A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

When thinking about hospitals, most people aren’t too likely to call to mind anything about artwork, but the image of an austere or harsh-looking environment may come to the fore. In an effort to combat boring hospital artwork, a hospital art consulting firm along with university professors recently conducted a study on the effects of artwork on hospital clients. The study found that definite and engaging, rather than abstract pieces of artwork, produced happier reactions in clients overall. As many modern hospitals feature solely abstract designs, the study suggests a little decoration may be in order.

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A GoodTherapy.org News Update Presented by Daniel Brezenoff, LCSW

A recent study by the Center for Disease Control, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, is being touted as evidence that some very common treatments for trauma lack empirical evidence of success in helping children and adolescents. The study, which reviewed a small percentage of the available literature, found evidence for the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral treatment, but not for six other kinds of therapy, including what may be the most widely used interventions – play and art therapy.

But the data may not be as convincing as the researchers, and especially the mainstream media (http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNewsMolt/idUKN0933795420080909?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true), conclude. Read the rest of this entry

Written by Tanya Vallianos MA, LPC, ATR

Click here to contact Tanya and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

The holiday season can be a challenging time for most anyone as the stresses of finances, increased demands of time and tasks, and unrealistic expectations show themselves in a grand way. Furthermore, if you are a person that is working through feelings of grief at this time, everything can become compounded.

The holidays can create feelings of depression, loneliness, and anxiety for the bereaved as they remember past events. Holidays by nature are filled with nostalgia, tradition and ritual, but for those grieving, this can bring up conflicted feelings of both comfort and distress as the absence of the deceased becomes more apparent. As the rest of the world is celebrating, it’s important for grieving individuals to acknowledge their emotional pain and get through the season with a minimum amount of stress. Being able to express ones grief verbally can be difficult. Art expression, as a non-verbal modality, can be an effective way of working through and containing grief when words fall short.

Throughout history, art making has been a means by which humans have expressed their grief. Whether through burial ceremonies, shrines, or memorials, the symbols that represent loss have been important for coping and relieving emotional distress.

Creativity can be a way to feel the sadness, anger and loss as well as the remembrance of times past in all their imperfections and grace, while taking time to understand oneself in the context of the whole. Overwhelming thoughts and feelings can be captured in the images thereby creating a new sense of control, organization, and containment. Focusing on the images or symbols enables a person to express stressful emotions without having to refer directly to details surrounding the loss. Read the rest of this entry

Written by by Tanya Vallianos, MA, LPC, ATR

Click here to contact Tanya and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

There is an emerging movement around the world to use expressive arts in healthcare settings because of the numerous benefits to overall wellness. Large research hospitals such as Duke, Stanford, Ursaline, Georgetown, Dartmouth, Sloan-Kettering and Northwestern, and others, have long understood the value of bringing the expressive arts into the hospital proper. Medical science is finding that artistic activities can actually prolong patients survival rate by reducing stress levels, increasing relaxation, improving immune system functioning, reducing and improving blood pressure, heart rate and respiration, and reducing pain.

The body is the vessel through which thoughts, sensations, emotions, and all of life are experienced. Our bodies literally contain cellular memories of all growth and regeneration. Consciously tapping into the wisdom of our bodies is a process by which we exchange with dialogue through a new and different language. As we get more fluent in this language we begin to realize that we truly hold within ourselves all the answers to our deepest questions, as well as the ability to heal ourselves from emotional and physical illness. Creative arts expression is one modality that can trigger and enhance this natural process. Read the rest of this entry

Written by Tanya Vallianos, MA, LPC, ATR

Click here to contact Tanya and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

What is Art Therapy?

Art therapy is a modality in the psychology field that’s focus is on the transformative power of nonverbal language. Because art therapy brings together the fields of art and psychology, it integrates visual arts, human development, behavior, mental health, creative process, imagination and personality. It is based on the belief that the act of art making can help us understand more of who we are, enhance lives, and lead us towards personal growth through self-expression.

Although art therapy as a modern profession is quite new, creative expression through visual art is one of the oldest forms of healing in history. This is the way that mankind began expressing itself as a means of communication on cave walls, through hieroglyphics and within sand paintings. Art has always been a way to express the deepest of sorrow as well as the most joyous of moments. The expression of these many varied emotions has brought catharsis and self-awareness to many an accomplished artist and non-artist.

How Can Art Be Healing?

Art therapy enables people to express themselves in areas that are impossible to express in words. Since art expression does not occur, as a linear process as is found in spoken language, there is the ability to allow ambiguous, confusing and contradictory elements to show up in the art. This ability of art to contain paradoxical elements helps people more easily integrate and synthesize conflicting feelings and experiences… Read the rest of this entry

Written by Peg Dunn-Snow Ph.D. ATR-BC, LPAT, LMHC, NCC

In 1992 after Hurricane Andrew hit south Florida on August 24, 1992 I contributed to an article a list of art activities that children could do at home to help them process their thoughts and feelings after their hurricane experience that year.  The activities are still relevant today, but not only as a way to process a hurricane experience but to prepare for one by taking a more proactive approach. The activities in the original article were listed and categorized under the following headings. Read the rest of this entry