Helping Clients Move Past Creative Resistance: Practical Strategies for When Clients Say They Aren’t Creative or Don’t Like Art
Resistance to creative expression is common, and it is not limited to art therapy sessions. Whether you are an art therapist, a trauma specialist, or a clinician who occasionally integrates creative interventions, you have likely encountered clients who shut down at the idea of creative expression. Therapists often hear, “Oh, I’m not artistic” or “I don’t like doing art.”
Client resistance to creativity is an opportunity: it invites us to slow down, listen, and discover new pathways to expression.
Reasons Clients Resist Creative Work
Clients might resist for many reasons:
Fear of Judgment: Worry that their work will be evaluated.
Perfectionism: Feeling like they need to “do it right” or not at all.
Shame or Past Trauma: Negative experiences with creativity in childhood or school.
Discomfort with Vulnerability: Creative expression can make people feel vulnerable and exposed.
Viewing resistance as self-protection allows you to respond with empathy and collaborate with the client, rather than push back.
Reframing What Counts as “Creative”
Many clients believe that making art “art” requires creating a masterpiece or producing something worthy of a gallery, which is an intimidating and unrealistic expectation. Start by redefining creativity as any act of making or arranging with intention.
For art therapists: invite clients to explore textures, colors, or shapes without aiming for a “finished piece.”
For other clinicians: integrate movement, storytelling, collage from magazine clippings, or guided imagery and imaginative meditation.
Low-Pressure Entry Points
The goal is to meet clients where they are and reduce the stress:
Scribble Warm-Ups: Invite clients to close their eyes and make marks on paper for 30 seconds.
Choice of Media: Offer multiple options, including markers, clay, found objects, or digital drawing apps.
Metaphor Work: Have clients select images from a photo deck that represent a feeling or experience.
Mind-Map Drawing: Replace bullet points with lines, symbols, and shapes.
These approaches work in both art therapy and integrative practices.
Language That Opens Doors
How you introduce creative activities matters. Instead of stating “Let’s make some art,” try:
“Let’s experiment with this and see what happens.”
“This is just for you,” “You can’t get this wrong!”
“This is another way of thinking about ......”
“There is no endgame goal here, let’s just play.”
Reframing and reassuring clients can lower anxiety and increase willingness to try.
Collaboration Over Prescription
Rather than handing clients an assignment, involve them in deciding the next steps to take. You might say: “Would you like to explore this idea visually, through movement, or in words?”
Offering multiple creative outlets, such as journaling, poetry, body mapping, sand tray therapy, and music, makes creativity accessible.
Adapting Beyond Art Therapy
Even if you are not trained as an art therapist, creativity can be incorporated into your work:
Use visual metaphors in CBT thought records.
Add symbolic objects to EMDR or trauma-focused work.
Invite clients to draw timelines of significant events instead of listing them.
Incorporate collage journaling into group therapy.
Small creative touches can help bypass verbal defenses and open new insights.
Resistance to creativity is not failure—it reminds us to attune to the client and help them unlock their own expression. Whether guiding an art-based session or incorporating creativity into talk therapy, our goal is to make self-expression safe, inviting, and accessible, allowing vulnerability to support growth.
by Dr. Amy Vail and Alli Fischenich