Adventures in Art Therapy

More than origami...

2012-01-22T17:15:00.001-05:00

AWESOME THING OF THE DAY: Cities Made Of Paper
January 22, 2012

Dutch artist Ingrid Siliakus makes shapes out of folded paper, but she's not just another origami hobbyist. (Although she can probably whip off a pretty awesome crane in no time.)

Instead, Siliakus makes incredibly detailed and fantastical cityscapes, which look like pages from the most amazing pop-up book you can imagine.

Some of Siliakus's work will be on display until February 29 at Erve Kots in the Netherlands.

HRH The Duchess of Cambridge becomes Royal Patron of The Art Room

2012-01-09T23:20:00.002-05:00

Today I discovered that The Duchess of Cambridge (nee Kate Middleton) narrowed down her selection of 4 charities to include an art therapy program in the UK, inspired after visiting an art therapy suite in a Montreal hospital.

William and Kate's first Royal tour

Art therapy

Despite protests outside, Kate and William were all smiles as they arrived at Montreal's Sainte-Justine University Hospital. They visited a 10-year-old kidney transplant patient in the art therapy suite.

HRH The Duchess of Cambridge becomes Royal Patron of The Art Room

We are delighted to announce that HRH The Duchess of Cambridge became Royal Patron of The Art Room on 5 January 2012.Director and Founder Juli Beattie said, “On behalf of all of our Trustees and staff and the children and young people we support, I want to thank the Duchess for choosing The Art Room. It is a fantastic endorsement of the work we do and the role that art and creativity can play in helping children and young people whose start in life has been difficult.”

Click here to read more about The Art Room and the Duchess' Patronage.

True That!

2012-01-05T21:43:00.001-05:00

Artwork of Soldiers Through the Last Century

2011-12-31T23:33:00.000-05:00

An exhibit (now unfortunately over) was presented in Philadelphia regarding the art of the military while they have been away at various wars. Although this wasn't formal art therapy, it appears to be art as therapy, and a way of documenting moments that were likely difficult to put into words. Working in a military environment shows me that this is not new, and that art will be a longstanding need for those serving in the armed forces, as well as with their families.

Dramatic artwork by US soldiers shows a century of war through their eyes
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 6:31 PM on 31st December 2011

Since the first Americans marched off to fight the British for independence, soldiers have been chronicling US wars with paintings and drawings that show the conflicts from the perspective of the troops on the ground.

Here are just a few of the 1,500 works of art by servicemen and women that were on display at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia as part of their Art of the American Solider exhibition. Beginning with portrayals of trench warfare in World War I, the artworks cover every American conflict through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Some are simple displays depicting the boredom and monotony of everyday life in the military. Others show darker truths about war -- portraits of combat's stress, trauma and weariness etched into the faces of servicemen. The art also often shows the ruination that war brings to a landscape and the people around it -- burned out buildings and devastated families.

Artistically, they run the gamut from realism to abstraction. However, most of the works tend to have more literal and less obtuse interpretations. The exhibit was launched in the fall of 2010 to coincide with American combat troops beginning to return home from Iraq. It ran until March 2011.

Click on the picture above to see more artwork

Musicians use divergent thinking more often than non-musicians

2011-12-14T23:59:00.006-05:00

I came across this article via a colleague and though it's a few years old, it still seems relevant. Even though the focus is specifically with musicians, I wonder if some of the same principles are true for any of the other arts as well.

Musicians use both sides of their brains more frequently than average people

Posted on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008 — 4:14 PM

Supporting what many of us who are not musically talented have often felt, new research reveals that trained musicians really do think differently than the rest of us. Vanderbilt University psychologists have found that professionally trained musicians more effectively use a creative technique called divergent thinking, and also use both the left and the right sides of their frontal cortex more heavily than the average person.

The research by Crystal Gibson, Bradley Folley and Sohee Park is currently in press at the journal Brain and Cognition.

“We were interested in how individuals who are naturally creative look at problems that are best solved by thinking ‘out of the box’,” Folley said. “We studied musicians because creative thinking is part of their daily experience, and we found that there were qualitative differences in the types of answers they gave to problems and in their associated brain activity.”

One possible explanation the researchers offer for the musicians’ elevated use of both brain hemispheres is that many musicians must be able to use both hands independently to play their instruments.

“Musicians may be particularly good at efficiently accessing and integrating competing information from both hemispheres,” Folley said. “Instrumental musicians often integrate different melodic lines with both hands into a single musical piece, and they have to be very good at simultaneously reading the musical symbols, which are like left-hemisphere-based language, and integrating the written music with their own interpretation, which has been linked to the right hemisphere.”

Previous studies of creativity have focused on divergent thinking, which is the ability to come up with new solutions to open-ended, multifaceted problems. Highly creative individuals often display more divergent thinking than their less creative counterparts.

To conduct the study, the researchers recruited 20 classical music students from the Vanderbilt Blair School of Music and 20 non-musicians from a Vanderbilt introductory psychology course. The musicians each had at least eight years of training. The instruments they played included the piano, woodwind, string and percussion instruments. The groups were matched based on age, gender, education, sex, high school grades and SAT scores.

The researchers conducted two experiments to compare the creative thinking processes of the musicians and the control subjects. In the first experiment, the researchers showed the research subjects a variety of household objects and asked them to make up new functions for them, and also gave them a written word association test. The musicians gave more correct responses than non-musicians on the word association test, which the researchers believe may be attributed to enhanced verbal ability among musicians. The musicians also suggested more novel uses for the household objects than their non-musical counterparts.

In the second experiment, the two groups again were asked to identify new uses for everyday objects as well as to perform a basic control task while the activity in their prefrontal lobes was monitored using a brain scanning technique called near-infrared spectroscopy, or NIRS. NIRS measures changes in blood oxygenation in the cortex while an individual is performing a cognitive task.

“When we measured subjects’ prefrontal cortical activity while completing the alternate uses task, we found that trained musicians had greater activity in both sides of their frontal lobes. Because we equated musicians and non-musicians in terms of their performance, this finding was not simply due to the musicians inventing more uses; there seems to be a qualitative difference in how they think about this information,” Folley said.

The researchers also found that, overall, the musicians had higher IQ scores than the non-musicians, supporting recent studies that intensive musical training is associated with an elevated IQ score.

The research was partially supported by a Vanderbilt University Discovery Grant.

Folley is a postdoctoral fellow. Park is a professor of psychology and psychiatry and a member of the Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience. Gibson was an undergraduate student and research assistant in the psychology department at Vanderbilt when this work was conducted and is now a Peace Corps volunteer based in Namibia. Park and Folley are Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development investigators.

Unsurprisingly, the Arts makes people happy!

2011-12-06T22:34:00.004-05:00

I came across this article recently, and discovered that according to this data gathering, when ranked, of the top 6 activities that create the most happiness, #3-6 are all rooted in the arts - drama/theater, music, and art (viewing and creating). But of course, we already knew this! :)

Art and Happiness: New research indicates 4 out of 6 happiest activities are arts-related (!)

December 2, 2011 By Clayton Lord

Last week, an article that was actually published nearly a month ago on Chatelaine.com passed through my Facebook feed four times in two days. The article, titled “The three times people are happiest—you may be surprised,” rather vaguely discussed a research project out of the London School of Economics that was mapping happiness levels associated with various activities—and the results, per the article, indicated that, behind sex and exercise, the next most happiness-inducing activity was attending the theatre.

This landed with a big thud inside my head, as it sits so squarely next to a lot of the work we’re trying to do to understand the impacts, effects and benefits of the arts beyond the economic, so I did a little research and discovered that the project is called the Mappiness Project and it is the graduate work of an LSE researcher named George MacKerron. And I emailed him, he emailed back, and we chatted briefly.

So here’s the shocker—the Chatelaine article, and the Marie Claire article it’s based on, left out potentially the most amazing part of MacKerron’s (very preliminary) results so far. Of the top six most happiness-inducing activities, again after sex and exercise, the other four are all arts-related. They are, in descending order:

1) Intimacy/making love

2) Sports/running/exercise

3) Theatre/dance/concert

4) Singing/performing

5) Exhibition/museum/library

6) Hobbies/arts/crafts

MacKerron’s research, which relies on an iPhone app that randomly dings at you twice a day and has you take a short survey on your happiness and alertness, has garnered three million data points from 45,000 users in the UK over the last 18 months. And it’s important to point out that, of those 3 million responses, only 3,500 were in the theatre/dance/concert category (about .3%). But, and this is important, those 3,500 people who responded during or immediately after that activity were demonstrably happier. The way McKerron put it to me, “Someone at the theatre will average about 6 points happier than someone who isn’t.” (It’s on a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 being completely unhappy and 100 being completely happy). This, compared to someone having sex, who averages 12 points happier than someone who isn’t, and I see a new ad campaign.

MacKerron and his co-researcher/advisor, Susana Mouranto, are (at least for now) particularly looking at the impact of the environment around an individual on their happiness, and so as part of that they have attempted to control for confounding variables in an attempt to ensure that they’re actually measuring the happiness induced by the event of that moment, and not the general happiness level of the individual. In this case, MacKerron is intrigued by the theatre result in part because theatre attendance requires advance directed action (i.e. you have to buy a ticket), so that tends to mean that he feels more comfortable extrapolating that they’re happier because they’re in the theatre, and not in the theatre because they’re happier. He has more trouble with such conclusions in places like parks.

Survey responses that come in more than an hour after the solicitation are discounted in an effort to ensure that people are actually recounting their happiness levels as accurately as possible (and, at the same time, to be realistic about allowing a person to finish up (ahem) whatever activity they’re doing at the time). And so, in this way, MacKerron’s work isn’t really about long term echoes of an experience—more instant gratification than long-term emotional health. Which is in itself interesting. And, while he didn’t have the demographic data in a useable form when he chatted with me, he does have demographics on the respondents as well as relatively-accurate GPS location tracking of where people were when they responded, which spark two ideas in my head: such research has the possibility of (1) helping us better understand if our work is differently-affecting different people and (2) allowing us to actually map of particular events (or organizations) are instigating higher happiness scores in general.

All in all, MacKerron’s work, which he’s also discussed in a TEDx talk, has a lot of potential to tell us more about what role the arts play in the emotional well-being of individuals—and I can’t wait for him to begin publishing his work, which is in process.

Across all types of theatre work (see (very preliminary) graph), our research into intrinsic impact indicates that captivation (i.e. getting lost in the work and losing track of time) and emotional resonance are particularly affecting impacts with theatre.

In this sense, then, perhaps another word for captivation (especially in context with sex and exercise) might be euphoria, which Webster’s dryly defines as “a feeling of well-being or elation,” and Wikipedia more colorfully defines as “a medically recognized mental and emotional condition in which a person experiences intense feelings of well-being, elation, happiness, ecstasy, excitement and joy.”

Six points happier. Six points, I would argue, healthier. That’s awesome data, and I can’t wait to see more.

A New Meaning to Pointillist Art...

2011-12-05T22:24:00.004-05:00

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AWESOME THING OF THE DAY: Candy Sprinkles Photography

November 30, 2011

This "photograph" isn't a photograph: it's actually a painstakingly created piece of pointillist artwork. And it's made of candy.

We spoke to Joel Brochu, the Canadian artist and student at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan who created this brilliant piece of candy art. It took him a long time - Joel spent nearly eight months placing 221,184 nonpareils sprinkles (circular candy sprinkles that are used in cake and doughnut decoration) on a four foot by 1.5 foot board using double-sided tape.

Joel didn't actually take the photograph the artwork is based on: "The photograph from which I worked was taken by Shingo Uchiyama, a Japanese photographer. I stumbled on his work when searching for the perfect image to use and absolutely fell in love with his beagle. He granted me permission to use it."

In order to go from photograph to candy mosaic, Joel ran the original pic through a computer program that breaks down images into essential colours. According to the artist, "the difficult part was matching the computer colours to the actual colours of the nonpareils", which is not surprising, since he only had six colours of candy to work with. That's right: the artwork only contains six colours. The photorealistic effect is achieved by visual colour blending when it's viewed from a distance.

And as if all that wasn't impressive enough, how about this? Joel's not even majoring in fine arts. He told us he was studying art for a few months, but decided to make a change: "I have settled on religion and Eastern philosophy, another interest I have had since childhood". It seems he's already stumbled on an effective form of meditation.

Here are some close-ups that reveal the details of Joel's work of art.

Guest Blog: Fabric Meditation

2011-11-20T01:37:00.005-05:00

I was honored to have a request from Allison Brooks to be a guest blogger here on "Adventures in Art Therapy." She describes herself as "very passionate about enlightening people about the benefits natural and integrative therapies can have on multiple diseases and illnesses." As a result, she wrote a very timely article on the benefits of art therapy - specifically fabric arts with quilting - with those who suffer from cancer. A little bit about Allie - she attended the University of Mississippi and earned her degree in Biomedical Anthropology. She is now studying in the field to finish an ethnography on the effects of biomedicalization on Bolivian Cultures. Please enjoy her contribution!

The Art of Therapy

How art and medicine are working together

From the dawn of man, art has been used as a way to release creativity, tell a story, decorate hallways, and maybe poke fun of an enemy. But no matter what, art is a visual or verbal way to express a person’s emotions, character, and insight; basically an extension of the artist. Even though it seems like a way to pass time, to make a gift, or continue a hobby, art is making its debut in hospitals all around the world as a way to manage stress and release feelings during cancer treatments.

Though cancer is a physical issue, it is very common for cancer patients to encounter severe emotional and psychological malaise. This is where art therapy comes into play. Dr. Josee Leclerc, who has a private practice for art therapy, states, “Art therapy really allows for an expression that words would not. The goal is to allow for emotions that are too difficult to put into works, or to use the image as a mirror or a witness of what the person is feeling, experiencing, or going through.”

The most notable of the cancer art therapies are the quilting projects. There have been multiple quilting programs in hospitals around the United States. Deborah Theriault has been facilitating quilting projects in the major cities of New Brunswick for years and stated, “This form of therapy gave them an avenue that changed their focus and spiritually took them away from their hospital beds and away from their sickness.” These quilts then go on to be a testament of their battle for survivors, and for the patients that did not survive, the quilts become a fond memory for the families.

Lin Swensson is another quilt therapist which travels to different hospitals to offer lessons. She encourages patients to either paint their stories on swatches of fabric or use pieces donated by local fabric stores. Patients find the quilting very therapeutic and often make quilts for one another. One lady, named Kate Graves, said that the quilts were “something tangible that could express far more than a get-well card.”

“Building Blocks” Kate Graves

Though this form of art therapy is not considered a form of cancer treatment, it is gaining a solid reputation as an alternative way to rehabilitate cancer patients. Many doctors recommend patients diagnosed with a low-survivability rate or aggressive cancer, such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma or pleural mesothelioma, to look into a form of art therapy. Even though every cancer is a serious cancer, the ones with the harsher treatments drain the person of morale quicker. Art therapy is not only an escape from the typical treatment routine, but it also improves self-esteem and gives the patient a sense of control when it seems out of reach.

Brain surgery triggers compulsive artmaking

2011-11-12T14:34:00.003-05:00

I came across this program on TV about "Ingenious Minds," and this one particular program followed the case of a chiropractor who had to have brain surgery to unwrap blood vessels that were pinching a nerve near his ear. After some complications from the surgery, they had to remove part of his cerebellum to ease some swelling. As a result, he encountered some side effects, such as double vision, difficulty with balance, and....the compulsive need to create art. Neuroscientists are now studying his brain makeup to see how the structure of his brain is linked to creativity. Watch the episode below:

Jon Sarkin was a successful chiropractor until he suffered a brain aneurysm while golfing. While in surgery, Jon died on the table and doctors had to remove nearly half of his cerebellum to save his life. Jon couldn't walk or talk for a year and he started drawing and painting as a way to communicate.

For Jon, making art isn't an option: it's his life and his curse. Jon's condition is a rare one known as "acquired savant syndrome." Some of the world's most esteemed neurologists want to study his brain to understand his sudden compulsion to create art.

The researchers discover that Jon's brain re-wired itself after the trauma. Functions that the cerebellum usually controls (motor control, attention span) have been re-routed to the frontal lobe, which usually handles high-level functions like abstract thinking, decision-making and creativity.

A New Tack on Modern Art!

2011-11-08T17:47:00.001-05:00

Art Gallery Cleaner Unknowingly Scrubs Artwork

2011-11-04T17:58:00.005-05:00

In the world of art in general...

Art Gallery Cleaner Destroys Artwork worth $1,118,000

There's a lot to be said for keeping a space clean and tidy. But when that space happens to be an art gallery, you have to be careful what you're sanitizing. An overzealous cleaner at a German gallery found that out the hard way when she ruined a sculpture valued at €800,000 (CAD$1,118,650) because she thought it was dirty.

The artwork, which was created by German artist Martin Kippenberger who died in 1997, was called 'When It Starts Dripping From the Ceiling'. It featured a rubber trough placed under a wooden tower, with paint inside the trough meant to represent dried rainwater. The cleaner obviously thought it was just dirt, and managed to remove it all with a scouring brush.

This isn't the first time a work of art has been mistaken for something that needs to be cleaned up. In 2001, an installation by British artist Damien Hirst was swept up and thrown away by a cleaner at the Eyestorm gallery. Of course in that case, the "art" in question was a room full of ashtrays, half-filled coffee cups, empty beer bottles and newspapers, so the cleaner could be forgiven. The artist himself found the whole thing "fantastic. Very funny."

