"
Friday, August 24, 2007
River Walk is a project that Women-Eye is doing with women artist to sale their art work in Chicago on the River downtown every weekend. We are also looking for women artist to be apart of the gallery as well. Women-Eye Arts and Crafts Incubator Program: This will be an incubator program for women entrepreneurs who specialize in homemade arts and crafts. By providing a space to work, professional office support, and peer networking, Women-Eye Inc. hopes to help these women launch successful businesses. Future plans for a retail outlet will help encourage sales and increase profits. Women-Eye is a;all about girl power giving women and girls the tools to empower themselves working to help women and girls all over the world. Women-Eye need great women like you to be apart of this mission. Rosemary Reeves, SOSM Women-Eye Inc. 312 280-9651 650 North Dearborn #300 Chicago, IL.. 60610 www.womeneye.org
I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.
-Kahlo
Self-portraiture began during the Renaissance, it was the first time artist were regarded as more than craftsmen, their personalities became of interest and they painted from the heart more than by rote or command. But that was only reality for men, women artists seemingly did not exist, save as bodies, exalted goddesses objectified, Madonna or whorrzed.
Diana Scultori Ghisi (1547-1612) (Diana Mantuana or Diana Mantovana) an engraver
of Mantura and Rome, was unique among women of the time in being permitted to
put her name on her plates. (that's her in pic, self-portrait)
Women have just in the last 400 years or so been recognized, named, acknowledged beyond being subjects of paintings. This development in art is a reflection of women's emergence from the shadows in all of life. Women are now on the stage, men no longer portray them unless it's a drag show, an entire medical speciality is dedicated to them, gynecology/obstetrics, fashion is made to accentuate the female form- yet, women are still not in control. Medications are now marketed to eliminate menstruation to make us sexually available all the time, clothes to expose our form to satisfy even men we do not know and "stages" provide men an opportunity to see and do what by law they cannot: rape and murder.
But where are the great female contemporary artists of today, of note? They live and breathe, but are overshadowed by their sisters who sell themselves as [sic] pornified art. Performance artists who drizzle themselves with mud and "models" who lay defeated in any pose. While men were able to navigate the cult-of-personality culture the Renaissance bred,women had to become a stereotype, worse an object. Female artists became the mirror, emerged as whatever society wanted to see.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
celosia (se-lo´zhe, -zhê-e) noun See cockscomb.
[New Latin Cêlosia, genus name, from Greek kêlos, dry, burnt (from its color), from kaiein, to burn.]
cockscomb
cockscomb (kòks´kom´) noun 1. The comb of a rooster. 2. The cap of a jester, decorated to resemble the comb of a rooster. 3. An annual plant (Celosia cristata) widely cultivated for its showy, fan-shaped or plumelike clusters of red or yellow flowers. Also called celosia. 4. Obsolete. Variant of coxcomb.
[New Latin Cêlosia, genus name, from Greek kêlos, dry, burnt (from its color), from kaiein, to burn.]
cockscomb
cockscomb (kòks´kom´) noun 1. The comb of a rooster. 2. The cap of a jester, decorated to resemble the comb of a rooster. 3. An annual plant (Celosia cristata) widely cultivated for its showy, fan-shaped or plumelike clusters of red or yellow flowers. Also called celosia. 4. Obsolete. Variant of coxcomb.
I saw these flowers at a farmer's market today. First time I ever saw them, I think. An "aerial view" of them makes one think of a brain. I tried to find a picture that captured their "braininess" I couldn't. And the the flower I bought today for $2 is fuscha colored and it's leaves make me think of silk flower's- they are just too perfect.
As I type, I gaze at this temporary installation of Mother Nature's art on my desk and wonder about art and how it is captured. Painting are inspired by architecture, bone structure or light for example and what results is derivative and mixed. Even my words cannot do this flower justice.
Today was the first time all summer I walked around during lunch and I chatted happily with the merchants. I bought Amish butter, garlic cheese spread that spilled in the bag. I indulged myself and thought of my husband. This flower was new to me, those other seemingly mundane activities forgotten for so long.
Yet, yet the flower alone on my desk does not tell all nor this entry. As that say art is an art not a science. : )
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
a ball, life is a ball of knotted yarn
I am participating albeit in a stunted, undone manner. My piece will never rest with others, not will it give testament to the loss of a wonder of the world. No, I am on the sidelines again.
