“Nationwide, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities use the creative arts as one form of rehabilitative treatment to help Veterans recover from and cope with physical and emotional disabilities. Across the country each year, Veterans treated at VA facilities compete in a local creative arts competition. The competition includes 53 categories in the visual arts division this year that range from oil painting to leather work to paint-by-number kits. In addition, there are 120 categories in the performing arts pertaining to all aspects of music, dance, drama and creative writing. A national selection committee chooses first, second and third place winners among all of the entries. Select winners are invited to attend the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival each year.”

Please visit their event webpage  for more details http://www1.va.gov/opa/speceven/caf/index.asp

Do you ever have days or even weeks when you feel like you are just going through the motions. Working at an agency and trying to do art therapy but feeling like there is something missing in your creative process with clients. I think a lot of us feel that way. I as an art therapist, don’t really fit the mold of most counseling jobs. I was trained as though I would have an hour or more with every client , that most if not all clients would WANT to participate, and I always hoped that every art making experience would be just that, an experience, not just an intervention or a directed “cookie cutter” approach. I still have these seemingly Idealistic goals and desires but in the world of medical management I don’t always get to be the art therapist I want to be. Sometimes I have to try fit in a different mold.

HOWEVER, Days like today remind me that the art and the process speak for themselves.  That for some clients, on the right day and time, 20-30 min and some art materials is all they need to have a powerful and meaningful art therapy experience. I am their guide but they know the way and the art will take them there.

I had a young client come into my office today. Recent sessions have been elevated, hurried, and filled with loosely connected verbalizations, to say the least. Today looked the same until the client walked in and grabbed a piece of paper, a pencil and a compass. The client barely said a word, sat down and began experimenting with the compass. At first the client needed some support but not much, My role was the third hand, but quickly I had to step back and let the client go. The client was focused and it was almost like I could see the wheels turning in the clients head. Twenty Five minutes went by with few verbalizations and all art making.  As the clients image began to form I saw a radial image, mandala like, appear. The client was creating their own structure! Their own container! Seemingly seeking power and focus, and I could see the effects in the clients behavior. The client was transformed in that moment even if the change was short lived, I could see that the possibility was there. I could see the art process working and I was reminded of the power of art therapy. Even in this small instance I was reminded that I can be idealistic and I can expect the art process to be powerful and meaningful because it is! Even on the days we don’t see it clearly. Art Therapy Works!!

I work in a children’s hospital that is housed in a very historic, but old building. The children I work with do not communicate verbally, are severely physically and cognitively handicapped and  are medically fragile. I love working with this population. It is challenging and rewarding. On the best day things can be difficult, sprinkled with random seizures, various illnesses that are sometimes very contagious, and just plain old disquiet of a client that is difficult to figure out due to the limited communication.

Days like today that are cold out, when the heat in the building is not working properly, are particularly frustrating. The children are extra cranky and don’t want to cooperate with art making or anything. On days like this I try to be extra calm and soothing. Free paint is often useful for this, keeping in mind that every child is different and that reactions will vary.

Then the nurses decide that the children have to go back to the housing unit early because it is too cold for these children to be in the school area. No more art for them children today.

On the bright side I can spend more time planning (and freezing).

Gretchen Graves, MS, ATR

Richmond Hospital Education Program

Children’s Hospital of Richmond

Dating abuse is a serious health concern for many students:

• One in three high school students will be involved in an abusive relationship.
• Forty-five percent of teenage girls ages 14 to 17 say they know someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend.
• Nearly 80% of girls who have been physically abused in their intimate relationships continue to date their abuser.
• Both girls and boys can be abused by a dating partner and both girls and boys can be abusers.