Other artworks have been lost or damaged this way, including a so-called "grease stain" by Joseph Beuys which was apparently valued at about $557,000, and a work by artist Gustav Metzger at the Tate gallery in Britain that included - you guessed it - a bag of trash. Apparently the old saying/cliché is true: one man's trash really is another man's treasure.

That pretty much explains it....

2011-10-16T20:29:00.004-05:00

Ancient art supplies found in South African cave

2011-10-15T16:46:00.008-05:00

October 13, 2011 — WASHINGTON (AP) — Researchers in South Africa have discovered what may have been the world's earliest artist's studio. A 100,000-year-old workshop used to mix and store the reddish pigment ochre has been discovered in Blombos Cave on the rugged southern coast near Cape Town. At the same site, scientists have found some of the earliest sharp stone tools, as well as evidence of fishing.

The latest find is reported in Friday's edition of the journal Science. It includes pieces of ochre, grinding bowls, shells for storage and bone and charcoal to mix with the pigment. Lead researcher Christopher Henshilwood of the University of Bergen, Norway, said the find represents an important benchmark in the evolution of complex human mental processes.

The ochre could have been used for painting, decoration and skin protection, according to the researchers. The discovery shows that even at that time "humans had the conceptual ability to source, combine and store substances that were then possibly used to enhance their social practices."

Two separate tool kits for working ochre were found at the site, the researchers said. Henshilwood, who is also affiliated with the South Africa's University of Witwatersrand, said in a statement that researchers believe that pieces of ochre were rubbed on rock to make a fine red powder, and that was mixed with crushed bone, charcoal, stone chips and a liquid. The mixture was put into abalone shells and stirred with a bone.

SoulCollage® and Art Therapy

2011-10-15T00:01:00.003-05:00

After seeing Seena Frost speak at the AATA conference in Sacramento (2010), was looking forward to learning how the SoulCollage® technique worked, but all the trainings are out of state. Thankfully, PATA is hosting a workshop this month:

October 22, 2011 11:00 AM-1:00 PM

Karen Baer, MA, ATR-BC sponsored by Potomac Art TherapyAssociation (PATA) and the George Washington University Graduate Art Therapy Program.

(2 CEC’s available, free for PATA members, $10 administrative fee for non-members*)

Workshop will be held after the October PATA Board Meeting held 10:00 -11:00 AM. The meeting agenda is posted on the PATA website.

The Potomac Art Therapy Association (PATA is an approved NBCC provider (#6500).

For more information about the workshop and to view the objectives please visit the PATA website. www.potomacarttherapy.org

"Absent" and Art Therapy

2011-10-08T21:41:00.006-05:00

A documentary called "Absent" - which covers the epidemic of absentee fathers (not just physically, but emotionally and mentally) and its effects on their children through interviews - came to my attention. I thought it would relate well with my adolescent clients, so I showed it in one of my art therapy groups and then had them create art in direct response to it. It appeared to have a powerful reaction as they reflected in art and shared with the other group members. The group members gave me permission to share their art and reflections anonymously (click here to see them). This is a great film to share in your practice with those clients who can relate to this topic, and pairing the processing with art can really start a dialogue to work through this difficult issue.

Art therapy program helps people with physical disabilities

2011-10-04T21:18:00.004-05:00

It's nice to see art therapy being used - and highlighted - in my hometown of Tulsa!

Melissa Dickerson joined the Center for Individuals with Physical Challenges

for physical therapy three years ago and stayed for the art programs.

MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World

by: MIKE AVERILL World Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 04, 2011

10/4/2011 9:17:25 AM

Melissa Dickerson discovered the therapeutic side of art by chance.

Because of her multiple sclerosis, Dickerson went from being able to walk to using a wheelchair and is now somewhere in between, relying on her chair most of the time. Three years ago her neurologist recommended that she go to the Center for Individuals with Physical Challenges for physical therapy, something her insurance wouldn't cover.

"I came for the physical therapy and stayed for the art," she said.

The nonprofit center offers a wide range of wellness, recreational programs and rehabilitative services for people with physical challenges. About 40 students participate in a variety of arts programs, said Janice Bawden, a visual arts instructor. "It adds meaning to life. That's especially important with people with physical challenges because they may not be able to participate in activities as they had in the past," Bawden said.

The center's art programs include art history, painting, sculpting, stained glass, ceramics and open studio time. Dickerson, who had never painted before going to the center, spends about four days a week working on art projects. Without the program, "a lot of my friends here would be staying at home having a pity party," she said. "You feel worse and worse when you focus on what feels bad. This program really means a lot to me."

The students' works of art are displayed in the studio and are for sale. The art is also sold at the center's annual Holiday Mart and area arts festivals. "When you're on a fixed income, it's nice to have that little extra money to go out and eat," Dickerson said. "When you can't work for a living, you start feeling kind of worthless. "It's nice to feel worthwhile again," she said.

One of the newest programs at the center is "neurobics," a brain fitness and training class using Posit Science software that focuses on two separate areas: auditory and visual. The different exercises help with working memory, concentration and alertness. "It helps with brain plasticity, opening new pathways," said Margie Crossno, program and volunteer services coordinator. "The program really helps our members who have suffered a stroke, head injury or trauma." Crossno said it can help with remembering sequences and make it easier to carry on a conversation.

The class is getting positive feedback. "I really like it. For me it's really challenging," Victoria Baker said. "I like the challenge." Baker was in a motorcycle accident when she was 19 and suffered a traumatic brain injury, said her mother, Rhondelle Blankenship. "She has a lot of physical handicaps but feels trapped inside her brain," Blankenship said. Blankenship said she moved her daughter here from Colorado just for the programs at the center and called the effect it has had on the 27-year-old "amazing." "She was deeply depressed. Now she's made friends, her attitude has changed and she's excited to come here every day," she said. "Even my attitude has changed."

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

About the center

The Center for Individuals with Physical Challenges, 815 S. Utica Ave., has enabled thousands of people with disabilities to increase their physical capabilities since opening in 1957.

Qualification for membership:

A person's primary disability must involve a mobility, dexterity or sensory impairment.
The person must have sufficient functional capabilities to participate independently in center activities.
If a person needs assistance while participating in activities, he or she must provide his or her own personal assistant.

Annual membership and class fees are based on a sliding scale.

For more information, call 918-584-8607 or go to tulsaworld.com/tulsacenter

So, what if Dr. Kevorkian had art therapy.....?

2011-10-03T20:21:00.007-05:00

Dr. Jack Kevorkian's art,

belongings to be sold

September 30, 2011 — DETROIT (AP) — Paintings, writings and the iconic blue sweater of assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian are going up for auction, his attorney and close friend said Friday.

Lawyer Mayer Morganroth said the late pathologist's artwork and items will be sold in late October at the New York Institute of Technology. Scheduled for auction are more than 20 paintings, Kevorkian's art kit and the sweaters he became known for donning during his high-profile assistance in the suicides of dozens of people in the 1990s.

Many of the paintings depict death or dying, and are often intended to provoke or disturb. One of those up for auction is entitled "Genocide," and features a bloody head being dangled by the hair and held by the hands of two soldiers. One wears a German military uniform from World War II and the other a Turkish uniform from World War I.

Morganroth said Kevorkian wanted to depict the mass killings of Armenians and Jews during World I and World War II, respectively. The doctor was of Armenian descent. "Just looking at it, you can say (it's) grotesque," Morganroth said. "They were to make a point, like any art."

CBS Detroit first reported the auction plan. Morganroth said he doesn't know the value of the collection but most of the proceeds will go to Kevorkian's sole heir — a niece — and the charity Kicking Cancer for Kids. Morganroth said the timing was right to sell the items, since there was interest from several auction houses and the broader art world, as well as a desire to settle the estate.

The Associated Press left a message seeking comment with the New York Institute of Technology. Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder in 1999, and was released from prison in 2007. He died in June at the age of 83.

Suburban Detroit art gallery owner Anne Kuffler, who has twice displayed Kevorkian's work and sells signed and numbered lithographs of six of his works for $500 apiece, said she was offered $100,000 for one of his original paintings during the first exhibit of his work in 1994. Kuffler, owner of the Ariana Gallery in Royal Oak, suspects that the value has only increased since then.

"I had several orders for his prints this morning," she said. Kuffler recalled an argument with Kevorkian, who painted the frame of "Genocide" with his own blood and wanted to have a skeleton with an IV flowing through it next to the painting.

"He said, 'I want to show how horrible it is, I want people to be upset by it,'" Kuffler said. "I said, 'If you haven't portrayed it in your painting, then you haven't succeeded.'" Many of the paintings have been hanging at the Armenian Library and Museum of America in Watertown, Mass., which also has a collection of his compositions and writings. Kevorkian was also a keen musician and composer.

"I think the legacy is showing the many facets of him and his capabilities," Morganroth said. "He was a multi-talented man."

The Growing Role of Art Therapy Around the World

2011-09-03T20:36:00.005-05:00

Thanks to Philip Reed for contributing this guest article about art therapy!!

The Growing Role of Art Therapy Around the World

--Philip J Reed, on behalf of Corona Regional Medical Center

Art therapy helps clients express feelings, ease anxiety, resolve internal conflicts, control behavior, and improve social skills. With creative materials and processes at hand, people can gain a greater sense of self and connect more completely with the world around them. This form of therapy is rooted in counseling techniques, psychological theory, and human development.

Around the world, people are exploring the benefits of art therapy, which not only encourages a relationship between the patient and therapist, but also the art created. Therapists focus on helping individuals who struggle expressing feelings verbally to release emotion through their art. To assist their clients, therapists must have a solid understanding of mental and behavioral health practices and art processes.

The uses for art therapy around the world are indeed diverse. Therapists, individuals, and other groups might use their art to address pressing issues in their society and try raising public awareness. They might work with other groups to make wider changes to the communities around them, explore environmental matters, or even encourage change for global problems. Indeed, many individuals feel art therapy has a potential to change the world.

Art therapists themselves show many similarities and differences. They are passionate about helping their clients better themselves, and are deeply committed to the impact artistic media can have on a person’s life. On a professional level, the requirements they must adhere to in order to practice their profession may vary considerably based on the state or country in which they work. Often, an art therapist will be required to register with a professional organization or directory, and may have codes of ethics to follow. International groups and communities are continually working together to integrate the profession and create an ideal combination of methods and take art therapy to the world stage.

In terms of how an art therapist works, the approaches they use may be as dynamic as the number of artistic outlets present today. After all, “art” encompasses fields like dance, music, writing, drama, and other visual possibilities. The right creative opportunity can do a great deal for helping patients heal, discover more about themselves, and help them gain a better understanding of their needs.

Gem of a Farewell....

2011-08-03T21:25:00.005-05:00

I always like it when the kids I work with graduate from our program. However, some leave gems behind with their words of wisdom and their compliments, which we don't often hear from our clients. Below are the parting words from a graduating client, along with the individual brownie made for me (with my initials)...I hope this encourages the work of you other art therapists out there!

"Mrs. Mucklow. You are such an amazing art therapist. You're so funny and kind. I've learned to love art again. And I thank you. When I was little, I was always interested in art, but soon after my depression hit, I lost interest. I thought I would never be able to find pleasure in art again. But who would've thought coming here would help? I sure didn't. You definitely boosted my self-confidence toward my art. I can't thank you enough. I hope to visit you in the near future. Take care of yourself!"

Art aids WTB Soldiers

2011-08-03T15:23:00.004-05:00

Art aids WTB Soldiers
Charmain Z. Brackett
Special to the Signal

The entryway of the Warrior Transition Battalion Building 329 has become an art gallery.

It all started with one idea.

Daryl Walker, who works in with the WTB, noticed one of the WTB Soldiers, Spc. Jose Hernandez bring in a model of a motorcycle for one of the noncommissioned officers who was leaving. He mentioned to Hernandez he would like one.

Hernandez made him one, and when Walker started to take it home, he had second thoughts.

“If I put it here, all the other Soldiers could enjoy it so I’ll go ahead and display it,” he said.

That was only about a month ago. Since then, other Soldiers have brought in paintings and other types of art work, which has transformed the building’s lobby. Now, Walker is looking for other Soldiers with artistic talent and more places to display their work.

Hernandez has spent 19 months with the WTB, and during that time, he turned to art to help him on his road to recovery.

“I didn’t paint since the sixth grade,” he said. “ I thought that skill was gone.”

He often gives his paintings to other Soldiers. One of his paintings hanging in Building 329 is of a Soldier kneeling in honor of a fallen comrade; another shows a warrior in transition from the battlefield to a future in college.

The art has provided a form of therapy, he said.

“It helps me to be relaxed and comfortable,” he said. “My condition has gotten better, and it’s kept me busy.”

Another Soldier who paints for therapy is Staff Sgt. Sonia Coleman. Her artwork is on the other end of the spectrum from Hernandez; she does abstract paintings.

“It allows you to go and experience your emotions on canvas,” she said. “You can release your frustration and depression. My paintings are different depending on the emotion.”

Walker said he not only wants WTB Soldiers’ artwork displayed around post and in the community, but Soldiers from other units as well.

Not only can art be therapeutic for those creating, but it can help those who see it as well. Walker wants to highlight the benefits of it.

“I think it’s a good thing,” he said.

To learn more about the art project, contact Walker or occupational therapist, Sterlyn Frazier, at daryl.k.walker@us.army.mil or sterlyn.d.frazier@us.army.

42nd Annual AATA Conference!

2011-07-06T21:58:00.001-05:00

This year's conference is in my backyard in DC! Held at the beautiful Marriott Wardman Park hotel.

Creative Energy - Collective Efforts: Empowering the Art Therapy Journey is this year's theme.

I plan on attending some fun-filled and informative sessions for the main 3 days.

Also looking forward to attending the 4oth anniversary gathering of my fellow GWU alumni!

Art Therapy Helps Japanese Tsunami Children Survivors

2011-06-07T22:19:00.003-05:00

Young Pain From Japanese Disasters Eased By Artmaking

By: Lindsey Christ

After the tsunami washed away their homes, schools and sometimes even their parents, many Japanese children were encouraged to draw pictures about their feelings. Now their art has come to New York and local students are responding. NY1's Education reporter Lindsey Christ filed the following report.

Crayons can sometimes help children heal. For the youngest survivors of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, art has been a key to recovery. This week, some of their drawings came to New York City, as the first stop of an international tour.

Drawings and writings by more than 300 Japanese students are on display through Friday at the AIGA National Design Center on Fifth Avenue near 22nd Street in the Flatiron District.

The children's pain is clear. One 10-year-old child wrote, "I was worried about school -- what about aftershocks? This is how I felt deep inside. It was scary. That's all. My heart is so anxious."

The non-profit group Hug Japan visited more than 100 schools along the tsunami-ravaged coast. Workers noticed lots of material donations but not much psychological support.

"Nothing to help children in their mind, so teachers didn't know how to encourage the children," says Hug Japan representative Kazunari Matoba.

That's where the art therapy came in. Students were told to focus on either how they feel now or what they hope for the future. As part of the exhibit, New Yorkers can respond by drawing or writing postcards to the children.

Students at schools like Harlem's Manhattan East Middle School raised money and drew their own responses.

"New York is suffering from the 9/11 and also New York is a special place for art," says Hug Japan representative Kazunari Matoba. "Maybe Japanese students will be encouraged by New York children's art."

The art therapy of photographer Mayumi Suzuki hangs opposite the student drawings. She lost her home and both parents to the tsunami.

"After the earthquake, I did not know what I can do. However, by picking up the camera, I was able to take a step forward. And I believe that it is because I have the camera that I can keep going," says Suzuki.

Photographing the students, she says they looked depressed in the beginning, but seemed uplifted after turning to art.

Music Therapy Calms Agitation, Relieves Depression

2011-05-30T15:39:00.003-05:00

As an art therapist and a musician - I completely am on board with what our sister field of music therapy is doing. Sharing a report of its success here:

Music Therapy Can Calm Agitation, Relieve Depression

By: LAIRD HARRISON, Internal Medicine News Digital Network

05/24/11

SAN FRANCISCO – Music therapy can improve symptoms of depression and agitation in residents with dementia, according to researchers who described an innovative program in the Metropolitan Jewish Health System in New York.

"There was a major drop in agitation after 2 weeks of music therapy," said Dr. Mary S. Mittelman, director of the psychosocial research and support programs at nearby Langone Medical Center, and statistical analyst for the pilot program. "Depression went way down."

While most nursing homes offer music as passive entertainment, the researchers tried to systematically engage residents as active participants who move in time to the music, sing, or play instruments.

Music may stimulate people with dementia in a way that language cannot, said Jan Maier, RN, of the Research Triangle Institute International in Durham, N.C., who offered background information on music therapy. "In dementia, the parts of the brain that have to do with music and emotional memory are preserved," she said.

She cited anecdotal reports of people with dementia learning three-part rounds or recalling the words to long hymns they sang in their youth. In some documented cases, former professional musicians with such severe dementia that they couldn’t dress themselves have been able to play instruments in ensembles, she said.

"People who don’t remember their son or daughter who come to visit will remember the person who leads their music group, and say, ‘Do we have music today?’ " Ms. Maier said.

^{Photo courtesy Metropolitan Jewish Health System}

Music therapist Michael McGaughy is shown engaging a resident as an active participant in a music program, which some studies have found helps patients with dementia and agitation.

A handful of randomized controlled trials have shown reductions in agitation in patients with dementia who participate in music therapy, she said, citing among other studies one by researchers in Taipei, Taiwan, that recently documented the effect (Int. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry 2011 July;26:670-8 [doi: 10.1002/gps.2580]).

