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 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.
By: LAIRD HARRISON, Internal Medicine News Digital Network
"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.
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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.
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!):
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.
"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. Har
"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.
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
Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.”
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.
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.
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:
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
