Born in a dancer’s therapy

January 9, 1998

ART REVIEW;

By ROBERTA SMITH

Art rarely strays far from life, from the feelings and character of the person who makes it. But sometimes it sticks so close to individual experience as to become a virtual shadow, different in substance but identical in outline.

This is the case with Marilee Stiles Stern, a 47-year-old American who lives in Seattle and is having her first solo show at the Phyllis Kind Gallery in SoHo. Well-known as a ballet dancer (she was discovered by George Balanchine), ballet teacher and choreographer, Ms. Stern turned to art as an aid in her psychotherapy, which followed a diagnosis in 1989 of dissociative identity disorder, as multiple-personality disorder is now called.

A few years later Ms. Stern became aware of the phenomenon of outsider or self-taught artists when her therapist showed her an issue of Raw Vision, an art magazine devoted to the subject, and she started acquiring back issues. Drawn to the art reproduced in the Kind Gallery’s ads in Raw Vision, Ms. Stern got in touch with Ms. Kind last February, asking the dealer to look at her work. In May Ms. Kind made a detour to Seattle on a trip to the West Coast and saw Ms. Stern’s work. A result is this exhibition of fantastical drawings in red, black and yellow felt-tip markers that Ms. Stern made on graph paper between 1989 and 1991. They depict swirling, cursive figures and figures-within-figures trapped inside intricately patterned backgrounds. They are almost as beautiful as they are harrowing.

Full of semi-abstract phalluses extravagantly rendered and repeated in ways that start out decorative and soon become startlingly explicit, these drawings seem to diagram encounters of a violent and sexual nature. Bound hands are a repeating motif, as are splayed bodies and stylized faces that can seem either dazed or screaming. Imbedded letters occasionally spell out words: ”Kill” or ”Please help me.” Rarely has violation been made so visually mesmerizing.

 

Continued here: http://query.nytimes.com

Art therapy touches lives at Runnells

Health:

Posted on Wednesday, August 23 @ 14:06:18 CDT by webmaster

BERKELEY HEIGHTS — The Activities Therapy Department at Runnells Specialized Hospital of Union County celebrates creativity with the “Art of The Masters” program. The program, administered by Creative Notions, has been enriching the lives of its participants with a two-step format since 2000, with projects that were designed with senior needs in mind.

“Runnells’ Activities Therapy Department brings the arts into our residents’ lives with hands-on programs,” said Union County Freeholder Vice Chair Bette Jane Kowalski who serves as the Freeholder Board’s liaison to the facility. “With the Art of the Masters program, our residents learn about an artist and create their own work of art. Participating in the arts increases self-esteem and develops physical skills. And it’s fun, too.“
The purpose of Runnells’ varied creative arts programs, facilitated by art therapists, recreation therapists and volunteers includes stimulating socialization and cognitive awareness.

About six years ago, Art of the Masters was invited to Runnells to do a program several times during that first year. Eventually, Runnells made the program a monthly staple of the extensive and varied activities program schedule. Each month Art of the Masters take participants on a journey through the lives and examine the works of some of the world’s most famous artists. First, residents learn the history of a featured artist by attending a lecture and then they paint, sculpt or draw to create a “masterpiece” similar or almost identical to that of the featured artist. Instructors work with each student on a one-on-one basis during the class. With each event they seem to leave with a greater understanding of the artist’s life, works, struggles and triumphs as well as with a greater appreciation for the various art mediums.

Art, through lectures and hands-on activities touches a wide range of individuals, from the active and independent to those who have Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Art of the Masters program participants have a great time, while building social skills.

Continued here …

Art therapy can reduce pain and anxiety in cancer patients

Art therapy can reduce pain and anxiety in cancer patients (press release)

Art therapy can reduce pain and anxiety in cancer patients (press release)

Posted Friday, August 25, 2006 by NewsTarget

Key concepts: cancer, cancer patients and anxiety.

A study published today 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. In the study done at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, cancer patients reported significant reductions in eight of nine symptoms measured by the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) after spending an hour working on art projects of their choice.

Fifty patients from the inpatient oncology unit at Northwestern Memorial were enrolled in the study over a four-month period. The ESAS is a numeric scale allowing patients to assess their symptoms of pain, tiredness, nausea, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, lack of appetite, well-being and shortness of breath. Eight of these nine symptoms improved; nausea was the only symptom that did not change as a result of the art therapy session. Continued here…

Home Is Where the Art Is – Mental Health – MSN Health & Fitness

 

Home Is Where the Art Is

---

A healthy way to work through trauma.