Music therapy has great potential in long-term care, Dr. Mittelman said, since about 70% of nursing home residents over age 75 years suffer from dementia.

The Metropolitan Jewish Health System developed protocols in which the residents sang along or moved in time to the music, and others that incorporated music into activities of daily living, such as wound care, bathing, and range-of-motion exercises.

In a video demonstrating a typical session, women waved scarves in time to big band music. "The movement intervention worked best," said Kendra Ray, an art therapist who directed the project.

Dr. Mittelman said the researchers collected data on 84 people, of whom 8 had agitation, 42 had depression, and 34 were wanderers. The research showed an average one-third drop on the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory and a similar improvement in depression, measured by the Dementia Mood Picture Test. Depression returned when the music therapists left and certified nursing assistants took over the activities. Results from the Algase Wandering Scale were inconsistent. Dr. Mittelman acknowledged that the data were only preliminary and that larger studies should be conducted.

But, as another measure of success, Dr. Mittelman said that some of the participants’ families testified about the benefits of the program. Some said that they enjoyed their visits more because the residents’ moods had improved so much. "My Mom is more upbeat, more attentive, and talkative," one wrote. And, at times, residents picked up instruments to practice on their own, outside of music-therapy hours.

If you are trying to address specific behaviors, Dr. Mittelman advised, time the therapy for when these behaviors are likely to occur. For example, if someone wanders in the evening, play music at that time. But don’t play music all day. That can become irritating, she said.

When designing a music-therapy program for an individual, "Pick the music that person loved," Dr. Mittelman said. "If you don’t know, go to their early adult years. If they like it, they’ll let you know right away."

Dr. Mittelman and Ms. Ray said they had no conflict of interest on the topic.

Visit My Art Therapy Store!

2011-05-17T23:19:00.005-05:00

So this has been a while in coming...but I finally finished up my art therapy store with merchandise that gives you options of sharing art therapy in a number of different ways! I also added some items with some of my personal artwork as well, if you are just looking for something artistic to have around. Here are a few samples below!

Minimalist Mental Disorders Posters

2011-03-27T00:21:00.007-05:00

A friend of mine clued me in to this art by British graphic designer Patrick Smith. This is a great combination of art and psychology, and I wanted to share it with you!

Art Therapy & Mental Illness

2011-03-27T00:05:00.007-05:00

Here is a nice feature about art therapy from "The Emotion Machine" website:

Art Therapy And Mental Illness

Art therapists believe that through creative expression and by evoking one’s imaginative abilities a person can live a greater life of physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Depending on the patient’s strengths and interests, certain art therapies may include any combination of dance, drama, music, writing, embroidery, and the visual arts (drawing, painting, sculpting and photography).

Through these expressive mediums it has been shown that patients become better at reducing stress, managing behavior, developing interpersonal relationships, increasing self-esteem and self-awareness, improving problem-solving and other cognitive faculties, as well as achieving insight.

The arts have probably been used as a source of healing ever since they have come into existence; but art therapy did not emerge as a distinct profession until the 1940s where psychotherapists began to take interest in the creative output of those with mental illnesses (such as the famous Mexican artist Martin Ramirez who was diagnosed with schizophrenia) as well as those on psychedelic drugs (such as this government-mandated study on LSD).

Recently there has been a new Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) program at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Germany which includes art therapy techniques mixed with yoga, anger management, cognitive processing therapy and other treatments.

More amazingly, PBS’ Wide Angle, Focal Point documentary did a segment on how art therapy has even been used to reform terrorists (out of over 200 patients who have completed the program only 5% have relapsed!):

The Art of Music Therapy

2011-02-27T13:21:00.007-05:00

As an art therapist and a musician, I completely understand the power of music therapy. (I've even thought about going back to school for a music therapy degree, but the opportunity hasn't presented itself yet.) Here's some great reports about our cousin in the creative arts therapies.

Healing through music therapy

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) Listening to music can put you in a good mood, but on-going research proves it can literally improve a person's overall health.

On-going research has shown that playing live, structured and uncomplicated music for infants can decrease heart rates, increase oxygen intake, lower cortisol levels and facilitate development. Certified practitioners say music therapy can sometimes reach patients in ways other therapies cannot.

The University of Alabama is the only school in the state offering a degree in Music Therapy and as CBS 42's Leigh Garner reports, the benefits of a good song could be life changing.

Musical Therapy Provides New Healing Remedies

The University of Alabama is the only school in the state with a program and degree for Musical Therapy. Department heads and professors run clinicals at various facilities as part of the degree requirements and to further their research. In recent studies they have discovered playing live, simple, and structured music can actually lower stress levels in adults and children. In premature babies, musical therapy also decreases the amount of time many infants must stay in the hospital. Practicioners say the difference musical therapy can make in a patient's life is visible and recognizable, while it can also provide financial benefits for hospitals and insurance providers.

Kids Fighting Cancer in the Studio

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Every day in the United States, 46 children are diagnosed with cancer. One

out of five don't survive treatment, but music is helping young patients heal emotionally and physically.

Eleven-year-old Alex Harkins has been coming to Texas Children's Hospital since before she could talk.

"I had a tumor on my liver," Harkins told Ivanhoe.

Doctors removed it, but during follow up visits, she discovered a special place here -- a recording studio where kids write down their feelings and put them to music.

"Anything that kids can do that brings them joy helps to boost their immune system," Anita Kruse, founder of Purple Songs Can Fly at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas, explained.

Research shows music helps calm patients during procedures, promotes relaxation and sleep, and reduces pain and treatment side effects. Harkins has been cancer free for ten years. Her message to other kids

"Don't give up now matter how hard it gets," Harkins said.

Children from around the world have recorded in this studio. Their songs are heard played on Continental Airlines flights. The music recorded at the studio has also flown into space. One of the NASA astronauts took two of the CDs on a shuttle mission to the international space station.

Farewell to Helen Landgarten

2011-02-26T20:37:00.001-05:00

latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-helen-landgarten-20110226,0,1745408.story

Helen B. Landgarten dies at 89; pioneering art therapist

The L.A. painter established a clinical art therapy program combining art and counseling at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and graduate departments at two schools.

By Claire Noland, Los Angeles Times

February 26, 2011

Helen B. Landgarten, a Los Angeles artist and pioneering art therapist who established a clinical art therapy program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and graduate departments in art therapy at Immaculate Heart College and Loyola Marymount University, has died. She was 89.

Landgarten died Wednesday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after suffering a stroke, Loyola Marymount announced.

In the 1970s, Landgarten helped legitimize art therapy, which combines art and counseling, on the West Coast. Practitioners say that art therapy can be an effective diagnostic and treatment tool during psychotherapy sessions, particularly with children, adolescents, families and groups.

"I can have a family create some art together and in about a half-hour, by the way they have proceeded — who went first, who went last, the whole mechanism, observing all that — I could tell you what the family system is, what role each person played, how they functioned as a unit," Landgarten said in a 1986 interview with The Times. "Now when people come to a clinic, they don't push and shove each other like they might at home. You know people are on their best behavior, so the art can be symbolic of what happens in their daily lives."

Art also provides mental health patients with a positive, creative outlet and allows them to communicate with others in nonverbal ways, Landgarten said. And the art produced is tangible evidence of the effort made in the treatment process.

A painter, she earned a bachelor of fine arts degree at UCLA in 1963. She was drawn to psychotherapy in the 1960s and '70s, said Debra Linesch, chairman of the graduate department of marital and family therapy at Loyola Marymount.

"As a painter, she recognized the deeper connection between art and the unconscious, one's own inner life," Linesch said in an interview Friday.

Landgarten earned a master's degree in marital and family therapy at Goddard College in Vermont in 1972 and introduced a clinical art therapy practice to Thalians Community Mental Health Center at Cedars-Sinai.

In 1976, she founded a master's degree program in art therapy at Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles, the first of its kind on the West Coast. After the college closed in 1980, she moved the program to Loyola Marymount. She directed the program and taught courses until 1988, when she retired.

She was the author of academic textbooks, including "Clinical Art Therapy," "Family Art Psychotherapy," "Adult Art Psychotherapy" and "Magazine Photo Collage."

In retirement, she remained active at Loyola Marymount's Helen B. Landgarten Art Therapy Clinic, which works with children and families.

Born Helen Barbara Tapper in Detroit on March 4, 1921, she married Nathan Landgarten in 1942. They had two children, daughter Aleda and son Marc, who survive her.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Sunday at Mount Sinai Memorial Park, 5950 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles.

claire.noland@latimes.com

What is art therapy?

2011-01-26T00:58:00.001-05:00

Here is a good interview with art therapist Angelina Rodriguez about what art therapy is...a common question by those who are not familiar with the field or would like to know more.

Color Therapy

2011-01-25T23:35:00.009-05:00

As some you have read, I have posted on the influence of color on our lives, including how it may define what career you may choose and how colors can describe or represent different moods. The Art Therapy Blog is now posting on Color Therapy, and wanted to include this information here to share!

Color Therapy & Healing – An Introduction

January 24th

It is everywhere you look, and everywhere you don’t look. You delight in its marvels both consciously and sub-consciously. You see color all the time, but how often do you think about its origins and effects? In a series of articles, we are going to explore this topic further. With this first article, we’ll go over some basics of color therapy and healing.

Topics covered in this article:

What is Color?

As most of you know, color is light and energy. Color is visible because it reflects, bends, and refracts through all kinds of particles, molecules and objects. There are a variety of wavelengths that light can be categorized, producing different types of light. Visible wavelengths fall approximately in the 390 to 750 nanometre range and is known as the visible spectrum. Other wavelengths and frequencies are associated with non-visible light such as x-rays & ultraviolet rays. Most people are aware of the effects of non-visible light, so it makes sense that visible light would also affect us.

One example of the way light can affect us is a mild form of depression known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which causes many people suffering during winters.

An Introduction to Color Therapy

Color therapy and healing (also known as chromotherapy or light therapy) is a type of holistic healing that uses the visible spectrum of light and color to affect a person’s mood and physical or mental health. Each color falls into a specific frequency and vibration, which many believe contribute to specific properties that can be used to affect the energy and frequencies within our bodies.

While it is common knowledge that light enters through our eyes, it’s important to note that light can also enter through our skin. Given the unique frequencies and vibrations of various colors, people believe that certain colors entering the body can activate hormones causing chemical reactions within the body, then influencing emotion and enabling the body to heal.

Colors are known to have an effect on people with brain disorders or people with emotional troubles. For example, the color blue can have a calming effect which can then result in lower blood pressure, whereas the color red might have the opposite effect. Green is another color that may be used to relax people who are emotionally unbalanced. Yellow, on the other hand, may be used to help invigorate people who might be suffering from depression. (We’ll dive deeper into specific colors in a future article.)

Alternative therapies also believe that a person’s aura contains different layers of light which can be used for cleansing and balancing. Knowing the colors in your aura can help you better understand your spirit, and thus help you better understand how to heal. Additionally, the colors surrounding you can also have various effects.

A Brief History of Color Therapy

It’s no mystery that the sun and its source of light (or lack thereof), can have a profound effect on us. Thousands of years ago, some countries began exploring color and its healing capabilities. Egypt, Greece and China are known for their forays into color healing and therapy. A few examples include:

Painting rooms different colors with the hopes of treating certain conditions.
Utilizing colors in nature in their surroundings (blue from skies, green from grass, etc.)
Healing rooms that utilized crystals to break up sunlight shining through.

There is evidence of people attempting to use color for healing and therapy from as far back as 2000 years. And it has gained in popularity throughout the years, with numerous books being written about it, including Johann Wolfgang Goethe who studied the physiological effects of color. As we mentioned though, many people are skeptical about using color and light for healing or therapy.

Stay tuned for upcoming articles over the next few weeks where we’ll introduce color meanings and symbolism, how we see color, and the various effects of specific colors.

Color Meanings & Symbolism

February 7th

This is part two of a three-part series on color. Part one was Color Therapy & Healing. You can read part three: The Psychological Effects of Color, where we will delve into the psychology of some specific colors and how they might affect your everyday life.

Here are the topics covered in this article:

The Meaning of Colors You Choose

Carl Jung, a renowned psychiatrist and proponent of art therapy, encouraged his patients to use color because he felt this would help them express some of the deeper parts of their psyche. It is believed that the color choices you make reflect a deeper meaning about your personality traits. For example, introverts and extroverts are likely to choose different colors – blue and red respectively.

The colors you choose to wear might also say something about how you are feeling that day. Some days you may fee like wearing something lighter, something red, or something blue. These choices are often a reflection of how you are feeling at the moment. Additionally, wearing certain colors may cause you to react differently to certain situations.

How Do We See Color?

There are 2 main sources of light that create the colors we see: the sun and lightbulbs. As you know, the light from the sun allows us to see things during the day as well as during the night when the sun’s light reflects off the moon. There is a visible spectrum of colors that we can see in addition to the combination of all colors (white) and the absence of color (black).

Surfaces reflect and absorb light differently, which results in the colors we see through our eyes. For example, a tomato absorbs all light on the spectrum except the red rays of light. The red rays of light are reflected off the surface of the tomato which then reach our eyes for processing.

The colored light enters the eye through the pupil, goes through the lens, then reaches the back of the eye called the retina. On the retina there are a bunch of light sensors called rods and cones. These rods and cones send a signal to the brain about what the eye is seeing. The cones are capable of seeing three colors: red, green, and blue. These are known as primary colors (RGB Model) – more about this below.

The Traditional Color Wheel – primary, secondary, and tertiary colors

Here you can see a basic color wheel. It is based on 3 different types of colors: primary, secondary, and tertiary.

Primary Colors (Traditional RYB Model)

Primary colors consist of red, yellow, and blue. These 3 hues can not be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. Additionally, all other colors are created by mixing these three colors.

Secondary Colors

Secondary colors consist of green, orange and purple (violet). Secondary colors are formed by mixing 2 primary colors.

Tertiary Colors

Tertiary colors consist of red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, and red-violet. Tertiary colors are formed by mixing primary and secondary colors, resulting in the two-word names.

If you’d like to know more about RGB and RYB models, CMYK, reflective and transmitted light, then there are lots of additional sources out there that cover more in-depth color theory. These are just some basic concepts for our series on color therapy, meanings, symbolism, et cetera.

Now that we’ve covered the basics of traditional color theory, let’s review color symbolism.

What is Color Symbolism?

Color symbolism is the use of color as a representation or meaning of something that is usually specific to a particular culture or society. Context, culture and time are certainly important factors to consider when thinking about color symbolism.

Examples of Cultural & Religious Symbolism of Color

Depending on the culture or society, colors may symbolize diffferent things for different people. Consider the United States as an example. What colors come to mind when you think about traffic lights and signs? What about the flag? How about Christmas or Halloween?

Even within the United States, there are cultures that hold certain colors sacred. For example, at least 3 Native American nations hold the same three colors sacred: black, white and yellow. Although, they each have 4 different colors they hold sacred in addition to black, white and yellow.

Navajo Nation –> turquoise
Apache Nation –> green
Iowa Nation –> red

Color Meanings & Symbolism Charts

7Share

As was mentioned in Color Therapy, Color Meanings & Symbolism, and Color Psychology we’ve created a variety of Color Symbolism & Meanings Charts. The first color symbolism chart combines 6 of the most common colors, what they symbolize, and common meanings. We’ve also created individual color meanings charts based on those six colors. Feel free to link to this page or the charts, just follow the directions below.

We also have art & art therapy badges in a variety of sizes and colors. You can easily add these to your site or blog as well.

Here are the available color meaning charts:

Main Color Meanings & Symbolism Chart – 6 Colors

This first chart contains the 6 main colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet) and their popular meanings/symbolism. You can view the full color chart here, or by clicking on the image above.

Color Meanings & Symbolism Chart

Color Psychology: The Emotional Effects of Colors

February 27th

This is the last installment of our color therapy series: Psychological Effects of Color. You can read the previous installments: Color Therapy & Healing, Color Meanings & Symbolism, and download our free Color Meaning & Symbolism Charts. For this last installment, we will be exploring the following topics:

1. What is Color Psychology?
2. Applying Color Psychology to Everday Life
3. Psychological Effects of Cool Colors
4. Psychological Effects of Warm Colors
5. Pyschology of Color for Marketing & Advertising
6. Common Psychological Effects of Colors

What is Color Psychology?

The psychology of color is based on the mental and emotional effects colors have on sighted people in all facets of life. There are some very subjective pieces to color psychology as well as some more accepted and proven elements. Keep in mind, that there will also be variations in interpretation, meaning, and perception between different cultures. Studying the effects of color and how we perceive it is frequent in psychology degree programs around the world.

Applying Color Psychology to Everday Life

Did you know your surroundings may be influencing your emotions and state of mind? Do you ever notice that certain places especially irritate you? Or that certain places are especially relaxing and calming? Well, there’s a good chance that the colors in those spaces are playing a part.

In art therapy, color is often associated with a person’s emotions. Color may also influence a person’s mental or physical state. For example, studies have shown that some people looking at the color red resulted in an increased heart rate, which then led to additional adrenaline being pumped into the blood stream. You can learn more about how color therapy works and how light and color might affect us.

There are also commonly noted psychological effects of color as it relates to two main categories: warm and cool. Warm colors – such as red, yellow and orange – can spark a variety of emotions ranging from comfort and warmth to hostility and anger. Cool colors – such as green, blue and purple – often spark feelings of calmness as well as sadness.

