The Art of the Unplug by Gratitude Addict Lauren Zalewski

Thank you so much, Lauren Zalewski, for sharing your journey in using art in a mindful way to find greater joy and wellness!  It warms my heart to see you discover how art works for you in some of the most unexpected ways!  Thank you also for sharing with so many other people who can benefit from engaging in many art forms for themselves for their own well-being.

#art #mindfulness #artforwellness

Read her post and blog post from the link below!

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My latest piece on how my unexpected week-long vacation turned into a STAYcation and the profound GRATITUDE-boosting and mindful week I had when I decided to UNPLUG!

Thank you Lacy Mucklow, MA, ATR-BC, LPAT-S, LCPAT, ATCS for blessing me and my group with incredibly healing advice on using art for mindfulness and emotional wellness! Your words have resonated deeply with me and so many others!

Enjoy!

“THE ART OF THE UNPLUG” – FINDING GRATITUDE ON MY WEEK LONG “STAYCATION!”

An excerpt from her post (thanks for the mention!):

Ironically, the week prior to this vacation, I interviewed a famous art therapist and author on my live broadcast, “Gratefully Living the Chronic Life.”  Lacy Mucklow is a New York Times bestselling author and has put out numerous adult coloring books, one of them entitled, “Be Grateful and Color.”  She was an incredible guest who shared with us for the hour about how we can use art for healing.  Her underlying message was that art is personal, there is no right or wrong way to do it, and it is an incredibly mindful and healing tool we can all use in our lives.  She talked about overcoming our fear of doing something “wrong” and not holding back.  Her message really resonated with me and made me want to paint even more.

Read the entire story here:

https://www.gratitudeaddict.com/the-art-of-the-unplug-finding-gratitude-on-my-week-long-staycation/

Neuropsychologist Discusses the Benefits of Art Therapy and Therapeutic Art

I have mixed feelings about this article. They interview a neuropsychologist who touts the advantages of art therapy, and how it is helpful as a clinical treatment, especially with anxiety.  She posits that artists are likely to be more open to art therapy because of their familiarity with the materials, but I have found often that artistically-inclined people can actually be the most resistant (changes how they do art with the introspection involved, for instance).  She even quotes some research about how art making for 45 minutes can reduce anxiety, which is great that she is familiar with the study.

Later in the article, however, they switch to discussing art-based hobbies that you can pursue on your own at home and have the same effect as art therapy.  That is a fine line because similar effects can be felt, but they don't get into the difference of making things creatively that have a therapeutic effect and what art therapy is by definition, which is clinical treatment facilitated by a credentialed professional to address specific treatment issues.  In fact, at the bottom, they include the suggestion "Want to try art therapy at home? Check out these artistic kits to help you get started."  I just hope it doesn't mislead people into thinking they can knit or paint themselves out of a severe depression on their own.  Those kinds of approaches I would rather call therapeutic art making.

Regardless, I'm happy for some positive reports about art therapy in the news. Perhaps I'm too strict and sensitive on this issue, so if you have your own opinions on the article, sound off below!

Does Art Therapy Really Work? We Asked a Neuropsychologist

written by AMY LAWRENSON

 UPDATED JAN 29, 2020

Paint brushes

PEXELS / DEEANA GARCIA

Art therapy is a creative way to tackle anxiety, but does it really work? We live in a society where low-level (and sometimes full-on) stress and anxiety is a daily given. From the constant sensory overload of social media, an ever-increasing inbox and the pressure of an almost always-on social life, we're more stressed and anxious than ever. And those niggling feelings are hard to tame. According to the American Psychiatric Association, almost 40 million Americans have an anxiety disorder (yes, you read that number right), while around 40 percent of the population admitted to feeling more anxious in 2018 compared with the year prior.

Art therapy has been used since the mid 20th century as a way for people to use creative exercises like painting and drawing to enhance feelings of mental well-being and to promote healing. Of course, you can sign-up for a pricey pottery or jewelry-making class, but finding something that you can do easily at home is a great way to get going too. And while art therapy may sound a bit out-there, it is, in fact, a legitimate form of therapy. Anxiety UK tells Byrdie that "most arts and crafts, such as knitting or baking or similar activities, are mindfulness activities which are a proven way of helping with stress, anxiety and/or anxiety-based depression."

Intrigued? To find out more about art therapy and how you can reap the benefits, we called on Dr. Sanam Hafeez to get us up to speed, so keep reading.

