The Use of Cannabis in Art Therapy for Mental Health Disorders
On a quiet evening, five journalists specializing in cannabis-related news gathered at an art studio in an industrial area of Seattle to participate in an unusual event. Despite the rumble of passing trains, everyone in the studio was focused on a single goal: drawing decorative mandala circles. For about half an hour, after consuming cannabis, the journalists spent time creating circles using paints, markers, and colored pencils, accompanied by soft electronic music. No one even spoke, as each person was absorbed in their unique creation.
After sobering up a bit, the journalists hung their finished drawings on the wall to compare them and reflect on their feelings as artists. Some noted that using cannabis before drawing helped them relax and focus on the creative task. One participant even said that with cannabis, he simply wanted to create colorful shapes on the canvas, “as if all the constraints of perfectionism left me for a few minutes.” Ignoring mistakes and technical errors, the participants began discussing the sense of free-flowing ideas and emotions they experienced while drawing under the influence of cannabis. Comparing their new mandalas to those drawn before the experiment, the journalists observed that the new works were softer and more blurred in form. In this way, the event’s organizer, psychologist and Seattle University professor Michael Bushert, demonstrated how cannabis can stimulate creative processes by allowing people to let go of doubts and fears.
The event itself was a demonstration of a new form of art therapy that Bushert had begun offering to clients, combining group psychological counseling with his love for baking infused with cannabis extracts.
What Is Art Therapy?
Before discussing Dr. Bushert’s new method, I asked him about the meaning and purpose of art therapy for psychological disorders. According to Dr. Bushert, art therapy is not so much about expressing emotions through visual or other forms of art, but about using creativity as a tool to establish emotional contact with others, especially the therapist.
“Despite its simplicity, art therapy is a rather old and respected form of treating mental disorders. Usually, specialists in this field undergo special training programs that include not only psychoanalysis but also art theory, to interpret the creative works produced by patients,” Bushert explains.
As a clinical psychoanalytic practice, art therapy involves not only access to creative materials but also the company of a therapist and other patients to establish social and emotional connections. “Of course, the act of drawing itself can have a beneficial, calming effect on a person’s psyche,” the professor notes. “However, simply drawing or coloring pictures is somewhat different from creating art to establish therapeutic relationships with others.”
“In other words, this method uses creativity as a tool to help patients step out of their inner world and connect with therapists,” Bushert clarifies.
Different Approaches to Art Therapy
Of course, every doctor uses art therapy in slightly different ways, combining various forms of creativity with communication and in-depth psychoanalysis. For example, there is a form called psychodynamic art therapy, which involves the patient explaining the details of their work and the emotions they experienced while creating it. Other therapists focus on using art itself as a therapeutic tool, allowing patients to freely create and share feelings and ideas with each other. In any case, by channeling their energy into creativity, patients not only calm themselves but also focus their consciousness on their most vivid and uncontrollable emotions, which helps them begin to manage them.
How Cannabis Can Enhance Art Therapy
This brings us to the main question: how exactly can cannabis positively influence the practical use of this psychotherapy method?
Professor Bushert first became interested in cannabis consumption as a student. He used the plant to deepen his connection with his subconscious and emotions. After earning his therapy degree from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, Bushert moved to the Pacific Northwest, where he could combine his career with access to legal cannabis.
Currently, the professor and his business partner, Zoe Zashov, run their own legal therapeutic cannabis farm in Klickitat County, Washington. Ms. Zashov is a U.S. military veteran who discovered the therapeutic effects of cannabis for treating post-traumatic stress caused by combat. The farm, called Ritual Cannabis, is a private company that produces cannabis for both medical use in Bushert’s practice and for sale to recreational dispensaries.
“I’ve long noticed how cannabis helps the human psyche break free from societal constraints or trauma-related barriers, allowing people to release pent-up negative emotions,” the professor notes. “Overall, cannabis makes us more honest with our emotions and the feelings of others, helping us become kinder, more empathetic, and forgiving.”
Legal and Ethical Challenges
Despite his knowledge and experience with cannabis, Bushert still cannot formally integrate cannabis into his practice due to regional restrictions that prohibit psychiatrists from using the plant or its extracts in clinical settings. In fact, local laws forbid psychologists from conducting sessions with clients who are under the influence of cannabis or any other psychoactive substance.
“As a certified therapist, I have to conduct sessions involving cannabis in informal settings to avoid potential issues with my medical license,” the professor explains. “Although state authorities can set their own rules for psychotherapy sessions, the ethical code for psychiatrists is regulated at the national level. Therefore, ethical violations are equivalent to breaking federal medical practice laws and can result in license revocation and blacklisting. These rules prevent me from legally serving clients who are under the influence of cannabis during sessions.”
Bushert points out that terms like “altered state of consciousness” and “patient intoxication” are quite vague. After all, it’s one thing if a patient is truly incapacitated by a narcotic. Many others may use psychoactive substances in small therapeutic doses, avoiding intense intoxication, but are still considered “patients in an altered state of consciousness” under the law.
“Of course, in large doses, cannabis can have a dissociative effect on some people, but in standard therapeutic amounts, it provides only mild cerebral stimulation and physical relaxation,” Bushert observes. “I believe cannabis could be successfully integrated into creative therapy for psychological disorders if the medical community allows its use for these purposes.”
For now, such types of psychotherapy involving cannabis remain an underground phenomenon. However, anyone can help bring this practice into the open by actively discussing the use of cannabis in psychotherapy and supporting relevant reforms at both the regional and national levels.
Although not everyone has the same experience with cannabis, and experts acknowledge that some encounters with the plant can be negative, Professor Bushert believes that fears and prohibitions should not prevent humanity from using cannabis for mental health therapy and spiritual growth.