The concepts of color psychology can also be applied in everyday life. For example, maybe you’re planning on re-painting your walls or redecorating a house or room with a new color scheme. Well, you might want to consider some of these suggestions about colors and how they might affect your emotions and mood:

Psychological Effects of Cool Colors

Need to be creative? Want help getting those brain synapses firing? Try utilizing the color purple. Purple utilizes both red and blue to provide a nice balance between stimulation and serenity that is supposed to encourage creativity. Light purple is said to result in a peaceful surrounding, thus relieving tension. These could be great colors for a home or business office.

Are you looking for a peaceful and calming environment? You might consider using green and/or blue. These cool colors are typically considered restful. There is actually a bit of scientific logic applied to this – because the eye focuses the color green directly on the retina, it is said to be less strainful on your eye muscles.

The color blue is suggested for high-traffic rooms or rooms that you or other people will spend significant amounts of time. Another cool color, blue is typically a calming and serene color, said to decrease respiration and lower blood pressure. The bedroom is a great place to use these colors as they should help you relax.

Psychological Effects of Warm Colors

Want to create an environment of stimulation or whet people’s appetite? You might consider utilizing the colors yellow or orange. These colors are often associated with food and can cause your tummy to growl a little. Have you ever wondered why so many restaurants use these colors? Now you know why even after people watched the movie SuperSize Me, they said they were hungry.

You do want to be careful about using bright colors like orange and especially yellow. They reflect more light and excessively stimulate a person’s eyes which can lead to irritation. You also probably don’t want to paint your dining room or kitchen these colors if you’re a calorie-counter.

Pyschology of Color for Marketing & Advertising

Marketing and advertising are well-known for utilizing color psychology. The fact that some companies have heavily invested in this type of research and many others have followed through in its use shows they have at enough belief in the concepts of color psychology to implement them in their advertising.

Color is consistently used in an attempt to make people hungry, associate a positive or negative tone, encourage trust, feelings of calmness or energy, and countless other ways.

Most marketing and advertising executives will likely agree that there are benefits to understanding and utilizing the psychological effects of colors. Now let’s take a look at some of the more common traits of color psychology, by some common colors.

Common Psychological Effects of Colors

The following are some common psychological effects of colors in the Western Hemisphere. You can also review the following pages for a more comprehensive list of color meanings and symbolism, including some charts we’ve created that you can download or embed on your site.

Keep in mind that certain shades or tones may result in very different meanings. Also, the context around the color, and even surrounding colors, can have an effect. Think of this as more of a beginning guide to color psychology.

Color Psychology: The Color White

purity
innocence
cleanliness
sense of space
neutrality
mourning (in some cultures/societies)

Color Psychology: The Color Black

authority
power
strength
evil
intelligence
thinning / slimming
death or mourning

Color Psychology: The Color Gray

neutral
timeless
practical

Color Psychology: The Color Red

love
romance
gentle
warmth
comfort
energy
excitement
intensity
life
blood

Color Psychology: The Color Orange

happy
energetic
excitement
enthusiasm
warmth
wealth prosperity
sophistication
change
stimulation

Color Psychology: The Color Yellow

happiness
laughter
cheery
warmth
optimism
hunger
intensity
frustration
anger
attention-getting

Color Psychology: The Color Green

natural
cool
growth
money
health
envy
tranquility
harmony
calmness
fertility

Color Psychology: The Color Blue

calmness
serenity
cold
uncaring
wisdom
loyalty
truth
focused
un-appetizing

Color Psychology: The Color Purple

royalty
wealth
sophistication
wisdom
exotic
spiritual
prosperity
respect
mystery

Color Psychology: The Color Brown

reliability
stability
friendship
sadness
warmth
comfort
security
natural
organic
mourning (in some cultures/societies)

Color Psychology: The Color Pink

romance
love
gentle
calming
agitation

"Art from the Heart" Helps Wounded Soldiers

2011-01-17T00:08:00.001-05:00

As an art therapist who has worked with soldiers in the Warrior in Transition Unit (WTU), this post on The Art Therapy Blog caught my attention.

‘Art From The Heart’ Helps Wounded Soldiers

January 17th

One of our readers told us about a program at Fort Bragg, Art from the Heart, that helps wounded soldiers transition to civilian life with the help of art. Sponsored by the American Red Cross and Army Wounded Warriors Program, the program not only provides therapy to the soldiers but also aims to help them transition to, and establish, a life after the military.

Artist and veteran, Craig Bone, leads the charge for the project, utilizing his talents and connections to help the soliders. At the end of the project, Craig will give each member the opportunity have their artwork and back story published in a book.

You can also watch a video about the project here.

New Movie features Art Therapy!

2010-11-29T22:02:00.004-05:00

I haven't seen the movie yet...though I'm planning on it soon...but I was pleased to see that art therapy (also recreation and music therapy) was included in the movie "It's Kind of a Funny Story" as a part of this teen's treatment. Wonderful!

It's Kind of a Funny Story

Camerin Courtney | posted 10/08/2010 12:00

The movie starts on a bridge—both literally and figuratively. In the opening scene, distressed 16-year-old Craig (Keir Gilchrist) climbs out on a bridge. Filled with teenage angst inside and facing a crazy, messed-up world outside, Craig is overwhelmed and tempted to end it all.

When he wakes up and realizes he's just had another suicide-themed dream, and that they're getting more vivid, he also realizes he's teetering on a bridge between sanity and craziness. Afraid he's headed in a dangerous direction, he climbs out of bed without waking his parents or younger sister and bikes himself to the nearest hospital in his Brooklyn neighborhood.

After explaining to the attending physician his stress over his demanding pre-professional magnet school, his crush on his best friend's girlfriend, his forthcoming application to a prestigious summer program, his over-busy father and overwrought mother, his tendency to puke when stressed, not to mention global warming and the economy—as well as his suicide dreams and the fact that he recently took himself off Zoloft—Craig gets himself checked into the psych ward.

Keir Gilchrist as Craig

Since the teen wing is under renovation, Craig is put in with the adults for his five-day minimum stay. He's soon introduced to Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), the gregarious man-child who shows him around 3 North (the adult wing) and introduces him to the amenities (the art room, the rec room) and the locals (the doped-out, the delusional, and the delightful Noelle, a fellow displaced teen).

At first Craig is even more stressed—he was hoping for a quick cure that wouldn't keep him out of school for so long. And he's a bit freaked out by all the people who are dealing with more serious issues, like his mumbling, bed-bound roommate. Instead of rescuing him, Craig's parents arrive with some of his things and the advice to do whatever the doctors recommend.

Zach Galifianakis as Bobby

In the following days Craig attends art therapy, has meandering and meaningful conversations with Bobby, slowly opens his heart to Noelle (Emma Roberts), tries to get to the root of his issues with Dr. Minerva (Viola Davis), and tries to explain to his friends via the payphone in the hall where he is and why. It's in all these human interactions that the magic of the movie happens—the a-ha moments, the small awakenings, the baby steps toward a healthier reality.

The most compelling moments are between Craig and Bobby. Their conversations are deep and revealing without seeming too clever or overwritten. Gilchrist and Galifianakis imbue their characters with warmth, wit, and quirky charm. Only Craig's parents (Lauren Graham and Jim Gaffigan) start to veer into caricature territory with some of their classic yuppie faults.

Sure, this is a relatively sanitized look at depression and other mental disorders, but then again 3 North is a temporary facility for those who struggle. The hard-core cases would be in a more permanent location. Thankfully the film avoids some common trappings of movie mental wards—out of touch doctors, sadistic orderlies, rampant overmedication. These patients are merely people on the verge—walking that tightrope with brokenness, pluck, and yes, some only-in-the-movies charm.

Emma Roberts as Noelle

Though most of the film happens in the hospital ward, there are a couple scenes of stylization—when Craig draws some intricate city scenes that come to life and when all the patients sing a rousing version of "Under Pressure" in music therapy class and are magically transformed into a rocking music video. The latter scene is a lovely tribute to the way music and community can elevate us for a few joyful, transcendent moments.

What seeps through all these scenes is a surprising, compelling celebration of life. The film seems to be communicating that life is crazy, and those who stop—and sometimes need to check in—to acknowledge that are merely wise enough to embrace the truth and seek the help they need to navigate the maze. In the moving forward, in the coming together to help those who need it, there is hope. The film doesn't depict an eternal hope, but a hope based on friendship, love, communication, music, art, laughter, truth—some of the better things offered to us by the One who is eternal hope.

The scenes between Bobby and Craig are the best part of the film

The ending is a bit pat and over-sweet, but the voiceover kind of acknowledges that, which somehow makes it mostly okay. They can't all be tragic endings, right? The beauty here is that a movie about depression and people on the verge can be a sweet, funny, life-affirming story. And perhaps that's the funniest part about this charming little film.

Other reviews' references to art therapy in the movie:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130195398

"After quickly decoding his own plight — with some help from art therapy and the ward's shrink (Viola Davis) — Craig starts fixing other patients."

http://www.fdhsnews.com/2010/11/08/its-kind-of-a-funny-story/

"Accordingly, Craig’s drawings, or “brain maps,” serve as an animated entree into his vivid imagination and bring the audience more insight into the character. Inspired by the book’s original cover, Curious Pictures, a New York-based company specializing in animation, design, and graphics, produced the sequences. Animation/paintings creative supervisor Dominie Mahl recruited Brian Drucker, an artist with a background in architecture, to submit an illustration for consideration.

The animator adds, “This story affected me, so I wanted to keep a human scale and touch to the drawings. I drew by hand, then colored in with the computer and built up everything into three dimensions.” Mahl elaborated, “Given Craig’s age, we had to make sure that the work was done to display natural talent but not years of experience. Given the particular stage of his life that he’s in, the colors had to be more thoughtful than perky. This artwork comes forth as something of a revelation for Craig.”

Boden comments, “With his drawings, Craig rediscovers a hidden artistic talent-and is encouraged to do so by his fellow patients and through art therapy.”

http://blog.beliefnet.com/moviemom/2010/10/its-kind-of-a-funny-story.html

"Art and music therapy help him think of what he can express instead of how he will be evaluated."

http://youmakemefeellessalone.blogspot.com/2010/10/ned-vizzini-and-its-kind-of-funny-story.html

Ned Vizzini, age 29. Los Angeles, CA. (author of the book the movie is based on)

"When I went into a psychiatric hospital for a week-long stay for depression and 'suicidal ideation' in November 2004, I found myself with a lot of time on my hands. Although I'm a writer by profession I decided to try and do abstract art. I limited my color palette and tried to just make pleasing shapes with Cray-Pas on paper. The goal was to see the colors blend well and to bring motion to the composition. I ended up really liking these drawings, and I used the art-therapy angle when I made the main character of my subsequent novel It's Kind of a Funny Story draw 'brain maps' during his own hospital stay. In a real way, these are the drawings that inspired the brain maps."

Watch the trailer below:

America Ferrera Highlights Art Therapy with Soldiers

2010-11-18T20:37:00.003-05:00

Here is a great little clip featuring an interview with America Ferrera who touts the amazing power of art therapy with soldiers! Thanks America for bringing art therapy to people's attention!

2010 AATA Conference - Sacramento

2010-11-08T00:20:00.003-05:00

I got to attend the 41st annual American Art Therapy Association Conference that was held this year in Sacramento. It was a great conference with many good lectures I attended. One of our keynote speakers was Seena Frost, the inventor of SoulCollage, which I am looking forward to learning more about to use with my clients. I took pages of notes with information I hope will enhance my practice, and watched with pride my intern from last year present on her research project. I also got to attend a gathering of GW students and alumni. meeting some known and new faces. On the side, I got to sightsee some of Sacramento before I left.

Next year, the 42nd AATA conference will be held in my backyard, Washington DC, in July! So I'll definitely be there....

~~Click here to see pictures from the conference~~

(under construction)

Here is a video of Seena Frost introducing the SoulCollage Technique:

~~Click here to see how to make a SoulCollage card in 5 easy steps~~

Primate Therapy

2010-09-21T14:06:00.003-05:00

A fun story for today...

Jimmy the painting chimp draws hordes to Rio zoo

Monday, September 20, 2010 2:21:47 PM
Photo By AP

A retired circus chimpanzee is the Cezanne of simians, drawing crowds to a Brazilian zoo to watch him paint. The 26-year-old chimp called Jimmy has been producing surprisingly lovely paintings each day for three weeks at the Niteroi Zoo.

Trainer Roched Seba said Monday Jimmy doesn't like the toys and other diversions that other chimps enjoy. So three weeks ago, Seba introduced him to painting after reading about animals in zoos elsewhere that enjoyed a little canvas time.

Temperamental as great artists can be, Jimmy at times declines to paint if his cage is surrounded by too many gawkers.

But for at least 30 minutes a day, he carefully dips his brush into plastic paint containers and uses broad, bold strokes to create his art.

Artist Trading Cards!

2010-08-28T23:11:00.011-05:00

I've had the pleasure of participating in the 2nd swap of ATC's with the Art Therapy Alliance group. About 75 of us art therapists are participating this time around, creating 4 cards with the theme of "Collage Unleashed." I can't wait to get my 4 back in the mail in a couple of weeks!

Here are my 4 that I sent in:

About my cards:

1. This card is about the journey we are all on. A car traveling down a road, into the unknown journey ahead. Seize the day, sometimes it's "now or never," for the opportunity of a lifetime.

2. This card is about the healing power of art, which is why I included "painting for a cure." Art helps us "get the picture" in more ways than one!

3. The sunflower card is about growing, and in most cases, we like our growth to be secure. The flower is reaching towards the sun, soaking in the nourishment for the desired growth.

4. This card was all about the passion of art. It is a part of our soul, from which our passions come.

Follow all the submissions here

Here are the ATC's that I received back in the trade--Thanks!

Here are some of the participant's blogs for this ATC Swap:

Momo Photography

Kelley - Art Journaling

Gretchen Miller

Carly Sullens

Karen Wennberg

Carolina Medina-Dupaix

Silky Hart

Visualange

Melanie Glassey - (Our Coordinator!)

Here are some good resources for ATC's:

ATC's for All

How to make an ATC

Art in Your Pocket: ATC's

Top 45 Art Therapy Blogs

2010-08-25T20:13:00.006-05:00

I was informed by Sarah of bloggingawards.org that this blog was selected among others nominated for the top 45 blogs for art therapy for 2010. I am honored by the nomination and selection, and wanted to share the blogs of other fellow colleagues that made the list....what a great resource!

Elizabeth Beck
http://www.lizbeck.net/

The Healing Arts
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-healing-arts

Art Therapy Reflections
http://arttherapyreflections.blogspot.com/

Mullumbimby Art Therapy
http://www.mullumbimbyarttherapy.com/blog-posts/

Health Care Fine Art
http://www.healthcarefineart.com/

Self-Guided Art Therapy
http://meetmeinthedayroom.wordpress.com/

Creative Juices Arts
http://creativejuicesarts.com/blog/

Living Our Dreams
http://www.sherigaynor.com/

Creative Every Day
http://creativeeveryday.com/

Dirty Footprints Studio
http://www.dirtyfootprints-studio.com/

Empassioned Living Now
http://empassionedlivingnow.blogspot.com/

Fire Tree Studios
http://firetreestudios.com/?page_id=2

Living the Artist's Way
http://livingtheartistsway.blogspot.com/

A Tiny Rocket
http://atinyrocket.blogspot.com/

Higher Art
http://higherartnj.com/blog/

Art Therapy Scholars Blog
http://arttherapystudents.wordpress.com/

Converse Art Therapy Travelers
http://conversearttherapytravelers.blogspot.com/

Malissa Morrell
http://www.malissamorrell.com/blog

Adventures in Art Therapy
http://arttherapist.blogspot.com/

The Butter Compartment
http://www.thebuttercompartment.com/?tag=art-therapy

Jen Berlingo
http://www.jenberlingo.com/

The Unfolding Moment
http://unfoldingmoment.blogspot.com/

When We Were Made
http://whenweweremade.wordpress.com/

NeuroScience in Art Therapy
http://neuroarttherapy.blogspot.com/

Art Therapy
http://mymonsterhasaname.com/tag/art-therapy/

Crackers & Juiceboxes
http://crackersandjuice.squarespace.com/

Mind Parts
http://www.mindparts.org/

artconstellation
http://artconstellation.blogspot.com/

turning turning
http://turningturning.com/

Soul Humming
http://soulhumming.typepad.com/soul_humming/art-therapy/

Expressive Art
http://www.intuitivecreativity.typepad.com/expressiveart/

Sue Doodles
http://suedoodles.wordpress.com/

Hannah Alpert: Inspired
http://mantrart.typepad.com/

Art Therapy
http://arttherapyblog.wordpress.com/

Truthful Art in the Making
http://www.jessicaeves.blogspot.com/

Big Fat Art Cloth
http://www.bigfatartcloth.blogspot.com/

KaleidoSoul
http://www.kaleidosoul.com/blog.html

Same Sky Different Light
http://sameskydifferentlight.blogspot.com/

Welcome to Artfem
http://www.artfem.net/

Art-full Possibilities
http://artfullpossibilities.blogspot.com/

Healing Art Works
http://arttherapycards.blogspot.com/

The Art for Healing Blog
http://art4healing.wordpress.com/

Art of Healing Blog
http://www.artofhealingblog.com/

Jen's Art Therapy Blog
http://jenspears.com/

Mystic Healing Art
http://mysticart.blogspot.com/

Edith Kramer's Paintings to be Auctioned

2010-08-07T22:51:00.005-05:00

Huge multi-estate sale featuring around 1,800 lots will be sold Sept. 24-26 by Philip Weiss Auctions

A massive three-day sale comprising around 1,800 top-quality, fresh-to-the-market lots from prominent local estates and collections will be offered the weekend of Sept. 24-26 by Philip Weiss Auctions on Oceanside, N.Y., and online at Proxibid.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Aug 04, 2010 – (OCEANSIDE, N.Y.) – A massive three-day sale comprising around 1,800 top-quality, fresh-to-the-market lots from prominent local estates and collections will be offered the weekend of Sept. 24-26 by Philip Weiss Auctions. The event will be held in the firm’s showroom, located at #1 Neil Court in Oceanside (Long Island). Online bidding will be facilitated by Proxibid.com.