MEET THE EXPERT

Dr. Sanam Hafeez is an NYC-based neuropsychologist and faculty member at Columbia University. She is also a member of Byrdie's Beauty & Wellness Review Board.

Byrdie: Could you tell us about art therapy and whether or not it actually works?

Dr. Sanam Hafeez: Art therapy (AT) as a treatment option for anxiety is regularly employed in clinical practice, but scientific evidence for its effectiveness is lacking since this intervention has hardly been studied. Art therapy has been used for about 50 years.

Byrdie: Can artistic pursuits help everyone dealing with stress or does it only suit people who are naturally artistic? 

SH: People who are artistically inclined will likely be more readily open to it. For those who are not, there might be some initial resistance. Nothing about art therapy is “results” oriented or has any element of competition or evaluation. Once those are not “born artists” realize this, they tend to be more open. Art Therapy is used to improve cognitive and sensory-motor functions, foster self-esteem and self-awareness, cultivate emotional resilience, promote insight, enhance social skills, reduce and resolve conflicts and distress. 

Therefore, it is suited to almost alone open to the process.

Byrdie: Why does art therapy help people feel relaxed?

SH: Results of a 2016 study published in the Journal of the American Art Therapy Association found that just 45 minutes of creative activity can reduce your stress, regardless of artistic experience or talent. It fosters relaxation because when you are focused on creating, it takes your mind off things, even if you are just doodling and not painting like Picasso. It can put you into a “state of flow” which is a near meditative state. It calms the nervous system, encourages self-expression and self- awareness. It also gives me time to themselves in a relaxing environment.

When you are focused on creating, it takes your mind off things... It can put you into a 'state of flow' which is a near meditative state.

Byrdie: When looking for an art-based hobby, have some things been proven to help more than others? 

SH: Aside from art, there are similar types of (non-sporting) activities that can have the same effect as art therapy, such as knitting or crocheting, writing, gardening, playing a musical instrument and volunteering with animals.

The most important thing is to choose something that you enjoy so that you will be engrossed in the activity and stick with it. If your mind is focused on an activity, there is much less space for your brain to be anxious.

If you have tried painting as a means of art therapy and didn’t like it, don’t give up. The next time, try pottery, collaging, digital art, textiles, or perhaps jewelry making. There are many different types of art. Find the one that best suits your interest and diverts your anxiety.

Movie - Nise: The Heart of Madness

This looks like a very interesting movie. It looks like Dr. Silveira was coming on to the idea of art as a form of therapy/treatment at the same time it was burgeoning in America (with Margaret Naumburg and Edith Kramer) and Britain in the 1940's, as their counterpart in Brazil. Cool! 

Read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/movies/nise-review.html 

The territory couldn’t be more delicate, but “Nise: The Heart of Madness,” a mesmerizing drama from Brazil, navigates it skillfully to create a portrait of a real-life doctor who found an alternative to some of the more cruel trends in psychiatric treatment in the middle of the last century. 

Glória Pires stars as Dr. Nise da Silveira (1905-1999), who as the film opens is taking up a post at a psychiatric hospital near Rio de Janeiro in 1944. She settles into a seat in a lecture hall where the benefits of lobotomies via thin spike are being extolled, then witnesses a cruel demonstration of another favorite technique, electroshock therapy. 

“I don’t believe in healing through violence,” she tells colleagues, but, especially since she is a woman, they are dismissive. They assign her to what they think is busywork. 

She transforms the insult into opportunity, creating a unit in which patients who had been written off are given a chance to express themselves through painting and other art forms. The results are startling. 

The movie, full of characters behaving erratically, could easily have taken on the aura of a freak show, but the director, Roberto Berliner, somehow stays respectful of the subject matter even while depicting extreme psychiatric conditions. It’s a study of courageous innovation against an entrenched medical orthodoxy. 

“Our job is to cure patients, not comfort them,” one colleague chastises. 

“My instrument is a brush,” Dr. Silveira replies curtly. “Yours is an ice pick.”

Art Therapy vs. Art Class

Here is a great article by Ruby Garyfalakis that talks about the differences between art education and art therapy.  There really is a difference, and this could help clear up misconceptions between the two.

