos at the beginning, but this is reduced, because this creative process little by little restores autonomy and dignity in the individual. Something important for all this is that the person in this restorative and healing process is someone active. This relief that is revealed also restores confidence and hope in life and in the human being. I will finish by saying that in order for human beings to transform all this chaos, suffering and misery that they are experiencing, it is essential that they return to their essence, that of love, which brings compassion as a consequence. And art plays an indispensable role because it could be the bridge for this reunion with ourselves.