Also to be sold, as individual lots, will be about 20 original works of art by Edith Kramer (Am./Austrian, b. 1916), the founder of the Art Therapy Movement and renowned for her vivid still lifes and figural renderings. The group is significant, as it is the first time any paintings by Ms. Kramer have ever been offered in the United States. Featured will be an incredible collage of the Union Square Train Station, wonderful portraits and self-portraits, and more. Each piece is expected to bring between $1,000 and $20,000 each.

Sunday, Sept. 26, also with a 10 a.m. EDT start time, will feature one of the best art and estate sales Philip Weiss Auctions has ever had the privilege to offer. In addition to the pieces by Edith Kramer and the Fratelli statue, another star lot is certain to be an original oil on canvas painting by the renowned British portrait artist John Opie (1761-1807), titled Boy With Monkey.

Previews will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 22, from noon to 5 p.m.; on Thursday, Sept. 23, from noon to 8 p.m.; on Friday, Sept. 24, all day from noon until the end of the first session, for people who want to preview Saturday’s and Sunday’s lots; and Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 25-26, from 8:30 a.m. until the start of sale (10 a.m. both days). Phone and absentee bids will be accepted for this auction. A 13 percent buyer’s premium will be applied to all purchases.

Philip Weiss Auctions is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign an item, an estate or a collection, you may call them at (516) 594-0731, or e-mail them at phil@prwauctions.com. To learn more about Philip Weiss Auctions and its calendar of upcoming auctions, to include the Sept. 24-26 weekend event, click on www.prwauctions.com.

~~~~ Click here for full article PDF ~~~~

GW Art Therapy Students in India

2010-07-23T22:58:00.007-05:00

The GW Art Therapy Department takes students abroad each summer for a multicultural diversity class. The class went to India for their 2010 trip (follow details from their trip here), and a local journalist interviewed members of the class about their time providing art therapy services in Chennai and surrounding areas. I am pleased to note that my intern from last year, Lauren Hayes, was interviewed for the article, and has the opening quote!!

Colour me happy

CHITHIRA VIJAYKUMAR

THE HINDU SHADES OF UNITY: Students and women from The Bambino School, with their work. Photo: R. Ravindran

“The only rule,” says Lauren Hayes, “is that there are no rules.”

Around us, the other students from the George Washington University are crouching contemplatively over as many circles drawn in white chalk, sometimes sprinkling fistfuls of shimmering blues, rich vermilions, and flagrant greens of rock salt into them. “Koe-laam”, some of them mouth, tentatively. Today's a day-off for them, after more than a week of work.

The 16 women, all students of art therapy, have been quietly helping ease the pain of cancer patients, differently-abled children in schools, substance-abuse victims, and the homeless and mentally-challenged women of The Banyan. And they do it all with nothing more than pots of paint, and handfuls of clay.

“So,” continues Lauren, “we tell them that the art doesn't have to be good or bad, that the sun doesn't have to be yellow, or the water blue.” Sometimes, they specify what they'd like them to draw. “It helps us understand the level of their cognitive development, the way they think,” says Karie Schwartz.

“An art therapy session gives you a snapshot of the person; how they're feeling, what they're thinking and what's going on in their subconscious,” says Lauren. “Everything they might have found difficult to admit, even to themselves.”

There are several ways to know. “The colours they use, the energy with which they paint, and how much of the paper they use, for instance,” says Monica Salinas. “It's also hard to convince the children that the glue is not to be eaten!” she laughs.

But these women come from around the world — cultural markers and symbols that mean nothing there might mean everything here. How do they understand?

“Through trips such as these,” smiles Anne Hurley. “There is so much art here. On your fabrics, the floors, the ceiling — everywhere! You live, thrive in it. This would make the people here very receptive to art therapy.” In fact, one of its primary concepts is the mandala, Sanskrit for ‘circle' or ‘completion', which abounds in Tibetan, Buddhist, and Hindu cultures. “Besides, we have had art since we were living in caves; there's something in it that resonates with everyone,” says Karie.

Art therapy is now used around the world in hospitals, prisons, education centres, mental health clinics and for the sexually-abused. Its effectiveness may also lie in the distance it allows between the person and the problem — you can work your way through using symbols, metaphors and abstractions. Which is why the differently-abled usually find great respite in it. Such as Stephen Wiltshire, the famous artist diagnosed with autism, who drew all of Tokyo on a 10-metre canvas, after a 20-minute helicopter ride over the city. Not only did he get right the number of floors on buildings — he even got the number of windows.

Kathryn Martin has been at the Apollo cancer ward for a week now. “A two-year-old made little clay figurines of people, and painted each of their stomachs a deep, aching red. Later, the nurses told me that that was where her cancer was.”

Language stopped being a barrier at this point, she says, though the little girl spoke only Swahili. “One of the women went from filling in her mandala with only one colour, to three, to five the day after that, and then finally even filling in the space around the circle,” says Lauren, who worked at The Banyan.

“This is the first time a university in the U.S. is doing something of this sort,” says Sangeeta Prasad, an alumni of the University herself, who has helped bring the students here. “We're trying to get art therapy into the medical institutions.”

But doesn't delving into the consciousness of several people every day take its toll? “Yes,” smiles Karie. “We have to do sit down with our sketch pads and paints at the end of each day to wind down!”

THE ART OF THE MATTER

* While leaving art therapy to the specialists, you can still use art to calm your frazzled nerves. Remember, you don't need to be good at art to enjoy it.

* Keep a sketchbook like you would a diary — record your most personal sentiments and thoughts, or sum up your day through images.

*A ‘Dream sketch diary', to trace images from your dreams that you'd like to remember, or understand.

* Keep books of different kinds — one for all that's causing you stress in life; and another one for all you think is beautiful about it.

*The colours, shapes and representations you use will say a lot. So don't start with a rigid concept of what you want to end up with. Just let it flow naturally.

*You can keep your work to yourself, try to analyse it, or discuss it with someone you trust.

Keywords: George Washington University, The Banyan, cancer, social service

Top 50 Blogs for Learning About Medical Art Therapy

2010-07-18T17:52:00.004-05:00

Thanks to Rachel for including my blog on her article "Top 50 Blogs for Learning about Medical Art Therapy." Aside from having this blog included on there (#23), it is a great resource for those interested in finding out more about art therapy. Check it out!!

Top 50 Blogs for Learning About Medical Art Therapy

Traditional medicine cannot heal everyone, but this doesn’t mean that those it has not worked for should give up. There are plenty of unconventional paths to healing that work well, and medical art therapy is considered one of them. This practice uses art to heal people of all ages, and can improve the emotional, mental, and physical state of most people. If you want to know more about how medical art therapy can help you, read the free blogs listed below. They range from offering a basic understanding of the topic to discussing cases in which it has worked to heal people.

General Art Therapy Blogs

If you are cautious about going this route to recover, you should get the basics about the practice. The following blogs can offer general information about art therapy, as well as links to books and articles you can read to find out more.

1. Psychology Today: The Healing Arts

2. Medical Art Therapy

3. Art Therapy

4. Art Therapy Reflections

5. Art Therapy Guide

6. Arts in Health & Care

7. Artandhealing’s Posterous

8. Art Therapy Los Angeles

9. Mullumbimby Art Therapy

10. Health Care Fine Art

Blogs That Offer Art Therapy Ideas

If you like to try doing things on your own before heading to a professional, you will be glad to know that there are some blogs offering tips to get started in art therapy. You can try out these ideas at home on your own, or perhaps incorporate them into a lesson plan for children or students. Eventually, you will likely need to consult a professional to continue this practice, but trying some simple exercises on your own first can be helpful.

11. Joyful Art Therapy

12. Art Therapy Techniques from the Field

13. Self-Guided Art Therapy

14. Creative Juices Arts

15. KinderArt

16. Higher Art

Blogs from Organizations

Some professional organizations offer blogs on their website. These can provide you with links to resources, or even offer the opinion of professionals. Either way, you can be sure that these types of blogs are legitimate and offer plenty of information.

17. The Potomac Art Therapy Association: Drawing from Within

18. Art Therapy Scholars Blog

19. Fractured Atlas

20. National Center for Creative Aging

Blogs by Art Therapists

If you are interested in getting to know more about art therapy, let the experts themselves teach you. Blogs by art therapists often provide new ideas, unique perspectives, and educational videos, so give them a chance to share their information with you.

21. Malissa Morrell

22. Elizabeth Beck

23. Adventures in Art Therapy

: This blog teaches readers the power of this method, and also tell stories about successful interventions. You can also find out a bit more about the practice by watching informative videos here.

24. The Butter Compartment

25. Jen Berlingo, MA

26. The Unfolding Moment

27. Lani Puppetmaker’s Blogspot

28. 365 Days of Being 30

29. Creativity in Motion

30. Knowing Imagination

31. Marketing Mindfulness

32. Sadiejay’s Blog

33. When We Were Made

34. Neuroscience in Art Therapy

35. Denver Art Therapy & Counseling

Blogs by Those in Recovery

If you want to find out firsthand how art therapy can help those who are trying to recover, reading a blog about it can help tremendously. Not only will you be able to read the stories of various bloggers, but you can also see the very artwork that expresses how they feel.

36. Modus Vivendi

37. My Monster Has a Name

38. The People Behind My Eyes

39. Crackers and Juiceboxes

40. Survivors Can Thrive!

41. Mind Parts

42. Art Constellation

43. Beautiful Dreamer

44. Turning Turning

45. Soul Humming

46. The Survivor Mural Project

47. Expressive Art

48. Sue Doodles

49. Inspired

50. My (Getting Better) Story

Never a Dull Moment...

2010-07-14T17:45:00.001-05:00

I am always surprised at what my clients come up with for their artistic creations. In a group I led this week using Model Magic clay, a couple of group members were done early with their individual sculptures and used the extra time and clay they had to come up with a collaborative sculpture....can you guess what it is?

Yep, it's the "money you could be saving with Geico." :)
(posted with permission)

Soldiers Use Different Kinds of Art to Cope...

2010-06-22T22:14:00.003-05:00

I work with adolescents in military families, and have occasionally worked 1:1 with soldiers, but it seems that those in the military have been finding their own creative outlets to express themselves that are coming more to the forefront.

Here is a view of soldiers' expressions through their tattoo art:

Here is another way military are literally using their uniforms as art with the Combat Paper Project:

Drew Cameron: Combat Paper Project from Deb Ellis on Vimeo.

The Invisible Man Paintings

2010-03-08T22:07:00.001-05:00

I found out about this from THE art therapy blog, and found this artist very interesting. I thought I'd share here also.

Top 12 Liu Bolin Invisible Man Paintings
March 8th

You may not have heard of Liu Bolin, and you probably haven’t seen him either. But it’s possible he’s standing right next to you. One of my favorite artists, Liu Bolin injects himself into everyday settings. Known as The Invisible Man, Liu takes a unique and creative approach to performance art. Check out a short video about Liu and then see what we’ve deemed are the Top 12 Liu Bolin Invisible Man Pictures/Paintings:

How Chinese Artist, Liu Bolin, Becomes The Invisible Man

“…my art is cultural. It represents the diminishing humanity in today’s society. I use my art to be retrospective on culture…the environment and fast economic development.”

Top 12 Liu Bolin Invisible Man Paintings/Pictures

We hand-picked 12 of our favorite Liu Bolin paintings and images. It’s pretty amazing and inspiring to see the result of what looks like quite the arduous process. Enjoy!
(Click here to see the pictures via PDF)

Read more: http://www.arttherapyblog.com/artwork/top-12-liu-bolin-invisible-man-artist-paintings/#ixzz0iIzwIofB

The Power of Art Therapy

2010-02-16T00:23:00.000-05:00

This post came across my email recently on "The" Art Therapy Blog about testimonials from hospital patients engaging in art. Click here to read the post in its entirety. I have included the video below.

Coolest Top 10 Art Therapy Interventions

2010-02-11T23:42:00.011-05:00

Cathy Malchiodi is doing a series with her "Healing Arts" blog on Psychology Today, and is listing the coolest Top 10 art therapy interventions. I wanted to repost it here for everyone's benefit.

The Ten Coolest Art Therapy Interventions
By Cathy Malchiodi
Created Feb 11 2010 - 1:42pm

For my next series of posts, I am taking a cue from PT colleague Ryan Howes who is just finishing up a fascinating series called The Ten Coolest Therapy Interventions. Howes' mission in his blog and his popular postings is to demystify the elements and process of psychotherapy for the public. Like Howes, I feel that when potential clients understand what therapy entails, they are more likely to find the internal courage to seek help from a qualified professional. They also become more educated consumers, capable of "co-creating" [no art therapy pun intended] the course of their therapy and more invested in the process of healing.

No doubt some colleagues will cringe at the idea of making public some of the more common techniques used in the field of art therapy. However, "what is art therapy" is one of the best-kept secrets in the field of mental health. You might be surprised that on some days I wake up wondering what the heck art therapy is because so much misinformation about it abounds on a Google search. Art therapy is the brunt of jokes by Dr. House and some embarrassing therapeutic moments on Dr. Drew's Celebrity Rehab; Tiger is apparently getting some art therapy, too and I can't wait to hear about that on the Joy Behar Show some night. To counteract the media, my intention is to both help you understand what art therapy is about and why it complements and enhances traditional verbal therapy approaches to treatment.

All helping professionals know that no one intervention can be applied to all clients; they know that the best interventions are those that are tailored to clients' needs and their presenting situations. As an art therapist, I can say from experience that this challenge is the "coolest" part of my work with clients--to invent a creative strategy to promote change, insight, and well-being. A good art therapist, like a good psychologist, counselor, or family therapist, is adept at innovation and creative adaptation. A good art therapist also knows that for many clients, no technique is needed if the client is capable of creative expression without a directive or gimmick.

My criteria for determining the "coolest" art therapy interventions include:

Historical Tradition: Interventions commonly taught to therapists-in-training in the field of art therapy and related mental health professions;
Innovation: Use of a specific art material or visual media to address clients' presenting problems or for the health and well-being of clients;
Adaptation: Development of a specific intervention based on a psychotherapeutic approach such as psychoanalysis, CBT, or other model;
Popularity: Consistent appearance in literature, conferences, or workshops, whether it's the actual intervention or a variation of the intervention.

For the most part, I'll be focusing on interventions used with adults, but some will also apply to work with children, groups, couples, or families. I'll try to give you a brief history of each intervention through the lens of art therapy and the influences of psychology, counseling, marriage and family therapy, art, and culture on that intervention. I'll will also be explaining a little bit of how an intervention might be adapted to suit individual needs and situations in the spirit of "one size does not fit all."

Like Howes, I am not going to talk about evidence-based approaches or outcomes. I am also not going talk about the use of art to evaluate or assess emotional or other disorders; that is a topic both fascinating and controversial and a subject for another blog series.

Finally, to paraphrase Howes, reading these brief posts is no substitute for the education it takes to understand how to effectively and ethically apply them to practice. Competent therapists always get adequate training before applying any intervention. And consumers or potential clients, if you have a mental health challenge or disorder, please contact a therapist with appropriate credentials and education rather than attempting to apply these interventions to yourself.

So here they are: The Ten Coolest Art Therapy Interventions.

Click the link to read each post [links will go live as each blog is posted]:

10.February 16th, 2010 - Magazine Photo Collage

9. February 23, 2010 - Family Sculpture

8. March 2, 2010 - Mask Making

7. March 9, 2010 - Creating Together

6. March 17, 2010 - Mandala Drawing

5. April 19, 2010 - Show Me How You Feel Today

4. June 15, 2010 - Visual Journaling

3. August 16, 2010 - It's All About the Metaphor

2. September 30, 2010 - Active Imagination

1. October 31, 2010 - The Art Therapist's Third Hand

PS: I don't expect that everyone who reads these posts will agree with my choices, but that is part of the rationale for this series, too. If you are an art therapist or a therapist who uses art or visually-based methods in your practice, let me know your thoughts; in fact I welcome your opinion right now [if you know me, you know it won't influence me in the least, but you also know I always love a good dialogue]. And thank you, Ryan, for the inspiration.

@ 2010 Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, LPAT, LPCC
www.cathymalchiodi.com

Join the growing community of art therapists from around the world at the International Art Therapy Organization [IATO]. One world, many visions...working together to create an inclusive and sustainable future for art therapy.

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http://twitter.com/arttherapynews.

Magazine Clipping Templates

2010-02-10T01:29:00.007-05:00

Over the last couple of years or so, my interns and I have been culling our old magazines at work for the "gem" phrases that would be good for reuse in collaging and pasting them in templates by topic so that they can be reused more than just once. I thought this could be valuable to share with other art therapists out there, so feel free to download the scanned color PDF's that I have made of the words and phrases we have found. As we complete more pages, I will update the pertinent documents and keep the document links with the most recent copies that I have. I hope you find our efforts helpful for your practice!!

Academia/School

Addictions

Art

Beliefs & Faith

Conjunctions

Depression

Dream & Inspiration

Emotions

Encouragement

Family

Goodness

Letters

Life & Legacy

Mental Health

Military

Miscellaneous

Numbers

Possibilities & Opportunities

Relationships

Stress Relief

Technology

Transitions

Art Therapy Directives

2010-02-09T17:48:00.005-05:00

If you're like me, I can't get enough resources and ideas to use as directives for my art therapy groups and individual sessions. Some ideas come from pure brainstorming, but I have found that idea sharing from mentors and colleagues has been an invaluable source of art therapy exercises. I am including some of mine here that (as far as I know) aren't already published or copyrighted, or they are a synopsis on a topic with the websites or credit given. I hope that you find them helpful, and if you have ones you'd like to share, please do!

Anger management exercise using sculpture

Assertiveness skills resource

Autobiography

Bridge Drawing Exercise
(several to cut up for groups)

Coat of Arms
(information about heraldic symbolism for creating personal shields)

Create your own comic strip

Deep Muscle Relaxation Script

Family Portrait as Animals

Interview Questionnaire
(I use this as a group icebreaker, dividing members into pairs, and have each interviewer depict the information they gather in a piece of art to introduce their partner)

Create your own invention

Mandala Friday
(regular group - thanks to Lauren Hayes)

