Welcome to the next instalment of the Art Therapy Blogs, in insight into Colour Therapy awaits today!
‘Colour Therapy by definition is a complementary therapy for which there is evidence of use dating back thousands of years to the ancient cultures of Egypt, China and India.
‘Colour is simply light of varying wavelengths, thus each colour has its own particular wavelength and energy’
Colour therapy utilises and balances the 7 colours of the colour spectrum in order to restore and balance the bodies energy, which is then thought to promote healing. The seven spectrums of colour and their related Chakra are shown below: Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red.
A report in The Guardian states that ‘There is some evidence that colour affects our mood and general wellbeing. In 1958, US scientist Robert Gerard conducted a study that claimed red stimulates and makes us anxious, while blue promotes calm. He also showed that colour could affect appetite, blood pressure and aggression’.
Meeting with a colour therapist should in the first instance be to understand which light from the spectrum is suitable for you. A course of treatment with the therapist should then enable the participant to continue the treatment at home. This is safe if it works for you as it follows a purely holistic and alternative approach to therapy it will cause no harm to the body. The approach is believed to support emotional, spiritual, physical and mental problems with its simple passage of treatment.
According to therapist June Mcleod, colour therapy is a gentle treatment suitable for "everyone from the young to the old. Anyone suffering from stress and immune deficiency problems through to insomnia and critical illness can gain comfort and support from colour treatment.”
Colour therapy comes with numerous options which can be explored including; crystals, essential oils, meditation and light filters. Colour can be absorbed from direct light or taken in by sight such as a rainbow.
A good practitioner should be able to explain the colour spectrum, the related Chakra and various options before recommending and starting to treat the patient. It is thought to heal various ailments by carefully directing the chosen colour onto the body, with focus on the colours not present already. Practitioners look at the 7 main chakras of the body (crown, brow, throat, heart, solar plexus, sacral and base)
You can expect to be introduced to colour therapy through the ‘Luscher Color Test which is supposed to give an indication to an individuals mood and personality. During this test the practitioner will utilise several methods to indicate the correct cause of treatment. This may include coloured silks, cards, a light box alongside some breathing exercises. According to healthy place:
‘Scientific evidence is lacking for color therapy. Color therapy is different from conventional ultraviolet light phototherapy, which is used to treat high bilirubin blood levels in infants and skin disorders such as acne or psoriasis. Light therapy is used to treat seasonal affective disorder’.
In summary colour therapy has been widely used and seems easy to access as a treatment, especially if you feel an in-balance in your body and are ready to approach a therapy which is felt still needs more scientific evidence, but may be a great treatment option. Those who use light therapy to treat SAD (seasonal affective disorder may find this colour therapy approach especially of use to them. It’s harmless and easy to do but I would consider speaking to my medical team first and having a session with a therapist first before splashing out a lot of money on light boxes and other gadgets which may be of no use to balancing inaccuracies in your body.
This approach can easily support the most disabled people through the sensory of colour and light, provoking movements and relaxation and for the same reason be helpful to those with long term medial conditions to support conventional medication and treatment. in terms of exercise there also links. For example; as above we touched in blue being calming. So if you are taking an exercise class for those with disabilities then perhaps simply wearing a blue top to support that person, when delivering team sessions in a games environment experiment with different colour bibs that the players wear.
If delivering a yoga class or some meditation having a light box near to someone with a long term condition or learning difficulty may allow that individual to relax and then access your activity without causing disruption or making the individual ‘stand out’. These are just a few ideas but try and be creative, find your own ideas. Talk to the people you work with or as an individual reading this for yourself you could easily purchase a cheap light box and a yoga book and just have a go!
Please be mindful that these blogs are slightly different in that they were utilised to answer assessments on a course and therefore although we want you to enjoy the content and are happy for you to use the material in anyway that helps, please refrain from reusing the same information completely should these blogs answer questions to a course or blog that you are embarking on without making us as the original author of the pieces.