Terapia ocupacional e saúde mental: o uso da arte como recurso terapêutico

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate how Occupational Therapy (OT) uses expressive arts as a therapeutic resource and to describe the benefits of art as a resource for people with mental distress. METHODOLOGY: Bibliographic research with a qualitative approach. Data collection was carried out in the Scielo, Pubmed and Google Scholar databases, using the keywords: mental health, self-esteem, art and emotional well-being, published between 2015 and 2025 and in Portuguese. RESULTS: The analysis of the selected articles revealed that expressive arts, including painting, dance, poetry and scenopoetry, are widely used in Occupational Therapy as strategies for welcoming, listening, strengthening bonds and self-expression. CONCLUSION: Art, in its multiple expressive forms, is a powerful and humanizing therapeutic tool in Occupational Therapy and mental health. It is recognized as an important resource for promoting comprehensive and transformative care, acting to improve emotional well-being, social integration, and the development of communication and self-awareness in people with mental distress.