If you’re interested in art therapy or thinking about checking it out, you may be wondering what the difference is between art therapy and an art class. In fact, this is a question we are asked all the time, so we wanted to share some thoughts about it here on our blog. From our perspective, these are the main differences between art therapy and an art class: 

1. THE RELATIONSHIP. 

a. Art therapy involves a therapeutic relationship. This is the most important element of any type of therapy and what makes it unique from other kinds of activities. There are specific boundaries and elements to a therapeutic relationship. The therapists at Art as Therapy follow the ethical guidelines established by the Canadian Art Therapy Association and the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. Only those who have received the appropriate graduate training can offer art therapy. Although art therapy usually involves art-making, it is first and foremost a form of therapy, similar to talking to a social worker, psychologist, medical doctor, or psychiatrist who offers psychotherapy.  

b. An art class may involve relationships but it does not involve the intentional therapist – client relationship. A teacher or instructor’s role is different than a therapist’s role, and the student-teacher relationship has very different dynamics than the therapeutic relationship. Art teachers are required to be skilled and competent in the areas that they teach, but they do not receive the same training required to practice as an art therapist. 

2. THE SPACE. 

a. Art therapy takes place in a confidential contained space. This is very important whether it’s individual or group art therapy. This means that the space has a door that can close, and has frosted windows or curtains to ensure privacy. Confidentiality is essential to creating a safe space where clients can express whatever is on their mind. Clients are free to share with anyone they like about their art therapy sessions and what happens during those sessions, but it is important that they have the option of anonymity and confidentiality if they so choose. 

 b. An art class may take place in a more open space, it doesn’t have to be confidential. Art classes may happen in a classroom, in an art studio, or at a community centre. Parents or friends may watch or participate in the class. The class members may be friends or may change from week to week. 

3. THE MAIN GOAL. 

a. The main goal of art therapy is self expression. The goal is to express or communicate something, and art-making is often one way of doing so. Since the goal is expression, this impacts how art supplies and artwork itself are viewed. Read more about this below. 

b. The main goal of an art class is to learn something or to experiment with a new technique. The goal is usually to make something specific. Students may be replicating an example or following the instructor step by step. This goal of learning and creating something specific impacts how art supplies and artwork are viewed as well. 

4. HOW ART MATERIALS ARE VIEWED AND USED. 

a. In art therapy, art materials are viewed as one possible tool for self expression. The therapist is familiar with the art materials based on a continuum from controlled to less controlled. For example, a pencil is easy to control and requires fine motor skills. Watercolor paints or acrylic inks are much harder to control and tend to require larger movements. They work best with bigger paper. Oil and chalk pastels are somewhere in the middle between controlled and less controlled. When viewing art materials in this way, the art therapist may provide or suggest specific art supplies for their expressive potential depending on the client’s therapeutic goals. In art therapy, there’s no right or wrong way to use materials or to make something. If the directive is to draw a tree, whatever the client does in response is accepted and explored within the therapeutic relationship. 

b. In an art class, art materials are viewed as tools to be used in a specific way to accomplish the task. They are manipulated to achieve certain effects. There are sometimes “right” and “wrong” ways to do things or to use art supplies. There may be rules. Often there is a focus on the principles and elements of design. Students are taught different ways to draw a tree, and there is a specific expected outcome. 

5. HOW THE ART PRODUCT IS VIEWED. 

 a. In art therapy, the artwork is viewed as an extension or reflection of some part of the client. It can act as a mirror, reflecting the client’s thoughts or feelings about something. The emphasis is on what the artwork communicates for or about its creator, not necessarily on how it looks or whether it turns out as expected. The therapist and the client focus on the process and experience of making the artwork. The process can be just as important as the finished artwork. The client decides what the artwork means to them. 

b. In an art class, the focus is usually on the product. The goal is to make a specific piece of artwork. Every part of the class builds towards creating that finished product. Often the goal is to make something visually appealing, beautiful, or interesting. Students may wish to display their creations or frame them. This is not to say that artwork created in art therapy cannot be beautiful, aesthetically pleasing, or pride-worthy. It just means that this is not the goal or the expectation during an art therapy session, while it often is the goal during an art class. The main point is that art therapy is a form of therapy, and an art class is not. This doesn’t mean that an art class can’t be helpful or even therapeutic. However, a specially trained therapist must be present and there must be some kind of formal agreement to engage in a therapeutic relationship in order for something to be considered therapy. Art therapy and art classes can both be beneficial. Here are some ideas about the potential benefits of taking an art class, versus the potential benefits of attending an art therapy session. 

