People who practice art therapy: how does it actually help people?

I’ve recently become curious about art therapy and would love to learn from people who have experience with it.

I enjoy pottery and drawing as hobbies. One thing I’ve noticed is that when I’m creating without overthinking, I sometimes end up seeing a different side of myself through the finished piece. It isn’t that the artwork “tells” me something, but it seems to reflect patterns, emotions, or thoughts that I wasn’t fully aware of before.

A friend of mine who works in counseling recently mentioned art therapy, so I started looking into it. That led me down a rabbit hole of different approaches: art therapy, sound healing, meditation workshops, expressive arts, and many other wellness practices.

Now I’m wondering:

What exactly is art therapy?

How is it different from simply making art as a hobby?

How does it actually help people? Is it about emotional expression, self-awareness, processing experiences, something else, or a combination of these?

I’d love to hear from art therapists, people who have participated in sessions, or anyone working in this field. I’m genuinely curious how you think it works, both in theory and in real life.