“… If we hope for our children that they will become full human beings, and that they will move toward actualizing the potentialities that they have, then, as nearly as I can make out, the only kind of education in existence today that has any faint inkling of such goals is art education. So I am thinking of education through art not because it turns out pictures but because I think it may be possible that, clearly understood, it may become the paradigm for all other education.” ~ Abraham Maslow, Psychologist, 1957

ART THERAPY AS AN INTERVENTION TOOL

Some children’s negative life experiences have both short and long term mental health consequences. Physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence or neglect are high risk factors for mental disorders. Without a positive outlet, intense emotional stress can lead to depression, poor self-esteem, emotional impairment or psychological challenges. Reducing anxiety, coping with overwhelming feelings and strengthening emotional development are critical steps to trauma recovery.

Interventions that promote resilience makes sound preventive sense.

Children need a safe way to communicate their anxieties, and often the best way to cope can be found in the trappings of childhood: crayons, paper, paint, clay. Children and adolescents don’t always have words to express what they are going through and are typically creative by nature – both of which makes them well-suited for art therapy intervention. Activities based in creative art therapies engage them in a process that builds self-esteem as well as problem solving and life skills. Their creativity helps them access and explore pent-up emotions.

According to the Art Therapy Association, art therapy is defined as a nonverbal and creative way to help develop coping skills, reduce anxiety or fear and articulate repressed feelings.

Art with Heart’s books and programs are based on published studies that show that art can improve quality of life by providing an outlet for those who need to come to terms with confusing emotions and circumstances. These studies suggest that creative activity has positive mental health benefits ranging from the development of self-expression and self-esteem to opportunities for social contact and participation, and/or providing a sense of purpose, a sense of meaning and improved quality of life (Huxley, 1997; Oliver et al, 1996). These findings are significant because low self-esteem is a risk factor for depression, suicidal behaviour, being bullied and eating disorders (Emler, 2002).

A recent study published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management found that art therapy can reduce a broad spectrum of symptoms related to pain and anxiety in cancer patients, who are particularly vulnerable to depression and anxiety, with fatigue as the most prevalent symptom. In another study done at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, cancer patients reported significant reductions in eight of nine symptoms associated with pain and anxiety measured by the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) after spending an hour working on art projects of their choice. The improved symptoms were pain, tiredness, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, lack of appetite, sense of well being and shortness of breath. The only category that showed no significant improvement was nausea, a powerful symptom that has been unaffected by other similar studies.

A study was done at a pediatric hospital in Italy with children with leukemia who undergo painful procedures such as lumbar puncture and bone marrow aspiration. They treated 32 children aged 2-14. They used art therapy before, during, and after the procedures. Children hospitalized before the study exhibited resistance and anxiety during and after painful procedures. By contrast, children provided with art therapy from the first hospitalization showed collaborative behavior. They or their parents asked for art therapy when the intervention had to be repeated.

The Pfizer Mental Health Project concluded that creativity is a valuable way of expressing emotions and can aid recovery. Because arts and creativity influence health through their psychological and psycho-social impact, they can also be seen as an important element of mental health promotion, which aims to strengthen the mental and emotional wellbeing of individuals and communities (Department of Health, 2001).

The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (the world’s oldest and largest private institution devoted to the care and treatment of cancer), along with countless other hospitals and institutions, now regularly utilize art therapy to help their patients communicate the painful side of their illness in such a way that they can feel understood and respected. They find that it helps patients communicate and identify both their physical and emotional pain, and helps them during their search for meaning, all within a safe structure. It is especially beneficial for patients who are dealing with emotional conflicts, and need a way to organize their complex feelings about life and death.

The benefits of making art extend to people who aren’t suffering from emotional or physical problems, and a therapist is not necessarily required either.

Other Resources:

Childhood Trauma, CRF Hypersecretion and Depression by Deborah Lott, Psychiatric Times, October 1999, Vol. XVI, Issue 10

Traumatized children: How childhood trauma influences brain development, by Bruce D. Perry, The Journal of the California Alliance for the Mentally Ill, 11:1, 48-51, 2000

Art for health - the social perspective, by Elaine Argyle, Mental Health Nursing, May 2003

Art therapy helps children of cancer patients, by Laura Ungar, The Courier-Journal, Kentucky, 2006

Group art therapy as an adjunct to treatment for chronic outpatients, by BL Green, C. Wehling and GJ Talsky; Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati

Know of a pertinent article that’s not here? Please send it along to us.