HERE ARE SOME POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF TAKING AN ART CLASS: 

1. You can learn new skills, building a sense of mastery and competency. This can boost self esteem. 

2. You can build and develop technical abilities that can be used for visual self expression.

3. You may have the opportunity for social interaction, and may be able to build peer relationships with other students in the class. 

4. You may learn about yourself indirectly through the process. 

HERE ARE SOME POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF ART THERAPY: 

1. You will have a safe place to express whatever is on your mind. 

2. You may experience catharsis through self expression. You will be encouraged to express your feelings, and you may use art materials for this process. Art-making can be an excellent way to unload or release emotions. 

3. You will be part of the therapeutic relationship which is a unique relationship. The therapist will function as a witness to your art making process. The therapist can validate your experiences and emotions, reflect your emotions back to you, and observe the whole process with curiosity and compassion. 

4. The art therapy session provides an opportunity for intentional self reflection and discovery. You may feel empowered as you get to know yourself better and discover how your inner strengths can help you to face challenges and overcome obstacles.

Guest Blog: Photographer uses craft to connect with his father

Many thanks to Jay Sullivan, who contributed this guest blog post, who shows us how he used his art of photography to process the memories of his father and process his relationship with him after his death.  Thank you for showing how powerful art can be.   The Father I Always Had

I hated my father most of my life.

When I was five years old, my father had a bipolar breakdown and was sent to a psychiatric institution.  The traumatic events that followed forever defined my relationship with my father: violent outbursts, endless days of him sleeping away the afternoon on the couch, picking him up and putting him to bed after many too many beers, late night calls when he needed a place to stay, and bailing him out of jail. I spent most of my life angry, embarrassed, and ashamed at whom and what he became. When he died in 1992, I put his ashes in my closet and put him behind me for good – or so I had thought.


In early 2011, I started a photographic essay titled Glove hoping to reconnect with my father by exploring what it would be like to have had a normal, adult relationship with him.  I began by imagining he lived with me. I photographed articles in my house that I remembered him owning: a wallet on my nightstand, a razor on the bathroom sink, a baseball glove in the closet. I photographed them large and direct, seeking to dissolve the memories I had in my head of a weak, failed man and replace them with images that were strong and masculine.

One step led to another, and the process became more and more integral to the images that were being created. I dug into his professional past, finding a man that was different than the one I knew – one that I could be proud of: pledge captain in his fraternity, top salesman at both IBM and 3M, President of the NJ Jaycees, MBA at Seton Hall (which was earned several years AFTER his breakdown). I photographed a college ring, a "How to Win Friends and Influence People" book, a briefcase; the images created an admirable story where there once was a void.

If you want to really understand someone, research the brands they buy.  The headline for my father’s brand of cigarettes?: More Scientists and Educators Smoke Kent; for his hair crème?: Brylcreem…For Smart, Healthy Hair; for his watch?: Why Most Teachers Prefer Bulova. These reminders of my father’s lifelong pursuit of learning helped subjugate his less noble attributes.

I started a journal that recorded the days of an imagined adult life together: days at the beach, at the coffee shop, at the ball field; the process sparked real life memories and subsequent photographic images: cooking Christmas pancakes, fishing on a tiny pond, trips to Yankee stadium. The more images I created, the more I remembered – and the more I wanted to be his son again.

Photographing this series resulted in a rich, visceral connection between me, the objects, and long-buried memories.  Many of the memories were anxiety-filled, connected to my father, the tragedies of his life, and the beliefs of a 5-year-old child who thought it was all his fault.   Creating Glove helped me discover that fear confronted leads to fear released.  Three years into this process and 20 years after my father’s death, I have found the father I always wanted – and in many ways always had.

About Jay Sullivan

Jay Sullivan grew up playing baseball in New Jersey.  His life changed direction when he received a film developer kit for Christmas.  It started an interest in image-making that, along with a decent curveball, gained him entrance into Rochester Institute of Technology where he studied photography.

Jay went onto a 25 year career as a Creative Director, creating media for print, online. installations and live events.  He's traveled to over 20 countries on four continents staging events and creating video works that featured President Jimmy Carter, Secretary of State Madeline Albright, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, Ossie Davis, the Ye minority in the remote mountains of southern China, Bambara farmers in Mali, and teenagers in the ghettos of Sao Paulo, Brazil.  His productions have been garnered a Cine Golden Eagle, NY Festivals Silver World Medal, Silver Screen Award and many other honors.   Jay lives and creates art in Red Bank, New Jersey with his wife, two dogs, a cat and two horses.

www.jsullivanartist.com