| Art theorist and perceptual psychologist Rudolph Arnheim once noted, “Art serves as a helper in times of trouble.” The events of September 11th, 2001 opened the door to understanding a lot more about how art serves as a helper in times of profound cris… Continue reading What Art Therapy Learned from September 11th Post-disaster, participating in a creative activity together empowers families and activates storytelling about positive events previous to time of the traumatic event. And it becomes even more effective if psychologists and counselors encourage famili… Continue reading Helping Children Cope with Hurricane Irene: Start with Family Rituals Do the arts really make a difference in health and wellness? Artists, architects, creative arts therapists, doctors, and art curators think so; this week they joined other grassroots advocates to state their case to Congress on National Arts Advocacy D… Continue reading Arts in Healthcare: Creativity for the Health of It Do the arts really make a difference in health and wellness? Artists, architects, creative arts therapists, doctors, and art curators think so; this week they joined other grassroots advocates to state their case to Congress on National Arts Advocacy D… Continue reading Arts in Healthcare: Creativity for the Health of It The disaster in Haiti once again brings up a question for relief workers: Are methods such as critical incident stress debriefing or similar forms of intervention appropriate? And, in fact, can they be harmful? I believe that telling the story when it … Continue reading Is Talking About Traumatic Experiences Dangerous? Over the past several days, major media outlets have cited art therapy as a source of failed rehabilitation for two former Gitmo detainees who are allegedly connected to the recent bomb attempt on Northwest Flight 253. While the rehab program included … Continue reading Did Art Therapy Fail to Rehab Terrorists? Oh, Come On I woke up this morning to the headline that many people who are unemployed have simply given up the search for a job. And last night, while inspired by Barrack Obama’s press conference on healthcare reform, I secretly wondered if what is so close wil… Continue reading Playing for Change: Music for a Change of Heart | |