Beginnings of Conversation:
• I reached out to a friend of mine on Facebook. We are connected to through a favourite band of ours. She is a professional Art Therapist practicing in Denver, Colorado.
• I wanted to lean more about her profession, how she came into it, and what she does. Is this something I would like to do? This conversation can be the starting point.
This conversation also guided some of the content in my dissertation about Art Therapy and art as therapy for trauma and PTSD.
Transcription:
Kimberley: Hello Diana! I hope you're well! I'm currently finishing my art degree at Leeds Arts University, focusing on and finishing my Professional Practice module, and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about your profession, your education, why you think art and creating is so beneficial to us, any particular case studies where art has really turned someone's life around, and so on. I hope that this is okay with you.
Diana: Hey Kimberley! I would love to help out! Thanks for thinking of me. I’ll be able to answer more completely in an hour or so.
Hope you’re having a wonderful day!
Diana: My undergraduate degree is from Metropolitan State University of Denver where I majored in Psychology major and minor in studio art with an emphasis in ceramics. For my graduate degree I went to Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. The school is a Buddhist based education combining the best of Eastern and Western healing techniques. Mindfulness practice is emphasized. Some of my classmates in grad school had art degrees so some of us came more from a fine arts based education, where others (myself included) has a stronger background in psychology.
There’s a wonderful read our instructors quoted often called Homo Aestheticus by Ellen Dissanayake (send me an example of your reference format and I can send the citation). Essentially, she says art is in our DNA. As evolving humans we have long observed the practice of “making special” for a very long time. When considered from this point of view, I think it’s so beautifully profound to discover we have an innate need to create and fashion objects and environments in our worlds for no reason other than simply being pleasing to us.
So it makes sense art is often used as way for us to calm and center ourselves. This is only one of several methods art therapists use in practice. We also support clients in expression challenging emotions in line, shape, and form when words will not come or when they fail to express the subtlety, complexity, and enormity of an emotion. This is especially helpful with children who may not yet have the vocabulary to communicate emotions. Art is also used as a way to externalize internal thoughts, concerns, anxieties. In this way, clients are able to see their diagnosis, thoughts, etc. are not who they are. From here it’s much easier to problem solve and contain problematic inner material.
• What made you want to study art therapy? What value do you see in your work?
Years ago, I was an occupational therapy assistant. I loved that the profession, at that time, took a very holistic approach to healing. I worked with clients on troubleshooting how they might come to re-engage in hobbies after injuries or disabilities, as well as helping them find new hobbies and passions. It was so rewarding to witness how these activities added meaning and purpose to their lives and gave them a sense of purpose. I was laid off from this job due to nationwide budget cuts. When I returned to school in 2011 I decided to pursue art therapy because I saw how using art as a healing modality not only facilitated clients healing process, but also helped them find that sense of meaning and purpose (and more!) I had seen as an occupational therapist.
As an art therapist, it has been rewarding to introduce clients to a new way of expressing and getting to know themselves, using art as a way to calm and ground themselves, and using the art process to heal themselves.
• Do you have any examples of case studies where art therapy greatly changed someone's approach to life and thinking?
I have not been in the field long. But I find art therapy with younger children can make an incredible difference. I worked with a six year old girl living in foster care. Her mother was addicted to drugs and was in an abusive relationship. I had tried to communicate to the girl that it was okay to feel sad about being separated from her mother. She avoided talking about the situation or her feelings about it. She struggled in school and was reported to be behaving aggressively toward her peers. I knew if I could get her to discuss her feelings and validate them, it would help her navigate these difficult circumstances and hopefully build a trusting relationship.
After seeing her for several weeks, I decided to create art journals with her. I told her she could put down anything at all (happy or sad) on her mind in words or drawings. She tended to draw rainbows and sunny landscapes, stereotypical images for a child her age. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her turn the page and begin writing. Before long, she tapped my shoulder and showed me what she had written.
“Will I see my mother again?”
My heart broke. I began to reply verbally, but she shook her head “no” vehemently and pointed at the paper. She wanted me to write my response. It was as if the words were too painful to speak or hear. We continued to dialogue in this manner for the rest of the session. The art journal became a method for her to communicate with her foster parents and social worker.
• Why do you think art as a therapy is so enriching and so beneficial to our mental health?
I think there are so many reasons art therapy enhances mental health. It appears to be different for each person. Art can be a way to externalize difficult emotions and thoughts which may provide some relief as well as help in creating a clearer picture of what a client may be experiencing. As with Nina, it can serve as a sort of language of self-expression. For children who may not have the vocabulary to fully express themselves as well as a way to communicate when words fail or may be too painful. Some art activities possess inertly mindful qualities. Repetitive actions can organize and calm a person feeling agitated, working with clay often achieves the same effect. Creating art engages multiple senses and fMRI studies have shown several areas of the brain light up simultaneously when a person is engaging in creating art. These are just a few of the many benefits.
• What kind of exercises do you do in your therapy sessions?
For me, it is important to meet the client where they are. Often it will begin by just talking and getting to know them. Sometimes we will work on a drawing together or try an art media they are interested in. I do lots of art journaling with my clients if they are open to it. Creating small tokens to promote calming and grounding when they feel stressed. Collages can be very useful for self insight and helping me get an idea of what is foremost on the client’s mind. When a client is experiencing difficult, possibly overwhelming emotions, I might have them create a box or container to symbolically contain the thought or emotion. I try to use these activities as a way to educate them about mental health and the way their brain works.
• Do you feel your own mental health is positively impacted because of being creative?
Definitely!! I’ve always done crafty things but when I began using art as a way to intentionally process emotions, express myself, and as a mindfulness practice
Reflection:
• It was nice to network with Diana, building a stronger connection, learning more about her profession and understanding more about the education and qualifications needed to undertake the work.
• These don't translate to the qualifications needed in the UK but I can conduct my own research into what is required.
• It was interesting to hear about some of the foundations of this work - that creating is a part of our DNA (of which there is a gene) and that we enjoy problem solving and fashioning objects as a species.
• The case study with the six year old girl was incredibly powerful stuff proving that Art Therapy reaches where conversational therapy cannot.
• Dp I want to situate myself into this work as an art therapist or work with art as therapy in other ways? Being an abstract expressionist painter guiding my own healing journey, employing art as therapy to tell my story has just as much of an impact?
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