Teens face greater reluctance to disclosing and greater obstacles to accessing services.  A study by Gale Spencer and Sharon Bryant in 2000 analyzed the difference in teen dating violence in rural, suburban, and urban settings. Their study found that teens in rural districts were more likely to be victims of dating violence than their suburban and urban counterparts, with female teens at greatest risk.  It is also apparent in analysis of the research and articles, that teen dating violence and sexual coercion among teens is less likely to be studied in the rural South, despite studies showing that the rural areas and rural areas in the south are more likely to have incidents of teen dating violence and sexual coercion. Rickert, Wiemann, and Vaughan in their study through the Center for Community Health and Education at Columbia University found that teens who were verbally coerced into sex were less likely (only 47%) to tell another person while 60% of teens who experienced rape/attempted rape were more likely to tell another person. Shorter dating periods and the use of alcohol were predictors of disclosure as well.  Meaning the shorter the time the teens were dating, the more likely the adolescent victim of sexual assault is to tell someone and the longer the teens were dating, the less likely the adolescent victim is to tell when violence enters the relationship.

Art Therapy can be an effective treatment modality for survivors of sexually based crimes.  At RCASA we use art therapy from emergency response to counseling services, we use art journals, mandala’s, visual journaling and narrative therapy, mask making, and puppetry/doll making.  We also use art therapy in our advocacy and empowerment in the community to give adolescents a wider voice for expression.  Here art is used as a communication tool with the greater community through banner projects, art exhibits, creative writing, and blogging.  Survivors who have completed therapy then begin to utilize their imagery and creative products to inform the community on the process of healing and advocating for victims rights.  Art is used as a continuity device for soothing and orientation in the aftermath of violence to calm and center during the initial medical and forensic response; as a centering and focusing device during the prosecution of the criminal case; as a communication tool with family and loved ones to strengthen relationships during the crisis; and as a healing tool for recovery.

Carol Olson, LPC, ATR-BC – Executive Director of the Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault

Related articles

• Sexual Coercion and Teen Dating Violence (preventviolence.wordpress.com)
• How to Protect Your Child from Teen Dating Violence (jenniferalley.wordpress.com)
• RCASA’s Friday Facts: Adolescent Sexual Assault and Abuse (rcasa.wordpress.com)
• NIJ study: Positive Findings for Reducing Teen Dating Violence/Harassment (prweb.com)

Art comes from an inner need for self-expression. Verbal and non-verbal art helps define a culture. Individual personalities, emotions and insights are expressed but sometimes thoughts and feelings are not easily expressed verbally. This is one reason hospitals worldwide are incorporating art therapy for cancer patients. Art therapy is a means of coping with stress and releasing emotions through art forms.

When someone is diagnosed with a serious illness such as cancer, it is easy to become self-absorbed. The illness can lead to stress, anxiety, fear and depression. Art therapy shifts attention away from dwelling on the disease and lets one think about the outcome or things around them. Cancer patients are encouraged to creatively express how they feel about the cancer. As the nurses say “Creativity fosters health”.

Art therapy, assists in treating cancer patients throughout the United States and addresses a number of issues related with cancer.

Release from the pain

Medicines address physical pain, while art therapy helps heal the emotions and spirit of cancer patients. There is a direct connection between physical and emotional pain. When people are emotionally upset they tend to stiffen their body, which contributes to more physical discomfort. Quilting is one way to release painful emotions that the patient may have been holding back.

Emotional outlet
Quilting is an effective outlet for patients battling cancer as well as cancer survivors. The theme of the quilt may focus on the inner person or it may focus on the experience of cancer. The quilt reflects an image of how the patient sees himself or herself. Quilting is especially recommended for people who have a highly aggressive cancer such as mesothelioma or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, since medical treatments for aggressive cancers can be overwhelming. Quilting provides a welcome break from the traumatic treatment routine.

Express yourself

When the cancer patient may be handling the illness well, while the family is not can cause emotional pain for the patient. Quilts are a way for cancer patients to share their feelings with family and friends. It’s an avenue for greater communication and a way to resolve issues. Messages can be embedded into it to make the quilt an extension of the patient.  Some even make quilts with their friends and family to make memories and talk freely with one-another. Everyone can be drawn closer together.

Creating a meaningful and beautiful quilt raises self-esteem. The cancer patient gains a sense of control, when so much else seems out of control. Quilts bring together a holistic expression of the person and reflect the heart, mind and soul of the cancer patient.