I often join clubs, make resolutions and plan only to be foiled. And I knew when my co-worker came up with this project,I'd flounder. I am just learning and trying to fit in crocheting with the rest of my "projects" and dramas.
My life is generally in knots, comparable to a ball of string after my three-year-old gets to it, so perhaps that's what's tripping me up.I cannot imagine crocheting flawlessly when I trip through life rather than traipse.
The Institute For Figuring is crocheting a coral reef: a woolly celebration of the intersection of higher geometry and feminine handicraft, and a testimony to the disappearing wonders of the marine world.
Making Hyperbolic Crochet with Margaret Wertheim 7/14/2007
It's geometry! It's knitting. It's—hyperbolic crochet! For a century, mathematicians wondered how to represent a hyperbolic plane, described as a “surface in which the space curves away from itself at every point.” Sea anemones, ruffled lettuce leaves, and cancer cells exemplify hyperbolic shapes, where surface area is maximized and volume is minimized. Beginning with a simple crochet chain, learn how to create a geometric shape with a constant negative curvature just by adding stitches!Margaret Wertheim is a science writer, artist, and founder of The Institute for Figuring (IFF) located in Los Angeles. IFF is devoted to the public understanding of the poetic and esthetic dimensions of science, mathematics, and the technical arts.
http://events.exploratorium.edu/ramgen/make/make_magazine-070714.rm
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Dread not infanticide; the crime is imaginary: we are always mistress of what we carry in our womb, and we do no more harm in destroying this kind of matter than in evacuating another, by medicines, when we feel the need.
Marquis De Sade
I just watched the trailer for Bella the movie -I saw it last night. I cried copious tears at points during the movie, I do not cry easily actually. My daughter asked: "what's wrong mommy?" The scenes weren't particularly moving at times, yet I weeped.
I hardly slept and planned on writing on the movie. I had so many thoughts after I watched it, reminded me of when I saw Schindler's List and felt such shame I let murder go on around me like German shopkeepers. I related to this film on so many levels, abortion has touched my life over and over, almost as if the sin of it is trying to kill me.
The movie was fiction I thought, but I learned today while watching the trailer it is based on a true story. What isn't? When I read that I felt jealous, a true story of abortion with a happy ending. When it comes to abortion, few stories have happy endings. Just endings. I was crying over those, over all the people I lost.
I lost two children I would have readily adopted. I lost friends, one in particular. And worst of all, all the lives lost, even amongst the living.
Bella almost seemed like make-believe to me. Real life doesn't turn out this way, but sometimes it does. I know one couple that became a family through the strength and generosity of a woman not so different from the woman in this movie.They both ironically were hostesses and not so ironically used by men.
As we drove home my daughter, from the backseat, gave her commentary of the film. She said she liked how they showed the woman changing her mind from thinking having a child would destroy her to realizing the child saved her. Then she said, something else to me. And I realized having children has saved me too.
Friday, August 3, 2007
art as balm
“You can't put a Band-Aid on every boo-boo you've made; some just need time to heal...”
It sucks, but it's true what doesn't kill you.....fill-in-the-blank. I wish I could just grow up not out and around,upside down and backwards. I am like some tree with a disease and knots or a vine caught in a fence, parts half-dead, other parts rotting below me feeding me.
Yes, it's our roots that feed us, meaning our past. We are all old souls. God has known us always. Our roots pick up what is around us, what we have left behind or ground or grounded ourselves in. It's our choice,we can take our experience and sink or produce new leaves, new pages, new lives/lines.
Right now I am trying to turn the shit around me into fertilizer. Make myself anew. And while it hurts to think about my past, really what I have done, it is helpful to not just delete but rewind a little, ponder and reformulate.
A new poem is on it's way- two in fact. I am very please and looking to my past, I see I have a future filled with old structure and new paint.
New poem title: store bought incarnate...coming soon
New Cool Product..I love "the worm." Baby onesie!
Labels: art, bandaid, therapeutic, therapy
articles on art therapy
1: Occup Ther Int. 2007;14(1):42-56.
The use of craft activities as an occupational therapy treatment modality in
Norway during 1952-1960.
Horghagen S, Josephsson S, Alsaker S.
Sør-Trøndelag University College, Trondheim, Norway. sissel.horghagen@hist.no
The purpose of the present study was to explore the use of craft activities as
occupational therapy treatment modalities in Norway during the period 1952-1960.