By PsychologyToday.com

Find More

• Cutting Loose One Year After Katrina
• Recovering from Trauma
• Bouncing Back: How You Can Help
• Find a Therapist

The film opens with a tight close-up of a freckle-faced girl in studious wire-rimmed glasses. She’s holding the microphone like an old pro and delivering her intro with the punchy timing of a seasoned war correspondent. “Hi. My name is Kalypso. I’m a ten-year-old girl who just happens to live in New Orleans.”

Kalypso Homan, now 11, is a Hurricane Katrina survivor and a budding filmmaker who made a video about the 2005 hurricane. The 12-minute video diary called “Kalypso’s New Orleans” has been viewed more than 4,400 times on YouTube.com and has garnered Homan invitations to screenings and events all over New Orleans. But fame and recognition wasn’t really her motivation. “It’s good to put an opinion out there,” says Homan. “It was six months after Katrina and we weren’t getting very much help, so I made a movie about why we needed help and what’s so special about New Orleans.”

Whether she knew it or not, Homan channeled her feelings into a form of creative expression known as art therapy. It’s a healthy way to work through trauma. And now, at Katrina’s one-year anniversary, people may want to pick up their paintbrushes. “At an anniversary, stress reactions come back,” says Cathy Malchiodi, a licensed art therapist and a director with the American Art Therapy Association. “It’s really important, especially for the children, to have some kind of outlet to express what’s going on and to remember it.”

Art therapy uses creativity to explore suppressed or painful feelings and to improve well-being. Engaging in creative projects, such as drawing, painting, and even movie making, can help people to communicate emotions that are difficult to verbalize. “When you talk about trauma, you’re only accessing those verbal memories,” says Malchiodi. “But when you start to do something sensory like art, you touch the part of the brain that’s been traumatized. Different things emerge in a child’s story when they’re doing art. Art is a safety valve in this way.”  Continued…

Source: Home Is Where the Art Is – Mental Health – MSN Health & Fitness

Get creative and colour your life

Cape Argus – Get creative and colour your life

Get creative and colour your life

Art therapist Andrea Brand says being creative gives people a sense of their inner world – which is the first part of transformation

June 14, 2006

By Jeanne Viall

How you respond with your crayons or paints to a large piece of white paper may tell you a whole lot about what’s going on in your life.

And we’re not talking only about the images that emerge, but also the thoughts and process you go through as you create.

Creative therapist Andrea Brand works with people to bring movement to the places we get stuck in, whether they be habitual thoughts or actions.

She works in the corporate sector, with groups and teams, and one-on-one with adults and children.

For many people it’s daunting to “do art”, but it’s the process that’s significant here, not the outcome.

Brand’s Colour Studio in Rondebosch is a place that invites you to play. “My passion is colour,” she says. “I use colour as a form of energy to get the creative juices flowing.”

Colour works at an emotional level, she explains. You feel differently when you work with blues instead of reds, for example.

In front of me is a huge piece of white paper, some crayons and some paints. I’m invited to express myself and to observe as I do what thoughts come up, what judgments and where I get stuck.

People mistakenly think that in art therapy the therapist “analyses” your imagery. That’s not how Brand works. Rather, she’s on hand to help me when I get stuck, and is a guide in my process.

“Often what you do relates to life directly,” says Brand. “For example a person may be afraid of making a mess, so they can’t get started. Or because it’s the unknown, and they’re afraid something won’t work, they don’t do it.”

Our own judgments about ourselves are often fiercer than any other – we all carry our inner judges with us, especially around our creativity. In this process you meet them and can transform them so that they don’t stop you from creating what you want in your life.

“Here a person can take a risk without judgment. We try to relate the creative process to real life. This is another side of us we don’t give space to in our lives.”

It’s sometimes surprising what comes through when you give yourself over to the process – and we’re not talking here about good and bad, right or wrong. Continued here…

Art as therapy and road to the unconscious

Naples Sun Times – Art as therapy and road to the unconscious

Art as therapy and road to the unconscious

By Silvia Casabianca 07/05/2006

How would you feel if your therapist or counselor, instead of asking you about your concerns, your emotions or your dreams, brought out art materials and asked you to put your feelings on the paper? If you haven’t tried it before, you’d probably feel skeptical, right?

And if you are unsure about your painting skills, you’d probably also be reluctant to accept the challenge. But the creative process implicit in the art making has been proven to promote self awareness and change. Your creations can give an art therapist clues about the dynamics of your psyche, and the art-making will provide relief when you’re going through stressful situations.