Concrete, Steel, and Paint a film that shares the story of Pennsylvania state prisoners who join with victims of crime to create a mural about healing.  This complex story raises important questions about crime, justice and reconciliation–and dramatically illustrates how art can facilitate dialogue about difficult issues.

Showing Wednesday February 8th 2012  7-9pm

For Full Information Please Click on the Flyer link below

Concrete Steel and Paint Film at the Chrysler Museum of Art

All of a sudden I snapped out of it and said, “I do!”  I want to see me; I want other people to see how I see myself.  I want to be honest about the fact that I LOVE ME.  There are things I want to change, there are ways I could be healthier, there are ways I could take better care of myself, but in general I love me the way I am.

I finally realized this assignment wasn’t necessarily about the physical, but more about being introspective and having that process come out on the canvas.  This was a hard realization.  I didn’t want to fail myself; I wanted to do something really honest, something raw, and something intimate.  I wanted to make something I would be really proud of.

I did it.

She turned her cant’s into cans and dreams into plans

I created a painting I am proud of, I investigated painting techniques I had been afraid to try, I incorporated so much of myself at times it pained me; the pain of honesty, the pain of seeing the myths I tell myself.  I learned through this experience that I am enough.  I am lucky to have been given the chance to take this look at myself.

________________________________________________________________________

**Jennifer is an undergraduate student studying Studio Art, she volunteers at the Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault and is planning on pursuing her Master’s Degree in Art Therapy and Counseling.  Jennifer loves to make stuff, share with others, and learn.  You can find her day to day ramblings and crafty adventures on her blog Crafty Dayeseye , and keep up with her project  Art Every Day .  Jennifer lives inFredericksburg,Virginia with her wonderful husband, an angel of a dog, and a little demon doggie.**

Cathy Malchiodi,PhD, LPAT, LPCC, a well known art therapist, writes an ongoing blog for Psychology today called “The Healing Arts”. Last Year she wrote an article series titled “So you want to be an art therapist” . The Series is wonderful and we thought it was worth revisiting. Check it out!

This is Self-Discipline month, and they’re working on a project that I’ve affectionately named the “ADD Nightmare” (I can make this joke since I have practically the same attention span as my 2-year-old daughter!) The project takes a substantial amount of patience and self-discipline, but at the same time, the directions themselves are simple. I also noticed that once you get into a groove, the process is so predictable that it’s very comforting. Even kids who didn’t make it to the end product were engaged and challenged throughout the entire project. The challenge lies in sticking with it through each phase and trudging through tedious pattern drawing and rolling paper.

All you need are Sharpie markers, glue, and scissors or a paper cutter. First, you draw lines to break your paper into sections in any way you’d like. I had my students create at least 5 sections. Then, you fill each section with a different pattern. We talked a bit about repetition and pattern before they started. At this stage, it looks like this….

Next, you copy, cut, roll, and glue your patterned paper until you come up with this…

This project really helped me understand that it’s more effective for my students to engage in art projects that literally put them in a position to practice the character trait right then and there.

You can find detailed directions for the project at this link:

http://www.enasco.com/pdfs/ac_lessons/volume33.pdf

And the eNasco website has lots of interesting art project ideas and lesson plans under the Arts and Crafts tab. Many are culturally based and tie easily into Character Education.

http://www.enasco.com/artsandcrafts/

Enjoy!

Til next month,
Erin

As the title of this post suggests, I am going back to work. I have been an art therapist for 8 years, however, I took the last year off to be at home with my two young children. I expected that transitioning back to work might be hard but so far its feeling like a circus. I feel as though my world is spinning and I am looking for some solid ground to stand on. What was once so familiar now feels new again and almost foreign. I am trying to balance between being an art therapist, working professional, mother, wife, artist etc., but its hard and I feel overwhelmed. I sat down today to make art about how I am feeling, what else should I do?!. Art is  how I process things, art is how I can best express my feelings even when I’m not sure exactly what I am feeling, Art is how I see and reflect on my world.  The painting I did today is posted below. I see myself feeling lost and overwhelmed but I also see how capable I am at finding structure in chaos. The balancing act will go on.         -D.