Data were obtained through in-depth interviews with six retired occupational
therapists on their experiences in using crafts. Data were analysed through
textual analysis and this resulted in four themes: craft activities identified as
a therapeutic tool; ambivalence in how to frame the intervention; practice
relative to power relationships; and occupational therapists and patients as
equals. A limitation of the present study was that participants drew on their
screened memories in the context of contemporary practice, which may omit or
distort the historical truth. Further research is needed to document the effect
of contemporary therapeutic use of craft activities, and to bring forward how
occupational therapists and clients value the craft activities of today in the
context of their lives.
Publication Types:
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PMID: 17623378 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
2: Oncol Nurs Forum. 2007 Jan;34(1):38.
A pilot study to test the effects of art-making classes for family caregivers of
patients with cancer.
Walsh SM, Radcliffe RS, Castillo LC, Kumar AM, Broschard DM.
School of Nursing, Barry University, Miami Shores, FL, USA. swalsh@mail.barry.edu
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To test the effects of an art-making class (AMC) on reducing
anxiety and stress among family caregivers of patients with cancer. DESIGN: A
pretest and post-test quasi-experimental design. SETTING: A residential care
facility near tertiary treatment centers in the southeastern United States.
SAMPLE: The convenience sample of 69 family caregivers was aged 18-81 years (X =
48 years) and predominantly Catholic. Most had at least a high school education.
Two-thirds were daughters, wives, or mothers of patients with cancer. METHODS:
Participants completed a demographic data survey and a Beck Anxiety Inventory
(BAI). Researchers collected a saliva sample from each participant to measure
salivary cortisol, which indicates stress levels. Following pretesting, a
two-hour AMC was delivered. Post-tests included a repeat BAI and a second saliva
sample. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Anxiety and stress. FINDINGS: Anxiety was
significantly reduced after AMC. Stress was reduced. CONCLUSIONS: The AMC
appeared to reduce anxiety and stress. The addition of a control group and
replication with larger numbers are suggested. The physiologic cortisol measure
corroborated BAI findings but was difficult to obtain from some cultural groups
and was expensive to analyze. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Family caregivers may
benefit from participation in art-making interventions. Nurses should continue to
investigate the use of creative approaches to promote holistic care.
Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PMID: 17562630 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
3: Int J Palliat Nurs. 2007 Apr;13(4):184-9.
Complementary and psychological therapies in a rural hospital setting.
Jones G.
Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth, UK. gudrun.jones@ceredigion-tr.wales.nhs.uk
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) (2004) in the UK has led
the way in recognising the need for a holistic approach to the support and care
of people with cancer, with the publication of Guidance on Cancer Services:
Improving Supportive and Palliative Care for Adults with Cancer. This article
describes a three-year project, funded by the Big Lottery Fund through Macmillan
Cancer Support. The project is being implemented by an art therapist, clinical
psychologist, complementary therapist and administrator together with the
existing team of three Macmillan nurses, an art therapist and two Macmillan
occupational therapists. The project aims to provide a service to patients,
carers and to the health professionals who work with people with cancer and their
families. The service is located in a rural and Welsh-speaking area; as such,
accessibility of the service and language choice play an important role in the
delivery of support and treatments.
Publication Types:
Review
PMID: 17551422 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
4: BMC Psychiatry. 2006 Dec 156:57.
Anthroposophic therapy for chronic depression: a four-year prospective cohort
study.
Hamre HJ, Witt CM, Glockmann A, Ziegler R, Willich SN, Kiene H.
Institute for Applied Epistemology and Medical Methodology, Böcklerstr, 5, 79110
Freiburg, Germany. harald.hamre@ifaemm.de
BACKGROUND: Depressive disorders are common, cause considerable disability, and
do not always respond to standard therapy (psychotherapy, antidepressants).