In 1986, I started a project with adolescents in Colombia, in the hope that I could provide some kids with the experience of a supportive environment. Like everybody else, I had gone through the doldrums when I was a teenager, and thought that I could prevent others from going through the same thing. In many cases, when it came to emotions, these kids found it easier to express themselves through art than with words. The project with youth got increasingly interesting, and in 1988, led me to look for a change of career to serve them better.

One day, while I was looking through the shelves of one of my favorite bookstores in Bogotá, a book fell to the floor. It was Edith Kramer’s book The Use of Art as Therapy. I bought the book and sank into it during the weekend. By Monday, I had decided that I wanted to become an Art Therapist, and I did. I got a master’s degree at Concordia University in Montreal. Back in my country, I created a not-for-profit organization to continue working with youth, and found art therapy very useful to help them in their process of self-discovery. I also opened a studio and started a private practice.

Clients would come to my place for art therapy sessions and work with a variety of media, mostly acrylic paint, pastels, oils and crayons. I had learned that different art materials elicited different responses and offered these materials according to the needs of the client.

Continued here….

Art therapy allows troubled clients to express hard-to-articulate feelings

Northwest Indiana News: nwitimes.com Healing artwork speaks to counselor

ART THERAPY: Art therapy allows troubled clients to express hard-to-articulate feelings

BY JERRY DAVICH
jdavich@nwitimes.com

219.933.3376

This story ran on nwitimes.com on Monday, July 24, 2006 12:11 AM CDT

One colorful collage shows an image of a rifle shooting a bottle of alcohol. One screams out in bold print, “Let’s talk.”

Another shows a car hitting a tree, killing the driver’s girlfriend, followed by images of drugs and booze, then the word “sobriety.”

These crude yet insightful collages — cut out of magazines and pasted together by local residents — are just one form of art therapy. The field is being used more commonly to help people struggling with mental illness, emotional problems, or other traumatic experiences.

“These pictures really do say a thousand words,” said Amanda Wyatt, a licensed mental health counselor with Porter-Starke Services, in between clients.

“They are snapshots of where these clients were at a certain point in time,” said Wyatt, one of just 16 board-certified art therapists in the state.

Art psychotherapy emerged as a medical profession in the 1940s, but such forms of visual expression have been used for healing throughout history, according to the American Art Therapy Association.

In the early 20th century, psychiatrists became interested in the artwork created by their patients with mental illness, and also with war veterans who couldn’t express themselves in words and children who turned to art to vocalize their feelings.

Since then, the field has evolved into a distinct yet still fledgling medical discipline, which is still fighting for legislation in many states to be recognized as a valid clinical study, according to one national advocacy group.

“More professionals such as social workers, counselors and school counselors often refer students and children to an art therapist,” said Gayle Sutch, president of the Art Therapy Credentials Board.

Wyatt’s art therapy clients, who wished to remain anonymous, said art therapy is a way of speaking more than 1,000 words without ever opening your mouth.

“Art therapy helps me realize all the things that I am when I tend to think of all of the things I’m not,” one client said.

“Art therapy helps me express feelings when I can’t find the right words to express them,” another said.

Wyatt sees between 45 and 60 clients a week in her Valparaiso offices, some who first think it’s a silly notion to create artwork to help solve deep-seated problems. But then they begin to understand the healing aspects of visual expression, Wyatt said

She typically tells clients that she carries two suitcases — her traditional counseling suitcase and her art therapy suitcase, borrowing from each throughout each session.

“Art therapy doesn’t give my client a voice, but let’s their voice be heard,” Wyatt said.

Source of information HERE

Without a trace

Their crime was called an act of ‘unparalleled barbarity’. Now the two boys who murdered James Bulger are men, their freedom and identities protected by the courts. So what has become of them?

By David James Smith Without a trace – Sunday Times – Times Online

(snip)He began art therapy, drawing faces with turned-down mouths and marks on the face, apparently re-creating the appearance of his victim. He was haunted by flashbacks of blood coming from James’s mouth. Venables told the art therapist she could sell the paintings for millions and she had to reassure him she would never do such a thing. He was acutely aware of his own notoriety and became hysterical, after the trial, when his and Thompson’s names became public knowledge for the first time. He said he feared becoming a new Myra Hindley, and spoke of his anxiety that people would break into Red Bank to attack him.

