February: A Month of Awareness, Advocacy, and Artful Care
February is a powerful month in the mental health landscape. It holds Psychology Month, Preventative Health Awareness Month, Eating Disorders Awareness Week (Feb 1–7), Mental Health Nurses Day (Feb 21), Pink Shirt Day (Feb 25), Rare Disease Day (Feb 28), and many more moments dedicated to care, inclusion, and advocacy.
While these observances each highlight different populations and professional roles, they share a common thread: the recognition that mental health, physical health, and community well-being are deeply interconnected.
As art therapists, we stand at that intersection.
Psychology Month reminds us that art therapy bridges science and soul. By engaging sensory pathways, symbolism, and nervous system regulation, we translate psychological theory into lived experience, supporting trauma integration, emotional literacy, identity development, and psychological flexibility.
Preventative Health Awareness Month highlights art as early intervention. Creative expression builds regulation, reduces stress, strengthens coping skills, and fosters connection, often preventing distress from escalating into crisis.
Eating Disorders Awareness Week (Feb 1–7) invites body reconnection through compassionate art-making. Clients can externalize harmful narratives, rebuild embodied trust, and cultivate self-compassion.
Mental Health Nurses Day (Feb 21) honours interdisciplinary care. Nurses stabilize; art therapists create space for expression and meaning-making. Healing is collaborative.
Pink Shirt Day (Feb 25) reminds us that art restores voice, dignity, and belonging after experiences of bullying and exclusion.
Rare Disease Day (Feb 28) acknowledges invisible journeys. Art therapy helps process grief, medical trauma, and identity shifts, making lived experience visible and honoured.
The Role of the Art Therapist: Advocacy Through Presence
February reminds us that awareness is not passive.
As art therapists, we can:
Advocate for integrative mental health approaches
Offer community workshops tied to awareness days
Create accessible programming for marginalized populations
Support interdisciplinary collaboration
Promote preventative care models
Educate the public about expressive therapies
Art therapy is not a luxury, it is a legitimate mental health intervention rooted in relational, embodied, and symbolic healing.
Ensuring Our Own Self-Care
With so many awareness days, it can feel like we are holding everything.
But awareness without sustainability leads to burnout.
Art therapists must practice what we invite others into.
Consider:
Creating your own reflective art altar for the month
Using brief studio time between clients for grounding
Scheduling peer consultation and supervision
Setting realistic advocacy goals
Allowing rest between community engagements
Engaging in expressive rituals that support your nervous system
Preventative health applies to practitioners too.
We cannot pour from an empty vessel, but we can create from a grounded one.
As we honour all the days of the month and beyond, may we continue to show up with compassion, creativity, and commitment.
And may we care for ourselves as intentionally as we care for others.
Posted by Nicole Bodnaresk