Anthroposophic treatment for depression differs from ordinary treatment in the
use of artistic and physical therapies and special medication. We studied
clinical outcomes of anthroposophic therapy for depression. METHODS: 97
outpatients from 42 medical practices in Germany participated in a prospective
cohort study. Patients were aged 20-69 years and were referred to anthroposophic
therapies (art, eurythmy movement exercises, or rhythmical massage) or started
physician-provided anthroposophic therapy (counselling, medication) for
depression: depressed mood, at least two of six further depressive symptoms,
minimum duration six months, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale,
German version (CES-D, range 0-60 points) of at least 24 points. Outcomes were
CES-D (primary outcome) and SF-36 after 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 48 months. Data
were collected from July 1998 to March 2005. RESULTS: Median number of
art/eurythmy/massage sessions was 14 (interquartile range 12-22), median therapy
duration was 137 (91-212) days. All outcomes improved significantly between
baseline and all subsequent follow-ups. Improvements from baseline to 12 months
were: CES-D from mean (standard deviation) 34.77 (8.21) to 19.55 (13.12) (p <
0.001), SF-36 Mental Component Summary from 26.11 (7.98) to 39.15 (12.08) (p <
0.001), and SF-36 Physical Component Summary from 43.78 (9.46) to 48.79 (9.00) (p
< 0.001). All these improvements were maintained until last follow-up. At
12-month follow-up and later, 52%-56% of evaluable patients (35%-42% of all
patients) were improved by at least 50% of baseline CES-D scores. CES-D improved
similarly in patients not using antidepressants or psychotherapy during the first
six study months (55% of patients). CONCLUSION: In outpatients with chronic
depression, anthroposophic therapies were followed by long-term clinical
improvement. Although the pre-post design of the present study does not allow for
conclusions about comparative effectiveness, study findings suggest that the
anthroposophic approach, with its recourse to non-verbal and artistic exercising
therapies can be useful for patients motivated for such therapies.
Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
Comparative Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PMID: 17173663 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
5: J Marital Fam Ther. 2006 Oct;32(4):405-19.
Externalizing problems through art and writing: experiences of process and
helpfulness.
Keeling ML, Bermudez M.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA. mkeeling@vt.edu
Externalization of problems as a component of narrative therapy has been well
defined by such authors as Epston and White, and Freedman and Combs. This study
reflects the voices and experiences of 17 participants who engaged in an
innovative externalization exercise combining sculpture and journaling over a
period of 4 weeks. In an attempt to better understand the experience of the
participants, the principal investigator also engaged in the exercise. Findings
indicated that the intervention helped participants express emotions, increased
their awareness of personal resources and agency, helped separate problems from
self decreased symptoms and problem behaviors, and fostered a sense of
empowerment. This study reveals the potential usefulness of physically
externalizing problems and interacting with them deliberately over time. Such
interventions may be useful components of narrative therapy or augmentations to
brief therapy. They may help reach populations who have limited access to therapy
services or who are reluctant to present for therapy.
PMID: 17120515 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
6: Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2006 Apr;11(2):271-82.
Art therapy for children: how it leads to change.
Waller D.
Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK. diane.waller@virgin.net
The aim of art therapy is to facilitate positive change through engagement with
the therapist and the art materials in a safe environment. This article will
explore how art therapy is used to help children with emotional, developmental
and behavioural problems. It will show how change occurs during the process of
physical involvement with the materials; through the making of a significant art
object; through sublimation of feelings into the images; and through
communication with the therapist via the art object. The article is illustrated
with case vignettes which demonstrate how the theories underpinning art therapy
are put into practice, drawing attention to the changes that occur as a result.
Publication Types:
Case Reports
PMID: 17086689 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
7: Geriatr Nurs. 2006 Sep-Oct;27(5):309-16.
Art therapy: Using the creative process for healing and hope among African
American older adults.
Johnson CM, Sullivan-Marx EM.
Living Independently for Elderly (LIFE) Program, University of Pennsylvania
School of Nursing, Philadelphia, USA.
This article provides an introduction to the field of art therapy and the
potential it can offer to address the emotional needs of the frail elderly. Two
case studies are discussed, and examples of artwork are provided. The case
studies and artwork were created under the guidance of an art therapist at a
Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) site in an urban African
American community. This article explores how art making addresses the specific
developmental tasks of the elderly in a culturally competent manner. Included are
practical considerations in the choice of art media and directives for working
with elderly clients, as well as resources for further information on the use of
art in therapy.
Publication Types:
Case Reports
Review
PMID: 17045130 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
8: Eur J Cancer Care (Engl). 2006 Sep;15(4):333-41.
The role of art-making in identity maintenance: case studies of people living
with cancer.
Reynolds F, Prior S.
