The Role of Art Therapy
By Melissa Weaver, LMHC, ATR-BC, Healing Arts Program Manager
Healing Arts at Bradley Hospital:
Healing Arts have a strong, positive impact on our patients and their families. In the years since we initiated the program at Bradley Hospital, we have witnessed the extent to which Healing Arts improve the health and wellness of patients receiving mental and behavioral health services.
Our diverse healing arts program includes:
various types of music therapy
yoga
acting and improvisation
West African drumming
tape art
Latin dance
poetry
writing
magic
This was especially true during the pandemic, but it is applicable even now in the wake of the pandemic, when kids and teens continue to experience an unprecedented mental health crisis. We know that Bradley’s services are more crucial than ever to helping children and families combat the mental and behavioral distress they face.
In 2020, we met the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic by adapting to visitor restrictions, boosting the number of workshops to respond to lockdown and rising anxiety, and converting to virtual workshops to maintain patient safety. This set the stage for sustained virtual offerings. We adapted many workshops to facilitate virtual engagement, including the workshops that we deliver as part of Bradley REACH.
Designed to engage, instruct and inspire.
Our Healing Arts programming complements the hospital’s leading-edge psychiatric treatment by presenting a range of age-appropriate workshops designed to engage, instruct, and inspire our patients. The expressive arts have such a strong positive impact on our patients and their families. In the group milieu, workshops teach children teamwork, collaboration, and acceptance. They experience pride and success in their work, which motivates them to tackle and be more receptive to the “tough work” involved in psychiatric treatment.
Healing Arts workshops teach teens teamwork, collaboration, and acceptance. For teens who are moving through the continuum of care – like stepping down from inpatient to partial or outpatient programming – the arts provide sustained healing. Even in a virtual environment, the arts provide a different way to engage our kids and bring them together.
Overall, Healing arts workshops help patients achieve a number of key outcomes, including (but not limited to):
Explore and express their thoughts and feelings;
Increase self-esteem;
Better cope with anxiety and conflicts;
Improve social skills;
Greater appreciation for diverse cultural experiences;
Increase concentration and focus.
Improve mood regulation and sensory processing; and
Enhance recovery from serious issues like healing from trauma
Our community partners are complemented by Bradley Hospital’s three staff art therapists, who are mental health professionals trained in expressive therapy, psychology, and counseling.
For many participants, programming inspires an interest in the arts so that teens can pursue beyond our care and can provide a lifelong source of support and comfort.
DISCLAIMER:
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
If you or your child are in crisis or experiencing mental health problems please seek the advice of a licensed clinician or call 988 or Kids Link in Rhode Island.
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