Malcolm Stevens saw correspondence from psychiatrists, psychologists and psychotherapists across the world offering their help in treating the two boys, or asking to interview them for their own researches. These requests were refused, and the correspondence from the public – which was evenly split 50-50, between the kind, gift-laden letters and the unpleasant – was ignored. Stevens felt it could be distorting for Thompson and Venables to see any of it, especially the excess religious material reassuring the boys that Jesus loved them and forgave them. He could see how that might undermine their view of the seriousness of the offence.

Continued: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2099-2271183_1,00.html

Art therapy allows troubled clients to express hard-to-articulate feelings

Healing artwork speaks to counselor
ART THERAPY:
Art therapy allows troubled clients to express hard-to-articulate feelings

BY JERRY DAVICH
jdavich@nwitimes.com
219.933.3376

This story ran on nwitimes.com on Monday, July 24, 2006 12:11 AM CDT

 I One colorful collage shows an image of a rifle shooting a bottle of alcohol. One screams out in bold print, “Let’s talk.”

Another shows a car hitting a tree, killing the driver’s girlfriend, followed by images of drugs and booze, then the word “sobriety.”

These crude yet insightful collages — cut out of magazines and pasted together by local residents — are just one form of art therapy. The field is being used more commonly to help people struggling with mental illness, emotional problems, or other traumatic experiences.

“These pictures really do say a thousand words,” said Amanda Wyatt, a licensed mental health counselor with Porter-Starke Services, in between clients.

“

They are snapshots of where these clients were at a certain point in time,” said Wyatt, one of just 16 board-certified art therapists in the state.

Art psychotherapy emerged as a medical profession in the 1940s, but such forms of visual expression have been used for healing throughout history, according to the American Art Therapy Association.

In the early 20th century, psychiatrists became interested in the artwork created by their patients with mental illness, and also with war veterans who couldn’t express themselves in words and children who turned to art to vocalize their feelings.

Since then, the field has evolved into a distinct yet still fledgling medical discipline, which is still fighting for legislation in many states to be recognized as a valid clinical study, according to one national advocacy group.

“More professionals such as social workers, counselors and school counselors often refer students and children to an art therapist,” said Gayle Sutch, president of the Art Therapy Credentials Board.

Wyatt’s art therapy clients, who wished to remain anonymous, said art therapy is a way of speaking more than 1,000 words without ever opening your mouth.

“

Art therapy helps me realize all the things that I am when I tend to think of all of the things I’m not,” one client said.

“Art therapy helps me express feelings when I can’t find the right words to express them,” another said.

Wyatt sees between 45 and 60 clients a week in her Valparaiso offices, some who first think it’s a silly notion to create artwork to help solve deep-seated problems. But then they begin to understand the healing aspects of visual expression, Wyatt said

She typically tells clients that she carries two suitcases — her traditional counseling suitcase and her art therapy suitcase, borrowing from each throughout each session.

“Art therapy doesn’t give my client a voice, but let’s their voice be heard,” Wyatt said.

Source: http://nwitimes.com/articles/2006/07/24/news/porter_county/c638eb45cbaa7e31862571b40083a22f.txt

Art therapy professor to work with tsunami survivors

Emporia State University – News and Events Archive

Art therapy professor to work with tsunami survivors

Dr. Gaelynn Wolf Bordonaro is traveling with a team of American professionals to the east coast of India to work with tsunami survivors. Dr. Bordonaro, a second year art therapy professor at Emporia State University, has worked abroad in several countries including: Thailand, Australia, and Jamaica. She plans to work in Berlin in September.

Dr. Bordonaro is looking forward to “the interaction with another culture and country as well as getting to know the team and contributing to their efforts and to the people.”

In India the American team will work on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for two weeks. Professionals include pediatricians, physicians, occupational therapists, a clinical psychologist, a hearing aid specialist and an art therapist.

These remote islands were left with most of their services gone after the tsunami in December, 2004. Sangha an organization founded by Hina Sharma hopes to bring these services back to the islands. The team of professionals will spend their morning’s training and working with the people on the islands getting them back onto their feet. In the afternoons the team will spend time working with the community members and children.

“

To get this phone call to do what I like to do is tremendously rewarding,” said Dr. Bordonaro.

Dr. Bordonaro is the only art therapist on the team and hopes to use the art to assess the drama associated with the tsunami in children. She says that art is a normal activity for a child which makes it easier for them to express their emotions.

For more information on Sangha please visit www.sanghaworld.org

Source: http://www.emporia.edu/news/archives/2006/July2006/arttherapyprofessor.htm