School of Health Sciences and Social Care, Brunel University, Middlesex, UK.
frances.reynolds@brunel.ac.uk
The aim of this qualitative research was to understand why some people with
cancer take up art as a leisure activity, and how visual art-making in daily life
might support identity maintenance/reconstruction. The study forms part of a
larger project with people who view art-making as a resource for living with
chronic illness. In order to provide a detailed, holistic analysis, the paper
focuses on the accounts and artwork of three participants, two women (aged 47 and
59 years) each with breast cancer, and a man (aged 51 years) with stomach and
lung cancer. The participants turned to art after a process of reflection but did
not necessarily reject their pre-illness lifestyles or selves. Rather, art-making
afforded many opportunities to retain familiar personal and social identities,
and to resist being dominated by labels related to their illness. A practical
implication is that people coping with cancer may need not only cognitive and
emotional support, but opportunities to find meaningful activities. Such
activities can be understood to have a powerful role in maintaining a familiar,
positive identity in cancer, and providing a resource for coping.
Publication Types:
Case Reports
PMID: 16968314 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
9: Eat Disord. 2006 Mar-Apr;14(2):131-42.
Comment in:
Eat Disord. 2007 Jan-Feb;15(1):1-3; author reply 3-4.
Arts-based therapies in the treatment of eating disorders.
Frisch MJ, Franko DL, Herzog DB.
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. fris0039@umn.edu
Arts-based therapies are increasingly being employed, in conjunction with
empirically valid traditional therapies, in the residential treatment of eating
disorders. A systematic database search of arts-based therapies in the treatment
of eating disorders was conducted. In addition, program staff at 22 residential
eating disorder treatment programs were contacted to provide information
regarding arts-based therapy utilization rates. Of the 19 programs that
participated in this study, all incorporate arts-based therapies on at least a
weekly basis in the treatment of eating disorders. However, while published
narrative reflections on arts-based therapies and eating disorders imply a
generally positive outcome, no known, empirically valid studies exist on this
experiential form of therapy within the area of eating disorders.
Publication Types:
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PMID: 16777810 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
10: Palliat Support Care. 2003 Jun;1(2):135-42.
A communication tool for cancer patients with pain: the art therapy technique of
the body outline.
Luzzatto P, Sereno V, Capps R.
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA.
paoluz@concentric.net
OBJECTIVE: The multidimensional aspect of pain suggests the use of multimodal
interventions. The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has recently utilized
the art therapy modality to help patients communicate the painful side of their
illness in such a way that they can feel understood and respected. In this paper
we describe a simple innovative art therapy intervention that we have developed
within the Art Therapy Service in the Psychiatric Department of Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. METHOD: The patients work with a Body Outline as a
starting template, together with the art therapist, in sessions lasting
approximately 45 minutes. They are encouraged to fill the space inside and
outside the Body Outline. They can use colored pastels, markers, or watercolor or
cut out images for a collage. RESULTS: Seventy hospitalized adult cancer
patients, 60 women and 10 men, used this intervention between January 1999 and
May 2000. We have analyzed the variety of responses from the 70 patients, and
three main groups have emerged, which have focused on the following issues: (1)
visualization of physical pain, (2) communication of emotions, and (3) search for
meaning/spirituality. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: The results suggest that because
of its abstract symbolic feature, the Body Outline is a very flexible therapeutic
intervention. It must be offered within the relationship with the art therapist,
and it may fulfill quite a variety of expressive needs, from the description of
physical pain to the elaboration of spiritual longings.
Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
PMID: 16594275 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
11: J Trauma Dissociation. 2005;6(4):5-38.
Visual art therapy's unique contribution in the treatment of post-traumatic
stress disorders.
Avrahami D.
Kibbutzim College of Education, Beit Berl College-School of Art, 15 Shimoni St,
Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, 69026, Israel. avdalia@yahoo.com
This paper describes visual art therapy as an integrative and unique approach,
which is most appropriate for the multidimensional treatment of post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD). The unique contribution of visual art therapy in the
treatment of PTSD is expressed in three major areas: (1) working on traumatic
memories, (2) the process of symbolization-integration, and (3) containment,
transference and countertransference. Two case descriptions of traumatized
patients treated in visual art therapy are presented.
Publication Types:
Review
PMID: 16537321 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
The use of craft activities as an occupational therapy treatment modality in
Norway during 1952-1960.
Horghagen S, Josephsson S, Alsaker S.