Therapeutic Journey - Past/Present/Future

Self-Esteem Mini-Journal
(thanks to Lauren Hayes)

Self-Forgiveness Resources

Stress Management

Support Sculpture Activity
I use this with families--parents create support sculpture, child makes creature sculpture--separate from each other, then bring together to see how supportive the parents' sculpture is to the child's piece
(thanks to Emmy Lou Glassman)

Supports, Strengths, and Abilities Pyramid

Three Wishes

Trust Activity

Holidays:

New Year's

Valentine's Day

St. Patrick's Day

Thanksgiving
(I use this in conjunction with depicting what the client(s) is thankful for)

Different colors describe happiness, depression

2010-02-09T17:42:00.002-05:00

Study could help doctors gauge moods of patients with verbal challenges

By Stephanie Pappas

LiveScience

updated 8:17 p.m. ET, Mon., Feb. 8, 2010

Are you in a gray mood today? How about a blue funk? Maybe you're seeing red, because you're green with jealousy. The colors we use to describe emotions may be more useful than you think, according to new research.

The study found that people with depression or anxiety were more likely to associate their mood with the color gray, while happier people preferred yellow. The results, which are detailed today in the journal BMC Medical Research Methodology, could help doctors gauge the moods of children and other patients who have trouble communicating verbally.

"This is a way of measuring anxiety and depression which gets away from the use of language," study co-author and gastroenterologist Peter Whorwell of University Hospital South Manchester told LiveScience. "What is very interesting is that this might actually be a better way of capturing the patient's mood than questions."

Colors are often used as metaphors for moods, but no one had systematically researched color associations, Whorwell said. To investigate, he and his colleagues picked eight colors — red, orange, green, purple, blue, yellow, pink and brown — and split each into four shades. They then added white, black and four shades of gray for a total of 38 options. After meeting with focus groups, the researchers decided to display the colors in the form of a wheel.

Next, they recruited 105 healthy adults, 110 anxious adults and 108 depressed adults and mailed them printouts of the color wheel . Each person was asked to pick their favorite color, as well as the color they were most "drawn to." Finally, they were asked to pick a color that described their day-to-day mood over the last several months. Another group of 204 healthy volunteers classified each color as positive, negative or neutral.

Whether depressed, anxious or healthy, people liked blue and yellow. Blue 28 on the color wheel was the most popular favorite color among healthy people, while Blue 27 (which is a little darker than 28) got first place among people with anxiety and depression. Meanwhile, Yellow 14 was picked as the color most likely to catch the eye.

But when it came to mood, the groups diverged. Only 39 percent of healthy people associated their mood with a color at all. Of those who did, Yellow 14 was the most popular choice, with about 20 percent of the votes. Meanwhile, about 30 percent of people with anxiety picked a shade of gray, as did more than half of depressed volunteers. In comparison, healthy volunteers described their mood with a shade of gray only about 10 percent of the time.

The researchers also found that when assigning a mood to colors, saturation matters.

"A light blue is not associated with a poor mood, but a dark blue is," Whorwell said. "The shade of color is more important than the color itself."

Whorwell is now testing the wheel on patients with irritable bowel syndrome. He's hoping that color choices can reveal patients' attitudes and predict how well they will respond to treatments like hypnosis. Because people are embarrassed by gastroenterogical symptoms, Whorewell said, non-verbal methods of getting information are sometimes preferable to conversation. And, he said, with additional research, the wheel could be used in medical fields from pediatrics to surgery.

"You've got an instrument now," Whorwell said. "Now people have to play with it and find out the applications."

About Art Therapy

2010-02-05T17:22:00.001-05:00

Here is the promo to a DVD by art therapist Pamela Hayes. I've been to a couple of her trainings, and she is very good. Please look into it if you're interested in art therapy!

GWU Columbian School of Arts and Sciences Features the Art Therapy Program!

2009-12-07T17:53:00.001-05:00

The Healing Power of Art Is Focus of Expanded Art Therapy M.A. Program

Painting, drawing, and sculpting as means to express what may be verbally inexpressible are at the heart of the increasingly popular field of art therapy. At GW’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the healing power of art is fully realized through an Art Therapy Program that boasts modern new studio spaces, a counseling center for hands-on immersion in therapeutic techniques, and an expanded 61-credit curriculum to facilitate professional licensure upon graduation. In sum, the graduate program—which was one of the first in the nation—adds up to an unparalleled learning opportunity for prospective art therapists.

“Our graduate program is, at its core, clinically-based art therapy in which students are trained to be professional clinicians, working with a range of diagnoses, ages, and diversities,” said Professor Heidi Bardot, MA ’99, the program’s director and a registered, board-certified art therapist whose past work includes helping hospice patients and their families deal with grief and loss. “Within this training, there is a strong emphasis on the artist identity, making a bright, airy workspace and gallery—in which students, faculty, and clients can express themselves artistically—an integral component of the work we do.”

The program’s new location at the Alexandria Graduate Education Center includes state-of the-art classrooms with "smart boards" and other multimedia equipment, an open art studio space for student and faculty collaboration, an extensive art therapy library and a gallery for student and juried exhibits. The facility is also home to the GW Art Therapy Center, where students work with clients under the direct supervision of licensed mental health professionals.

A Profession Born on the Battlefield

The outbreak of World War II marked the beginning of a profession first practiced in hospitals to treat soldiers dealing with “shell shock,” now clinically termed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Since then, practitioners have espoused the benefits of art therapy as an outlet for expression of feeling. Concurrently, evidence-based art therapy research focusing on the neurological implications of art-making to address trauma and loss, depression, and anxiety—as well as the efficacy of psychosocial interventions for cancer survivors—has become the trend and means to validate the profession. In 2007, art therapy was named one of the top 10 “hot” jobs by CareerBuilder.com, bearing out the need for such services during times of war and economic uncertainty.

The University’s Art Therapy Program, one of the first to be accredited by the American Art Therapy Association, was established in 1971 based on the teachings by the founders of art therapy—Edith Kramer, Hanna Yaxa Kwiatkowska, Bernard Levy and Elinor Ulman. All of the program’s current faculty are registered, board certified art therapists who bring with them professional expertise and the latest in clinical practice and research. Two new faculty members were added this year to mentor students on developing proposals to conduct original research from different paradigms as well as write grant proposals to implement program-related research.

Facilitating Professional Licensure

Thanks to the M.A. program’s recent expansion from 49 credits to 61, students now graduate prepared to seek professional licensure in counseling and art therapy. The traditional master’s program has been combined with additional coursework in trauma training—a huge growth area in the art therapy field to integrate the latest research on neurobiology and trauma treatment with expressive, art based approaches. Also offered are international opportunities, clinical training and a combined five-year bachelor’s and master’s degree option for exceptional students who are majoring in fine arts or psychology.

Students are required to participate in internships with children, adolescents and adults in a clinical setting for approximately eight to 20 hours per week. The intern program is one of the most extensive in the country, with more than 100 sites located throughout the Washington, D.C., area. These include the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Whitman-Walker Clinic, Children’s National Medical Center, Children’s Inn at NIH, Miriam’s Kitchen, and the D.C. and Fairfax County public school systems.

“Internships allow us to spread art therapy to new settings,” said Bardot. “And interns often become so invaluable they are offered a job after the internship is completed.”

The curriculum also offers courses on international social and cultural competency to prepare students for work with ethnically diverse populations. Last summer, art therapy students traveled to India as part of a three-week summer course called International Social and Cultural Art Therapy. A series of short internships with local organizations immersed students in the Indian culture so they could experience what it was like to be a minority. Students visited schools, a women’s shelter, a rehabilitation center and helped residents with disabilities, working on art projects at each site. The students received valuable training and needy populations in India were introduced to art therapy.

As director, Bardot’s goals include implementing trauma research within the art therapy center, creating additional collaborative research opportunities and continuing coursework in international and cultural diversity. And, of course, she remains committed to producing top students. “Many of our alumni have gone on to become leaders in the field, in the national association and in the educational sector,” Bardot said. “We are providing a breadth of experience, knowledge, and important connections within the field of art therapy, and I want to build upon our strong foundation.”

For more information about the Art Therapy Program at GW’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, click here.

2009-09-02T10:19:00.005-05:00

Here is an article in the school newspaper (The Hatchet) of my alma mater, George Washington University. It features some of my GW colleagues and intern who went for the Muliticultural class the program took to India. Enjoy!

Connecting cultures, one art project at a time
by Matt Rist
Hatchet Staff Writer

Issue: 8/27/09 Life

Media Credit: Courtesy Heidi Bardot

GW graduate students and staff of a local Indian school stand around a piece of classic Indian art they created together using traditional methods.

In the midst of a bustling city in India, with streets full of cars, rickshaws and even cows, 15 GW graduate students washed away cultural and linguistic barriers this summer with little more than paint, brushes, chalk and a passion for the visual arts and psychology.

For the past two summers, GW's art therapy graduate program has distinguished itself as the only one of its kind in the country to send students abroad as part of a three-week summer course called "International Social and Cultural Art Therapy." This year, the program traveled to India.

"The focus of the program is psychology and fine arts," said Program Director Heidi Bardot. "The idea is that you use art to express yourself as opposed to just verbalization."

When Bardot sat down to plan this year's trip, she decided it was time to take the group even farther from the comforts of GW than they had ever gone before - to the far reaches of India.

After the students arrived in Chennai, a southeastern coastal city, they immersed themselves in everyday Indian life - interning at three schools, a psychiatric hospital, a shelter for the homeless and other locations across the city - all in an effort, Bardot said, to examine social and cultural diversity.

"The idea was to look at your own biases, stereotypes and feel what it is like to be a minority," Bardot said. "So often most of the clients we work with are minority populations, so I wanted the students to feel like they were in a situation where they didn't understand the language and were a minority in the country."

Some students shared their photographs and experiences on a blog created for the trip.

"This morning, after riding down the bumpy roads full of trees banging the roof of the van and enduring traffic jams greater than the 495, I realized that even worlds apart I can complete a mission so dear to my heart," wrote graduate student Lindsey Vance.

Bardot added that moments like that were what made the trip worthwhile.

"That was one of the most interesting experiences for the students, because [the people we worked with] couldn't speak much English and we didn't know their language, but we were able to interact through creating art together,"

While Bardot said students enjoyed their time at many of the job sites in India, others showed the harsh reality that many of the country's poor experience on a daily basis.

At one of the sites, Bardot said the students were shocked when they witnessed children being abused by facility staff members.

"It was very difficult for them to observe because the kids were being hit with sticks," Bardot said. "The people who were in charge of these kids had just not been trained yet; there are many things that were difficult for the students to observe with corporal punishment."

With the encouragement of her students, Bardot contacted a human rights lawyer in India and laid the foundation for affecting change at that particular job site.

"I think it was a really good learning process for the students, because they could actually witness what the situation was like and how we can go about changing that," Bardot said.

Lisa Garlock, assistant professor of art therapy and clinical placement coordinator for the program, reflected on what the students had accomplished in one of the last blog entries for the group.

"Art was able to reach deeper than words - art enabled the words to flow," she wrote.

The Power of Art Therapy Featured on CNN

2009-07-30T16:11:00.005-05:00

Heartbreaking art helps kids with inmate parents

updated 6:02 p.m. EDT, Mon July 27, 2009
By Dana Rosenblatt
CNN

HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- The drawings are macabre, especially because they're created by children: stick figures writhing in pain and confusion, a knife dripping with blood and a broken heart.

Next to the heart, the child artist has written: 'My heart is bleeding, my heart is a broken bleeding heart." Another child has drawn a red bubble, inside of which is written: "I want 2 die."

All of these young artists -- members of a program called No More Victims -- have at least one parent who has served time in prison.

The powerful drawings communicate their experiences with pain, hopelessness and confusion as clearly as a thousand spoken words.

Many of these at-risk children were raised in unstable environments, which could lead them to make the same mistakes as their parents, sending them to prison or worse.

But Marilyn Gambrell wants to break that cycle.

In 1993, she founded No More Victims Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children of incarcerated parents.

A former Texas parole officer, Gambrell saw firsthand the need to help children and teens who were left behind by one or both parents serving time.

"My goal is for this child to feel healthy enough and healed that they didn't want to take their own life or someone else's. Just give them what they need, love them, support them, provide basic needs. They will fly," she says.

The statistics on prison parents are staggering. According to Justice Department estimates, 2.3 percent of children under 18 in the United States have at least one parent in prison.

Together, 52 percent of state prison inmates and 63 percent of federal prisoners reported an estimated total of 1,706,600 minor children, according to the Justice Department.

In 2000, Gambrell brought No More Victims to the classroom at a local high school where a large majority of students had experienced the effects of incarceration on their families. Sound off: How can we reverse the cycle of incarceration?

Soon after, she opened a community center where teens could take care of basic necessities such as getting food and diapers for their own kids, doing their laundry, and getting, from Gambrell, the love and support they never had.

Some of the teens had fallen victim to sexual assault as children and later received help from No More Victims.

For the program members, the community center feels like home and Gambrell is a lot like a mother. She makes herself available to the kids 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Her approach is simple but effective. Since the program's onset in 2000, only 22 of the 700 kids who've enrolled have ever gone to prison, says Gambrell, and many of those kids graduate high school.

Child counselors say that for getting young people to open up, art therapy can be more effective than traditional forms of therapy.

In the classroom, it could take months or years for her students to share what they've been through. But with art therapy, Gambrell has created a safe outlet for them to express their innermost thoughts.

"Kids reflect what's going on in their life in their artwork," said Mary Ellen Hluska, a child life specialist at Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

"I think it's effective because it helps them have a safe place to express what they've been through without using words," said Hluska. "It becomes a tangible object. It's there, and they don't have to say it."

In class, Gambrell instructs the students to use red pencil to express pain and anger they felt, and blue to reflect calmness and peace.

"I knew it would be deep because ... I had red and blue pencils for them, and no child wanted a blue one," said Gambrell.

"In the first exercise, everybody requested red," Gambrell said. "And some children had four and five red pencils. They drew so much and colored so hard that they actually broke the lead."

Longtime program member Shante Weaver often used red pencil to illustrate the struggles of her life. Her mother has been in and out of prison most of Weaver's 20 years, and she's never really known her father.

Drawing delivered a key breakthrough at age 15, when a quiet and withdrawn Weaver finally revealed all that had happened to her.

Shortly after Weaver drew the picture, she found the courage to talk about her troubled childhood, inspiring other members of the class to join her in speaking about similar experiences.

With the support of her classmates and Gambrell, Weaver gathered the courage to press charges against a man who had abused her for many years. Today, Weaver lives with her grandmother and works two jobs to help support her family.

She also takes classes at a community college and plans to continue her studies to become a nurse.

Weaver is still an active member of No More Victims and is a role model to newer members, helping them get on the right track.

Looking back, Weaver said she feels like a different person from the traumatized 15-year-old girl who drew those red pictures five years ago.

Thanks to No More Victims, Weaver says, she can use a blue pencil to best illustrate her brighter future.

Children of Inmates
State inmates with minor children: 52 percent
Federal inmates with minor children: 63 percent
Estimated number of minor children of inmates: 1,706,600
Percentage of U.S. residents under age 18 with at least one inmate parent: 2.3 percent

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

Mandalas!

2009-03-11T19:38:00.004-05:00

On the weekend of February 27-March 1, 2009, I attended an excellent training led by Carol Cox, MA, ATR-BC, LPAT and Alysa Muller, Psy.D., FAMI, covering the theory of the Great Round of Mandala created by Joan Kellogg. It was a very informative training with theory based on years of research and experience as they taught the 13 total stages in the Great Round. We drew our own mandalas for each stage, which I have included in a slide show below.

Our training was at Bon Secours Spiritual Center in Maryland, which is a very peaceful retreat center. Though we didn't have much time to explore, and it snowed on the last day so I drove home to beat the bigger storm, I saw some very nice views through the windows. I hope to go back in October to Part 2, and plan to explore more then!

Color Career Counselor

2009-02-04T17:25:00.005-05:00

I came across this article and career testing based on color preferences, which as an art therapist intrigued me. Here is what it's all about:

Can Your Favorite Color Determine Your Perfect Job?

Rachel Zupek, CareerBuilder.com writer

Do you ever wish finding the perfect job could be as easy as 1, 2, 3? According to new research, it might be as easy as red, yellow or blue.

That's right; by determining which primary, secondary and achromatic colors you prefer most and least, you can figure out a successful career path based on how you approach work, the types of workplaces where you work best and how you handle work tasks.