Sør-Trøndelag University College, Trondheim, Norway. sissel.horghagen@hist.no
The purpose of the present study was to explore the use of craft activities as
occupational therapy treatment modalities in Norway during the period 1952-1960.
Data were obtained through in-depth interviews with six retired occupational
therapists on their experiences in using crafts. Data were analysed through
textual analysis and this resulted in four themes: craft activities identified as
a therapeutic tool; ambivalence in how to frame the intervention; practice
relative to power relationships; and occupational therapists and patients as
equals. A limitation of the present study was that participants drew on their
screened memories in the context of contemporary practice, which may omit or
distort the historical truth. Further research is needed to document the effect
of contemporary therapeutic use of craft activities, and to bring forward how
occupational therapists and clients value the craft activities of today in the
context of their lives.
Publication Types:
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PMID: 17623378 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
2: Oncol Nurs Forum. 2007 Jan;34(1):38.
A pilot study to test the effects of art-making classes for family caregivers of
patients with cancer.
Walsh SM, Radcliffe RS, Castillo LC, Kumar AM, Broschard DM.
School of Nursing, Barry University, Miami Shores, FL, USA. swalsh@mail.barry.edu
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To test the effects of an art-making class (AMC) on reducing
anxiety and stress among family caregivers of patients with cancer. DESIGN: A
pretest and post-test quasi-experimental design. SETTING: A residential care
facility near tertiary treatment centers in the southeastern United States.
SAMPLE: The convenience sample of 69 family caregivers was aged 18-81 years (X =
48 years) and predominantly Catholic. Most had at least a high school education.
Two-thirds were daughters, wives, or mothers of patients with cancer. METHODS:
Participants completed a demographic data survey and a Beck Anxiety Inventory
(BAI). Researchers collected a saliva sample from each participant to measure
salivary cortisol, which indicates stress levels. Following pretesting, a
two-hour AMC was delivered. Post-tests included a repeat BAI and a second saliva
sample. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Anxiety and stress. FINDINGS: Anxiety was
significantly reduced after AMC. Stress was reduced. CONCLUSIONS: The AMC
appeared to reduce anxiety and stress. The addition of a control group and
replication with larger numbers are suggested. The physiologic cortisol measure
corroborated BAI findings but was difficult to obtain from some cultural groups
and was expensive to analyze. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Family caregivers may
benefit from participation in art-making interventions. Nurses should continue to
investigate the use of creative approaches to promote holistic care.
Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PMID: 17562630 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
3: Int J Palliat Nurs. 2007 Apr;13(4):184-9.
Complementary and psychological therapies in a rural hospital setting.
Jones G.
Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth, UK. gudrun.jones@ceredigion-tr.wales.nhs.uk
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) (2004) in the UK has led
the way in recognising the need for a holistic approach to the support and care
of people with cancer, with the publication of Guidance on Cancer Services:
Improving Supportive and Palliative Care for Adults with Cancer. This article
describes a three-year project, funded by the Big Lottery Fund through Macmillan
Cancer Support. The project is being implemented by an art therapist, clinical
psychologist, complementary therapist and administrator together with the
existing team of three Macmillan nurses, an art therapist and two Macmillan
occupational therapists. The project aims to provide a service to patients,
carers and to the health professionals who work with people with cancer and their
families. The service is located in a rural and Welsh-speaking area; as such,
accessibility of the service and language choice play an important role in the
delivery of support and treatments.
Publication Types:
Review
PMID: 17551422 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
4: BMC Psychiatry. 2006 Dec 156:57.
Anthroposophic therapy for chronic depression: a four-year prospective cohort
study.
Hamre HJ, Witt CM, Glockmann A, Ziegler R, Willich SN, Kiene H.
Institute for Applied Epistemology and Medical Methodology, Böcklerstr, 5, 79110
Freiburg, Germany. harald.hamre@ifaemm.de
BACKGROUND: Depressive disorders are common, cause considerable disability, and
do not always respond to standard therapy (psychotherapy, antidepressants).
Anthroposophic treatment for depression differs from ordinary treatment in the
use of artistic and physical therapies and special medication. We studied
clinical outcomes of anthroposophic therapy for depression. METHODS: 97
outpatients from 42 medical practices in Germany participated in a prospective
cohort study. Patients were aged 20-69 years and were referred to anthroposophic
therapies (art, eurythmy movement exercises, or rhythmical massage) or started
physician-provided anthroposophic therapy (counselling, medication) for
depression: depressed mood, at least two of six further depressive symptoms,
minimum duration six months, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale,
German version (CES-D, range 0-60 points) of at least 24 points. Outcomes were
CES-D (primary outcome) and SF-36 after 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 48 months. Data
were collected from July 1998 to March 2005. RESULTS: Median number of
art/eurythmy/massage sessions was 14 (interquartile range 12-22), median therapy
duration was 137 (91-212) days. All outcomes improved significantly between
baseline and all subsequent follow-ups. Improvements from baseline to 12 months
were: CES-D from mean (standard deviation) 34.77 (8.21) to 19.55 (13.12) (p <
0.001), SF-36 Mental Component Summary from 26.11 (7.98) to 39.15 (12.08) (p <
0.001), and SF-36 Physical Component Summary from 43.78 (9.46) to 48.79 (9.00) (p
< 0.001). All these improvements were maintained until last follow-up. At
12-month follow-up and later, 52%-56% of evaluable patients (35%-42% of all
patients) were improved by at least 50% of baseline CES-D scores. CES-D improved
similarly in patients not using antidepressants or psychotherapy during the first
six study months (55% of patients). CONCLUSION: In outpatients with chronic
depression, anthroposophic therapies were followed by long-term clinical
improvement. Although the pre-post design of the present study does not allow for
conclusions about comparative effectiveness, study findings suggest that the
anthroposophic approach, with its recourse to non-verbal and artistic exercising
therapies can be useful for patients motivated for such therapies.
Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
Comparative Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PMID: 17173663 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
5: J Marital Fam Ther. 2006 Oct;32(4):405-19.
Externalizing problems through art and writing: experiences of process and
helpfulness.
Keeling ML, Bermudez M.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA. mkeeling@vt.edu
Externalization of problems as a component of narrative therapy has been well
defined by such authors as Epston and White, and Freedman and Combs. This study
reflects the voices and experiences of 17 participants who engaged in an
innovative externalization exercise combining sculpture and journaling over a
period of 4 weeks. In an attempt to better understand the experience of the
participants, the principal investigator also engaged in the exercise. Findings
indicated that the intervention helped participants express emotions, increased
their awareness of personal resources and agency, helped separate problems from
self decreased symptoms and problem behaviors, and fostered a sense of
empowerment. This study reveals the potential usefulness of physically
externalizing problems and interacting with them deliberately over time. Such
interventions may be useful components of narrative therapy or augmentations to
brief therapy. They may help reach populations who have limited access to therapy
services or who are reluctant to present for therapy.
PMID: 17120515 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
6: Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2006 Apr;11(2):271-82.
Art therapy for children: how it leads to change.
Waller D.
Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK. diane.waller@virgin.net
The aim of art therapy is to facilitate positive change through engagement with
the therapist and the art materials in a safe environment. This article will
explore how art therapy is used to help children with emotional, developmental
and behavioural problems. It will show how change occurs during the process of
physical involvement with the materials; through the making of a significant art
object; through sublimation of feelings into the images; and through
communication with the therapist via the art object. The article is illustrated
with case vignettes which demonstrate how the theories underpinning art therapy
are put into practice, drawing attention to the changes that occur as a result.
Publication Types:
Case Reports
PMID: 17086689 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
7: Geriatr Nurs. 2006 Sep-Oct;27(5):309-16.
Art therapy: Using the creative process for healing and hope among African
American older adults.
Johnson CM, Sullivan-Marx EM.
Living Independently for Elderly (LIFE) Program, University of Pennsylvania
School of Nursing, Philadelphia, USA.
This article provides an introduction to the field of art therapy and the
potential it can offer to address the emotional needs of the frail elderly. Two
case studies are discussed, and examples of artwork are provided. The case
studies and artwork were created under the guidance of an art therapist at a
Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) site in an urban African
American community. This article explores how art making addresses the specific
developmental tasks of the elderly in a culturally competent manner. Included are
practical considerations in the choice of art media and directives for working
with elderly clients, as well as resources for further information on the use of
art in therapy.
Publication Types:
Case Reports
Review
PMID: 17045130 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
8: Eur J Cancer Care (Engl). 2006 Sep;15(4):333-41.
The role of art-making in identity maintenance: case studies of people living
with cancer.