The Color Career Counselor, powered by The Dewey Color System -- the world's only validated, non-language color-based career testing instrument -- uses color preferences to determine successful career paths. Dewey Sadka, author of "The Dewey Color System," says using colors instead of a questionnaire eliminates the chasm between self-perception and self-truth and reveals your core motivations.

"What if you misinterpret a [career assessment] question or the choices don't reflect your personality?" Sadka asks. "Color preference indicates your personality's best career fit. Preferred colors indicate passionate career pursuits; non-preferred choices establish workplace skills you least enjoy."

How it works
The Color Career Counselor is simple. First, you click your preferred primary color (red, yellow or blue). From there, you choose your preferred secondary (green, purple or orange) and achromatic (black, white or brown) colors.

"Your preferred colors determine how you attack each task. They indicate your talents -- what you prioritize first in order to be successful. They also highlight what you overdo, especially when you feel great," Sadka says.

For example, if you're partial to yellow, you're information-driven; blue preference people are idea-driven and people who prefer red are results-driven. If you favor green as your secondary color, you realistically evaluate situations; purple indicates you like fact-finding possibilities and orange signals that you scrutinize feasibility. Finally, if black is your choice from the achromatic colors, you consider value above all else; white shows that you like having options and brown confirms that you like implementation and accomplishing tasks.

On the other hand, your least preferred colors determine tasks and issues that you tend to forget.

For example, if your least favorite color is orange, sometimes you over-commit yourself by trying to do too much at once. If you dislike the color green, you try to fix everything for your colleagues rather than making them do it themselves. Or, if your least favorite is teal, you feel a deep need to prove you are competent and you don't care what other people think.

In managing these areas head-on, Sadka says you won't miss the incidentals that could impede your success.

Put to the test
To see for myself if this "scientific" test was for real, I took the test three different times and got the same results each time, affirming that I am, in fact, in the right career.

I'm a "creator," says the Color Career Counselor. I'm "nonconforming, impulsive, expressive, romantic, intuitive, sensitive and emotional." It says I enjoy working independently, being creative, using my imagination and constantly learning something new.

For my suggested "creator occupations," I was given an extensive list of careers that included jobs I've considered (architect, interior decorator, English teacher), jobs people told me I should pursue (author, creative director, public relations) and jobs that I currently hold or aspire to in the future (reporter and editor).

What about you?
So are you a researcher, creator, social manager, persuader, doer or organizer? To find out what career path you should be following based on your preferred colors, here are a few examples of what certain choices say about you, and the careers and skills that compliment them.

If you prefer: yellow, purple and white: You're the communicator.
You create profitable perspectives -- how to break into new accounts or be heard by other employees. By simply identifying a client's point of view, you develop strategies that open doors, even if they had already been shut. Your excellent communication skills can create problem-solving forums. Careers in corporate communications, marketing or religious occupations work best.

If you prefer: red, green and black: You're the investor.
You know the value of money and resources, as well as the intrinsic worth of each co-worker's contributions. Your supportive, yet analytical personality works best in finance, accounting, banking, manufacturing, property management, production analysis, investment, money management, consulting, product sales or teaching.

If you prefer: blue, orange and brown: You're the activist.
Your strong community beliefs and no-nonsense approach improves services for those around you. Occupations where you can improve existing specifications or impact social values work best for you. Consider careers in engineering, building, or developing new programs, companies or products. Also consider law enforcement, firefighting, social or government work.

These are only a few of hundreds of different color profiles. For your own free career evaluation, please visit: http://www.careerpath.com/career-tests/colorcareercounselor.aspx.

Rachel Zupek is a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.

I took the test myself, and as an art therapist, I'm glad that the results came out the way they did! It's nice to know I'm in the right field.

BEST OCCUPATIONAL CATEGORY

You're a CREATOR
Key Words: Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional

These original types place a high value on aesthetic qualities and have a great need for self-expression. They enjoy working independently, being creative, using their imagination, and constantly learning something new. Fields of interest are art, drama, music, and writing or places where they can express, assemble, or implement creative ideas.

CREATOR OCCUPATIONS

Suggested careers are Advertising Executive, Architect, Web Designer, Creative Director, Public Relations, Fine or Commercial Artist, Interior Decorator, Lawyer, Librarian, Musician, Reporter, Art Teacher, Broadcaster, Technical Writer, English Teacher, Architect, Photographer, Medical Illustrator, Corporate Trainer, Author, Editor, Landscape Architect, Exhibit Builder, and Package Designer.

CREATOR WORKPLACES

Consider workplaces where you can create and improve beauty and aesthetic qualities. Unstructured, flexible organizations that allow self-_expression work best with your free-spirited nature.

Suggested Creator workplaces are advertising, public relations, and interior decorating firms; artistic studios, theaters and concert halls; institutions that teach crafts, universities, music, and dance schools. Other workplaces to consider are art institutes, museums, libraries, and galleries.

2nd BEST OCCUPATIONAL CATEGORY

You're a PERSUADER
Key Words: Witty, Competitive, Sociable, Talkative, Ambitious, Argumentative, and Aggressive

These enterprising types sell, persuade, and lead others. Positions of leadership, power, and status are usually their ultimate goal. Persuasive people like to take financial and interpersonal risks and to participate in competitive activities. They enjoy working with others inside organizations to accomplish goals and achieve economic success.

Free Hugs!

2009-01-27T16:13:00.003-05:00

Just as an example of the many things that can come out of art therapy, this piece was what one client created when given some Model Magic clay and allowed to make a sculpture of anything she wanted. She responded with creating one of the characters from a favorite cartoon of hers, Pon and Zi. [posted with permission] Hope it makes your day happy!

Using Art Therapy for Terrorist Rehabilitation?

2008-12-19T21:47:00.000-05:00

I came across this article written by the well-known art therapist, Cathy Malchiodi, about art therapy being done in Saudi Arabia to assist in rehabilitating jihadists. The video that she references about the program is vastly interesting and a new approach in the field of art therapy. Take a look:

Jihad Rehab: Can Art Therapy Cure Terrorism?
Cathy Malchiodi
Created Dec 19 2008 - 7:38am

To some, the idea of art therapy as rehab in Riyadh sounds like a story that would headline The Onion. But art therapy is serious business at Saudi Arabia's experimental rehab center for former jihadists, some from the Guantanamo Bay detention center. From Jihad to Rehab, a PBS production featuring Canadian journalist Nancy Durham [1], offers a rare chance to see these detainees in treatment as they sit at long tables with pastels in hand, intensely engaged in the the art process.

My well-regarded colleague Dr. Awad Alyami is the detainees' art therapist and is one of the most passionate advocates for the transformative power of art in trauma recovery [2]that I know. Alyami, Director of Art Therapy at King Fahad Medical City, studied art therapy at Pennsylvania State University and has become a global voice for the use of art as therapy for what may be some of the most complex clients a therapist may see. In fact, initially he was reluctant and even a little frightened to undertake work with the detainees, even though he has extensive experience treating traumatic stress and mental illness. Once you see Alyami on film waving his arms in the air like an orchestra leader, motivating convicted jihadists to draw their feelings-- well, he is an intrepid and enthusiastic traveler into psychological terrain not often attempted.

Islamic law prohibits the depiction of people or animals in artwork so drawings are generally abstract, at times integrating text from the Koran or other sources. The calligraphy and depictions of sunrises and flowers do not really reflect the darker emotions confronted in treatment and are Jihad art therapyimages Western therapists might not expect to see. In fact, some might define the content of their artwork as being "in denial" of the crimes committed. With these individuals, it's the process of making art and Alyami's careful interventions to help these men examine the consequences of past actions and discussion of their art that are the core of their art therapy.

Interestingly, Dr. Alyami does not use the word "art" with his clients. He refers to what they're doing as "making things with your hands." The word "art" in Arabic doesn't mean only drawing or painting, it means dancing, singing, and other art forms and in many cases, "art" has a negative meaning in parts of Islamic society. In essence, these men are engaged in "making things with their hands" in order to put their anger out on paper rather than acting it out as terrorists.

Truth be told, there is more to this rehab program than just art therapy; there's religious instruction, psychological counseling, team sports, and other interventions. The goal is to help the detainees ultimately restart their lives, including marriage, new jobs, and buying a car. This is rehabilitation, Saudi style, and other countries are taking note of this model for addressing terrorism in therapy because the program addresses both theological issues as well as psychological needs of detainees. While long-term outcomes of the experiment remain to be seen, it's exciting to imagine that ultimately art may be, at least in part, a potent form of counterterrorism.

Art Therapy in the Schools - Artistic License

2008-08-29T20:06:00.003-05:00

This article was brought to my attention by a music teacher, which he saw in the National Education Association (NEA) magazine that highlighted the use of art therapy in the schools. When we were talking about our professions, he remembered reading this article and was kind enough to pass the magazine on to me (thanks, Russell!). Here is the article showing the growing importance of the use of art in schools with the ED/LD population. (click the link to download the PDF)

WikiHow: How to Use an Art Journal

2008-06-01T21:50:00.006-05:00

I happened to see this WikiHow entry featured on the front of my Google search page and thought it was cool. I thought I'd have to share it here...for yourself or for your clients to use!

~~Click here to download PDF~~

Importance of Medical Art Therapy (and Arts in Health Care)

2008-04-08T21:12:00.002-05:00

You Gotta Have Art
Patients Benefit From Creative Expression

By Carol Strickland
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, April 8, 2008; HE01

As health-care costs skyrocket, a down-to-earth approach to healing is emerging, complementing high-tech medicine with high-touch arts.

The approach is based on the assumption that incorporating music, visual art, writing and performance into clinical care can increase feelings of well-being and even improve health -- an assumption that medical researchers are beginning to recognize the need to test with evidence-based studies.

Growing belief in the healing value of the arts was on display last month at a symposium at New York's Museum of Modern Art titled "The Value and Importance of the Arts in Health Care." Participants -- physicians, hospital administrators and artists -- were as upbeat as if they were promoting a miracle drug: Integrating the arts into health care is in vogue, said Leonard Shlain, a laparoscopic surgeon in San Francisco, "because it works."

The Society for the Arts in Healthcare, which sponsored the symposium along with MoMA and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has seen its membership rise. As of 2006, the society estimated that more than half of 2,500 U.S. hospitals that were surveyed offer arts-based programs, said Anita Boles, the group's executive director.

Carol Herron coordinates an arts in medicine program at Texas Children's Cancer Center in Houston that involves visual artists, musicians, dancers, mimes, writers and puppeteers.

"We do children a disservice if all we do is treat the disease," she said. "We need to treat the whole child and the whole family."

And at New York University Medical Center, using art to reduce stress has become a priority, according to Marianne Hardart, director of creative arts therapies.

"There's not anyone it doesn't work with," she said, including adults, adolescents and younger children.

Not all institutions are willing to incorporate approaches of this kind, though, Hardart said. "In medical settings geared toward physical and chemical interventions, we're often considered an adjunct instead of an integrated piece."

That's partly because the research supporting these programs is slim.

Some of the documented benefits -- based largely on short-term appraisals of small numbers of patients -- include enhanced quality of life, patients' increased cooperation with painful procedures and helping staff understand a patient's point of view. Mounting evidence from the few early empirical studies also report reduced fatigue, depression, anxiety, pain and stress, which may boost the patient's immune system.

Letting Go of the Pain

Tracy Councill, who developed an art therapy program called Tracy's Kids at Georgetown University Medical Center's Lombardi Cancer Center, recalled an art project by an 11-year-old lymphoma patient who had been in isolation for months following painful bone marrow transplantation. When he came back as an outpatient, "he made a clay sculpture of a sarcophagus with a mummy-looking thing," she said, which he glazed "with a lot of red to look like blood." This grisly object, she explained, served as "a displaced way of putting that aggression for all the stuff he'd been through into art -- a good way for him to be finished and let go."

Artwork can help medical staff perceive fears that patients sometimes can't express verbally. Matthew Gerson, vice chairman of the board of the Prevent Cancer Foundation, which funds Tracy's Kids, described a 12-year-old patient awaiting bone marrow transplant who made a puppet he called Dr. Bones. In the course of dramatizing a story, the child revealed his terror that his own bones would be removed. The art therapist was able to correct the misconception.

As part of a rehab team at NYU, art therapist Alice Landry works with adults who have suffered brain or spinal cord injury. A project such as woodworking or jewelry, she says, "creates a metaphor for them rebuilding themselves." Her patients demonstrate not only emotional but functional gains. After four weeks, a multiple sclerosis patient who initially couldn't pick up a bead was stringing beads and adding clasps, she said.

Fabien Navidi-Kasmai, 15, diagnosed with a form of Hodgkin's lymphoma when he was 11, illustrated his five-day course of chemotherapy at Georgetown: "I drew a picture of me getting hit by a truck," he said in a phone interview, "then I'd get up and get hit by a train. I'd get up again and be hit by a plane. It really helps to get those feelings out on paper." The lure of the art studio made him drag himself out of bed. "Unless you've been through it," he said, "it's difficult to grasp the concept that art has the power to make having cancer a good experience."

Uplifted Spirits

Aziza Shad, medical director of the pediatric hematology oncology unit at Georgetown, said the facility was designed around its open art studio. "The focus of our clinic is the art therapy program."

As soon as they sign in and before blood is drawn, children race to the art table. They forget they've come for examination, as they laugh, chat, draw or do clay work. Shad believes strongly in the program's benefits: "Those children who participate in the art therapy program do so much better physically."

Karen Robinson, who lives in Washington and whose son Max was 5 when he received a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, found the Georgetown clinic welcoming: "We knew that this was home," she said. "It helped us mind, body and soul."

Another Tracy's Kids program has opened at the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children's National Medical Center. Max Coppes, executive director of the center, said that once the art studio was installed, children began grabbing their IV poles and rushing over to work on their projects. "My prediction is, this will become a huge success," he said.

Besides providing feel-good activity, the arts can enhance a hospital's physical environment. Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston spent more than $1 million to spruce up a 200-foot-long hallway its patients used when going to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute for treatment.

Estrellita Karsh, who originated the project (she is a former medical writer and the widow of the famed photographer Yousuf Karsh), said the passage used to be "traversed by very depressed-looking people, hunched over with their shoulders down." After installing a mural of 149 birds carrying medicinal sprigs, the corridor was renamed "the Bridge of Hope." "Nobody," Karsh said, "goes through with their head down now." One 3-year-old girl, bald from chemotherapy, used to be prodded along to her treatments. Now, the girl points to "her" bird, a scarlet ibis, and talks to it: "Are you a good girl?"

"There's no question there are numerous facets to caring and healing, and the physical environment is a critical one," said psychiatrist Gary Gottlieb, Brigham's president. "It has been shown that people's optimism, their mental outlook and their mood affect outcome in the treatment of chronic diseases and a number of cancers."

Anecdotes and Evidence

Some educators are schooling medical students not only in the art of medicine but also in the broader arts: drawing, art history and poetry. Edith Langner, faculty director of the Arts in Medicine Project at Columbia University Medical Center, takes second-year med students to MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she hones their observational skills. Looking at portraits trains the students to examine patients' faces, she says.

Yet resistance persists. Many doubt the humanities belong in medical education, and when they are included they're often marginalized rather than fully embraced. The field of art and health care, as William J. Ivey, former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, put it, is "anecdote-rich and evidence-poor."

"If, on scientific examination," Ivey said, "our anecdotes and intuitions turn out to be correct, we can then -- with the evidence required -- move forward in policy areas."

Even a physician such as Coppes, who is convinced of the value of art therapy, explains, "I'm an academic, so if something is not demonstrated in a double-blind, randomized study, it doesn't exist."

Karsh, the medical writer, remains adamant in her faith: "Anecdotal accounts always seem to precede scientific corroboration," she said. Â·

Carol Strickland is an art critic and medical writer based in New York. Comments:health@washpost.com.

Art Therapy Outcome Studies

2008-01-20T00:55:00.000-05:00

Here is a great resource to help undergird the importance of art therapy. This listing provides information of art therapy outcome and single subject studies that can help with research, grants, effects, and support for art therapy. Some topics included are ADD/ADHD, Asperger's, Geriatrics, Grief, Chemical Dependence, PTSD, Abuse, School, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and Developmental Delay.

Art Therapy: Tree Drawings

2008-01-06T21:32:00.000-05:00

I came across this video of a person who video blogged their art journal of tree drawings over a period of time. I found this particularly interesting, especially since my art therapy master's thesis was about self-identity and self-concept as shown through tree drawings.

Art Therapy in the Netherlands

2008-01-06T21:30:00.000-05:00

Speaking of global art therapy, here is a nice clip of several interviews with Dutch art therapists sharing about their passion about the profession:

Art Therapy: Be the Change You Want to See

2007-12-02T23:05:00.000-05:00

Here is a video that Cathy Malchiodi premiered at the American Art Therapy Associations' 38th Annual Conference in Albuquerque this November. It is a very good film short to show some of the power of art therapy, used in Darfur.

Using Crayons to Exorcise Katrina

2007-09-18T11:42:00.000-05:00

The New York Times featured an article on art therapy's significance in assisting children in coping and healing from Hurricane Katrina:

Using Crayons to Exorcise Katrina
By SHAILA DEWAN

BAKER, La., Sept. 16 — One of the most common images in children’s art is the house: a square, topped by a pointy roof, outfitted with doors and windows.

So Karla Leopold, an art therapist from California, was intrigued when she noticed that for many of the young victims of Hurricane Katrina, the house had morphed into a triangle. “At first we thought it was a fluke, but we saw it repeatedly in children of all ages,” said Ms. Leopold, who with a team of therapists has made nine visits to Renaissance Village here, the largest trailer park for Katrina evacuees, to work with children. “Then we realized the internal schema of these children had changed. They weren’t drawing the house as a place of safety, they were drawing the roof.”

Countless articles and at least five major studies have focused on the lasting trauma experienced by Hurricane Katrina survivors, warning of anxiety, difficulty in school, even suicidal impulses. But few things illustrate the impact as effectively as the art that has come out of sessions under the large white tent that is the only community gathering spot at Renaissance Village, a gravel-covered former cow pasture with high truancy rates and little to occupy youngsters who do not know when, or if, they will return home.

Even now the children’s drawings are populated by alligators, dead birds, helicopters and rescue boats. At a session in May one 8-year-old, Brittney Barbarin, drew a swimming pool full of squiggly black lines. Asked who was in the pool, she replied, “Snakes.”

The drawings, photographs and sculptures, about 50 of which went on display Sunday at the New Orleans Museum of Art, are a good indicator of how children are coping, said Dr. Irwin Redlener, the co-founder of the Children’s Health Fund, which has provided mobile mental health clinics to some families along the Gulf Coast. The art also shows that the trauma did not end with the hurricane.

“The real prescription for these families is to get them back into a normal community,” Dr. Redlener said. “We’re treading water doing these things, when I’d like to take my prescription pad and write, ‘Home.’ ”

On Saturday a wild commotion greeted the arrival of the art therapists, who were handing out T-shirts and registering families for a bus trip to the museum the next day for the exhibition, “Katrina Through the Eyes of Children,” which runs through Oct. 7. The therapists asked the children to draw two pictures each, and then kept an eye out for indicators of deep disturbance, like a picture by Trinity Williams, 7, that showed a figure swimming with a shark. Turbulent blue lines covered the entire paper.

Trinity is an energetic child who likes to sing and dance, and play tricks like pulling her name tag off and plastering it across her mouth. Ms. Leopold coaxed her to sit at a picnic table and add things to the drawing that could help the swimmer: a pool float, an adult in a boat, a yellow sun. Trinity has been in treatment for hyperactivity since the storm, said Donna Azeez, who is rearing Trinity. When the art therapists visit, Ms. Azeez said, Trinity will be “a lot calmer, she’ll be smiling.”

Even the adults participate, drawing churches, front porches, trees and, in one session, a picture of the trailer park with one palatial house and swimming pool in its midst. Many, both adults and children, draw at a level that is years below what is expected at their age, partly as a result of traumatic regression.

On Saturday, Lashawn Wells, 13, presented a drawing of three stick figures in a scribble of gray water: his mother, sister and brother, their arms up in the air. “Where are you?” Ms. Leopold asked. “I don’t want to be in the picture,” Lashawn muttered. Ultimately, Lashawn added himself, a life jacket, a road for running away, and a bridge.

Ms. Leopold handed him a blank sheet of paper and asked what safe place was waiting for him on the other side of the bridge. “The Superdome?” Lashawn asked tentatively. “Reliant Center?” Eventually he changed his mind, deciding to draw a house, adding doors, windows, a dresser, and, with Ms. Leopold’s gentle urging, other things he wanted to feel safe, including a cellphone and a gun. The house was shaped like a triangle. Ms. Leopold said the triangle houses were not drawn solely by children who were rescued from rooftops. “This is the collective unconscious,” she said.

Unlike many who have tried to help Katrina evacuees, the art therapists have returned again and again, earning the trust of a community of about 400 families that feels isolated and forgotten.

They have taught the children to knit, furnished them with journals and digital cameras, even taken a lucky few to the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program in California. They have devoted considerable time to letting the children construct and decorate houses and cities, to literally rebuild.

One elaborate three-dimensional version of New Orleans, a community effort built of cardboard boxes that included streets, a church and even a graveyard, was reduced to a soggy mess by a rainstorm. The next day the children began to rebuild.

Rosie O’Donnell’s For All Kids Foundation financed the first year of the therapy program; a recent $1 million grant from the country music stars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw will help it continue. Art has piled up in a storage unit in nearby Baton Rouge, La., and in the garage of Leo Bonamy, a project volunteer.

Ms. Leopold said that there are signs of recovery in the children’s drawings, but not many. When the American Art Therapy Association held its annual convention in New Orleans last year, she said the organizers asked for examples that were colorful and hopeful. “We didn’t have any,” she said.

But there are subtle indications: In 2005 Cheryl Porter, 17, drew the car in which she and her family escaped. In Saturday’s picture the car was safe in a garage. “If I don’t draw, I get in trouble,” Cheryl said.

On Sunday three buses filled with families from Renaissance Village headed for the museum, where they would be met in the large, columned lobby with lemonade, cookies and a jazz piano player. As the bus neared the museum, 7-year-old Corielle Mutin spotted Bayou St. John, where two kayakers paddled in the afternoon sun. “I’m scared,” she said, “of the water.”

2007 National AATA Conference

2007-08-27T12:31:00.000-05:00

38th Annual American Art Therapy Association Conference
"The Art of Connecting: From Personal to Global"

Hyatt Regency Hotel
Albuquerque, New Mexico
November 14-18, 2007

~~Click here to register online~~

~~Click here to see the program schedule~~

FEATURED SPEAKER
Thursday, November 15, 10:30 - 11:30am

Meinrad Craighead, MFA

Threshold: An artist's entry into creativity

The spiritual journey is an experience of birthing into creativity. Using slides of her own artwork as well as that by artists throughout history, Meinrad Craighead will midwife an entry into the mystery of creating. Her talk will illuminate the threshold as it marks moving toward and into the place of the unknown. The threshold is the pulling aside of the curtain—having the energy and courage to pull aside the curtain to search inside for images already present.

FEATURED SPEAKER
Friday, November 16, 8:45 - 9:45am

Alexander Shaia, PhD, ISST/STA, LPC

All Journeys-One Journey

All Journeys are One Journey. No matter if it is our clients or ourselves, in art and in life, there is a progression of inner landscapes. The four-fold journey involves climbing the highest mountain, crossing the storm-tossed sea, resting awhile in a glorious garden and, possibly walking along a road of riches. This sequence is universal, sequential, invariable, and ever recurring. Using visuals, personal and client stories, and poetry, Dr. Shaia will take us through the archetypal life journey, "Quadratos."

FEATURED SPEAKER
Saturday, November 17, 8:30 - 9:30am

Thomas Singer, MD

Image and Complex in the Collective Psyche

Complexes are psychic structures that are a common cause of psychological distress. They most frequently cluster around parental images as well as issues such as power, inferiority, and sexuality. The emerging theory of cultural complexes, a new addition to Jung's original notion of complexes, takes complex theory beyond the personal to the level of the group psyche. Cultural complexes frequently constellate around group historical experiences of trauma, dislocation, and discrimination. They often reveal themselves in the art and media of a particular culture, since images can "carry" complexes, and their effects can be recognized in the psyche/behavior of both groups and individuals. Differentiating cultural complexes from personal complexes is not only of theoretical value, but can be useful in clinical practice with clients in group and individual sessions. In today's world, recognizing images as carriers of cultural complexes can be helpful in gaining perspective on cross-cultural, political, and other conflicts.

The Art Therapy Connection

2007-04-01T18:44:00.000-05:00

Here is a short film clip documenting the use of art therapy through a non-profit organization called The Art Therapy Connection, working in Chicago with at-risk youth.

CareerBuilder.com Names Art Therapy as a Top 10 Job for 2007

2007-01-01T14:01:00.000-05:00

10 Hot Jobs for 2007
Candace Corner, CareerBuilder.com writer

As the world continues to advance and change technologically, we are living longer, retiring later and pursuing higher education at a higher rate than generations before us, and the employment market is changing right alongside us.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, technology is just one of the few factors in determining what's going to be the next great gig out there. Demographic shifts, legislative changes, business trends and consumer behavior also factor into what's going to be the next big thing and what's going to be history.

Here are some of today's jobs that are on the cutting edge:

3. Art Therapist (follow this link for available jobs)

What they do: Treat physical, mental and emotional disabilities through art expression.
What you need: A master's degree in art therapy with completed curriculum under the American Art Therapy Association's educational standards. To be a registered art therapist, 1,000 hours of direct client contact must be reached after graduation.

Using Art Therapy with Eating Disorder Clients

2006-12-15T16:12:00.000-05:00

The documentary "THIN" takes us inside Renfrew Center, a residential facility for the treatment of women with eating disorders in Pennsylvania and other locations. "THIN" premiered Tuesday, November 14th, 2006 at 9PM EST on HBO. Watch the clip of art therapist Karen Polin working with a client on body image distortions below.

Healing Visions

2006-09-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

Here is a video about how an artist used her paintings to help heal her fears, grief, and loss.

2006 National AATA Conference

2006-05-22T12:22:00.000-05:00

AATA 37th ANNUAL CONFERENCE
"Reaching Out & Rebuilding Our Communities"
November 15-19, 2006
Riverside Hilton
New Orleans, LA

~~CLICK HERE TO REGISTER~~

~~CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PROGRAM SCHEDULE~~

The 37th annual AATA Conference will be held November 15-19, 2006 at the Hilton Riverside in New Orleans, across the street from Harrah's and a short "Mississippi Riverwalk" from the legendary French Quarter!

As you may already know, this year's conference theme, "Reaching Out and Rebuilding Our Communities," has been specially selected out of respect for the city and its inhabitants that will host hundreds of art therapists this year. Come and learn from the outstanding clinicians and others from around the world how art therapists build and maintain communities at home, work, and in their professional lives. In many ways, this will be an historical conference year you don't want to miss!

Two Exciting Keynote Presentations!

Elizabeth Birch, spokesperson for the Rosie O'Donnell Foundation, will be speaking about building communities and Rosie O'Donnell's project funding art therapists and art supplies to work in the hurricane devastated areas from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. Art therapists from around the country have participated in one and two week visits to these areas to provide art therapy for displaced families. In the next weeks, a CNN documentary about this project will be filmed. Following her keynote, she will lead a panel related to the topic.

Bessel A. van der Kolk, M.D., internationally renowned expert in trauma treatment, theory and research will be part of the AATA's Research Committee's "Conference within a Conference." In addition to participating in this group of research presentations, panels and roundtable discussion, the eminent Dr. van der Kolk will provide a plenary talk and workshop.

Art Therapy with Tracy's Kids wins fundrasing award!

2006-02-23T09:17:00.000-05:00

There was a fundraiser held at the E Street Cinema in DC to support Tracy Councill's art therapy program for children with cancer at Georgetown University Hospital's Lombardi Cancer Center, called Tracy's Kids. Congratulations to Tracy! Watch the video below (or click here).

Read about Art Therapy in the News

2006-01-24T20:51:00.000-05:00

Read here about the lastest happenings in the field of Art Therapy!

Articles:
Children Create Katrina Art
Lessons in New Ways to See
Art Awakens Alzheimer's Patients' Minds
Working through Trauma with Art Therapy (Katrina-related)
Art as Therapy and the Road to the Unconscious

Artwork of a Fellow Art Therapist...and Friend

2006-01-05T22:08:00.000-05:00

One of my friends from graduate school is an accomplished artist, showing her artwork in many places including New York, Seattle, and Israel. She has a website featuring her artwork, and I wanted to share it with you.

2005 National AATA Conference

2005-10-12T12:14:00.000-05:00

This year, the 36th Annual Conference will be held in Atlanta, GA, at the Hilton Atlanta from November 16-19. This year's theme is "The Art of Science of Creativity in Healthcare."

Click here to read this year's program, and click here if you would like to register.

Coping with Hurricane Katrina

2005-10-05T10:36:00.000-05:00

Art therapy has been particularly helpful in processing trauma, one of the most recent events of which has been Hurricane Katrina. This article mentions the value of using art therapy, as well as other modalities (i.e., play & drama therapies), with children and teens to deal with the aftermath of Katrina. Cathy Malchiodi writes about how art therapy is particularly helpful in promoting trauma recovery with children, regardless of the degree. (click on the .pdf version to see the artwork) As she states: "Art Therapy can be beneficial to people of all ages, but it is especially useful for children. Art is a natural form of communication for children because it is easier for them to express themselves visually rather than verbally. This is particularly true for children who have experienced a traumatic event, such as Hurricane Katrina, or other natural or man-made disasters."
AATA has asked for art therapists to assist Hurricane survivors in the Gulf region to cope more effectively the trauma that occurred during and after the hurricane. Art therapy has become more well known as an effective tool in helping process and desensitize the tragedies that occur in the lives of people, particularly in the wake of large disasters such as the Asian Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. Best of wishes to the therapists and the survivors as they work together towards healing.

AATA E-Newsletters

2005-10-01T15:28:00.000-05:00

August 2005, Volume 2.5
August 2005 (Special Edition)
September 2005 (Special Edition)
October 2005, Volume 2.6
December 2005, Volume 2.7
February 2006, Volume 3.1
March 2006, Volume 3.2
May 2006 (Special Edition)
June 2006, Volume 3.3
September 2006, Volume 3.4
December 2006, Volume 3.5
March 2007, Volume 4.1
May 2007, Volume 4.2
August 2007, Volume 4.3
January 2008, Volume 5.1

Education & Professional Credentials

2005-09-27T20:54:00.000-05:00

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with Studio Art Minor
Oklahoma State University, 1997

Master of Arts in Art Therapy
George Washington University, 1999

AATA Professional Member, since 2001

Registered Art Therapist (ATR), 2005

Board Certified (BC), 2006

Art therapy aids young tsunami victims

2005-06-06T15:23:00.006-05:00

Art therapy aids young tsunami victims
Group helps children regain some control in their lives

The Associated Press
updated 12:46 p.m. ET, Mon., June 6, 2005

Dr. Jennifer Baggerly, seen during a play therapy session with children in Colombo, Sri Lanka, is part of the Association for Play Therapy team.

Dr. Jennifer Baggerly via AP

TAMPA, Fla. - One child’s drawing shows a swirling sea that has engulfed houses, trees and people, their arms outstretched in a final attempt to save themselves from a deadly tsunami.

Another child paints a darker scene in watercolors — muddy swirling waves and hauntingly detailed faces of drowning victims.

The images, even though disturbing, were therapeutic for the children who watched their families and neighbors being swept away during the Dec. 26 Asian disaster.

“The images get stacked up in the children’s mind if they don’t get the support to express it,” said Jennifer Baggerly, a professor who specializes in play therapy for traumatized children.

Baggerly, 42, has coaxed fear and anxiety out of the littlest victims of natural and manmade disasters. And, she recently used art to help comfort young tsunami victims.

'Toys are medicine'
Earlier this year, the University of South Florida professor joined a team of therapists sent to Sri Lanka by Operation USA, a Los Angeles-based international aid organization.

The group traveled to Trincomale, visiting an orphanage and refugee camps for minority Hindu Tamils who have been forced from their homes in a long-running civil war. The orphanage was located near a beach, still scattered with shoes and clothes from tsunami victims.

“You see women’s saris on the beach. It was a constant reminder of the tragedy,” Baggerly said.

Besides therapists, the organization has sent several shipments of toys and art supplies to Sri Lanka and other countries hit by the tsunami. In a disaster of such magnitude, officials said, it is easy to overlook children’s unique needs.

“We just basically say that toys are medicine for children, period,” Operation USA President Richard Walden said. “Whether it’s a giant box of a thousand Frisbees or a couple of hundred tennis balls. You show up in some of these places and they have nothing to play with.”

Some studies have indicated that a child’s developing brain can suffer permanent damage if anxiety goes untreated. While the research into childhood trauma is complicated, therapy is not. Children only need to play and learn new ways to communicate their fears, Baggerly said.

While in Sri Lanka, she taught the young victims yoga techniques to deepen their breathing and calm their nerves, and a “butterfly hug,” where children cross their arms in front of their chest and tap their fingers. The movement engages both sides of the brain and can snap a child consumed with a disturbing past back into the present, she said.

More importantly, the team of therapists taught the children to play again — the start of bringing the children out of their shells.

“They were afraid mainly of playing outside because they thought another tsunami was coming,” Baggerly said.

Baggerly and other volunteers also put on a puppet show and told a story about animals that had something bad happen to them. Working through translators, they addressed the children’s fears.

The group explained it had been an earthquake which had caused the giant wave. Many of the youngsters had believed they were responsible for the tsunami or that they were being punished by a higher power.

“They were saying, ’Did the tsunami come because I had bad thoughts?”’ Baggerly said.

Regaining control
Baggerly, 42, has been working with traumatized children for more than a decade, focusing on those who lived in homeless shelters. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, she turned to helping children who had survived catastrophes and training emergency workers in dealing with young disaster victims.

In Florida, Baggerly helped young hurricane victims cope with the devastating aftermath of last year’s storms. Traveling to areas hit hard by Hurricane Charley, Baggerly worked with children at an emergency aid center.

The only entertainment was a television set up in a corner with some folding chairs in front of it. The youngsters had no toys, no organized activities and plenty of nervous energy, fear and anxiety.

Baggerly brought art supplies for the children to create signs and drawings designating the corner of the center as their personal space. The activity allowed them to regain some control when their world had been turned topsy-turvy, she explained.

For children on both sides of the world, she said, the best way to cope can be found in the trappings of childhood — a crayon, a piece of paper, a puppet show.

“The procedures you use for trauma after a hurricane are similar to the ones you use after a war,” Baggerly said. “You try to help them be optimistic and focus in the here and now.”

My Artwork

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As an art therapist, some people want to view samples of my artwork. Here are a few pieces from over the years.