Reynolds F, Prior S.
School of Health Sciences and Social Care, Brunel University, Middlesex, UK.
frances.reynolds@brunel.ac.uk
The aim of this qualitative research was to understand why some people with
cancer take up art as a leisure activity, and how visual art-making in daily life
might support identity maintenance/reconstruction. The study forms part of a
larger project with people who view art-making as a resource for living with
chronic illness. In order to provide a detailed, holistic analysis, the paper
focuses on the accounts and artwork of three participants, two women (aged 47 and
59 years) each with breast cancer, and a man (aged 51 years) with stomach and
lung cancer. The participants turned to art after a process of reflection but did
not necessarily reject their pre-illness lifestyles or selves. Rather, art-making
afforded many opportunities to retain familiar personal and social identities,
and to resist being dominated by labels related to their illness. A practical
implication is that people coping with cancer may need not only cognitive and
emotional support, but opportunities to find meaningful activities. Such
activities can be understood to have a powerful role in maintaining a familiar,
positive identity in cancer, and providing a resource for coping.
Publication Types:
Case Reports
PMID: 16968314 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
9: Eat Disord. 2006 Mar-Apr;14(2):131-42.
Comment in:
Eat Disord. 2007 Jan-Feb;15(1):1-3; author reply 3-4.
Arts-based therapies in the treatment of eating disorders.
Frisch MJ, Franko DL, Herzog DB.
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. fris0039@umn.edu
Arts-based therapies are increasingly being employed, in conjunction with
empirically valid traditional therapies, in the residential treatment of eating
disorders. A systematic database search of arts-based therapies in the treatment
of eating disorders was conducted. In addition, program staff at 22 residential
eating disorder treatment programs were contacted to provide information
regarding arts-based therapy utilization rates. Of the 19 programs that
participated in this study, all incorporate arts-based therapies on at least a
weekly basis in the treatment of eating disorders. However, while published
narrative reflections on arts-based therapies and eating disorders imply a
generally positive outcome, no known, empirically valid studies exist on this
experiential form of therapy within the area of eating disorders.
Publication Types:
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PMID: 16777810 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
10: Palliat Support Care. 2003 Jun;1(2):135-42.
A communication tool for cancer patients with pain: the art therapy technique of
the body outline.
Luzzatto P, Sereno V, Capps R.
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA.
paoluz@concentric.net
OBJECTIVE: The multidimensional aspect of pain suggests the use of multimodal
interventions. The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has recently utilized
the art therapy modality to help patients communicate the painful side of their
illness in such a way that they can feel understood and respected. In this paper
we describe a simple innovative art therapy intervention that we have developed
within the Art Therapy Service in the Psychiatric Department of Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. METHOD: The patients work with a Body Outline as a
starting template, together with the art therapist, in sessions lasting
approximately 45 minutes. They are encouraged to fill the space inside and
outside the Body Outline. They can use colored pastels, markers, or watercolor or
cut out images for a collage. RESULTS: Seventy hospitalized adult cancer
patients, 60 women and 10 men, used this intervention between January 1999 and
May 2000. We have analyzed the variety of responses from the 70 patients, and
three main groups have emerged, which have focused on the following issues: (1)
visualization of physical pain, (2) communication of emotions, and (3) search for
meaning/spirituality. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: The results suggest that because
of its abstract symbolic feature, the Body Outline is a very flexible therapeutic
intervention. It must be offered within the relationship with the art therapist,
and it may fulfill quite a variety of expressive needs, from the description of
physical pain to the elaboration of spiritual longings.
Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
PMID: 16594275 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
11: J Trauma Dissociation. 2005;6(4):5-38.
Visual art therapy's unique contribution in the treatment of post-traumatic
stress disorders.
Avrahami D.
Kibbutzim College of Education, Beit Berl College-School of Art, 15 Shimoni St,
Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, 69026, Israel. avdalia@yahoo.com
This paper describes visual art therapy as an integrative and unique approach,
which is most appropriate for the multidimensional treatment of post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD). The unique contribution of visual art therapy in the
treatment of PTSD is expressed in three major areas: (1) working on traumatic
memories, (2) the process of symbolization-integration, and (3) containment,
transference and countertransference. Two case descriptions of traumatized
patients treated in visual art therapy are presented.
Publication Types:
Review
PMID: 16537321 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Our main digs:
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