Art as Therapy Exhibit opens at Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum
In support of Mental Health Awareness Month, MSW Solutions and the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum have coordinated an Art Therapy Exhibit, highlighting the benefits of one expressive form of mental health therapy. The Art as Therapy exhibit will run Sunday, May 5 through Sunday, June 2 at the Johnson Humrickhouse Museum, located at 300 N. Whitewoman St. in Coshocton.
The exhibit offers samples of art therapy projects completed by individuals and groups of varying ages, across mental health diagnoses. According to Sheila Mayse, a licensed independent supervising social worker and co-owner of MSW Solutions, “I reached out to the JHH Museum to discuss this partnership event because I feel so strongly about promoting the benefits of mental health services within the community. As therapists, we have many tools beyond traditional talk therapy at our disposal to assist clients in attaining mental well-being. The goal of the exhibit is to highlight the many ways art can be used for healing within the mental health profession. My hope is to expand these efforts to include other agencies and expressive forms of treatment in the future.”
Art therapy as a discipline began in the 1940s and became more widespread in the 1970s. Like other expressive arts therapy, such as dance therapy or music therapy, it draws on creativity.
Art is a tool therapists use to help patients interpret, express, and resolve their emotions and thoughts. Patients work with a therapist to explore their emotions, understand conflicts or feelings that are causing them distress, and use art to help them find resolutions to those issues. Incorporating art into the therapeutic process enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active artmaking, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship.
Art therapy techniques are used to improve cognitive and sensory-motor functions, foster self-esteem, and self-awareness, cultivate emotional resilience, promote insight, enhance social skills, reduce, and resolve conflicts and distress, and advance societal and ecological change.
Art engages the mind, body, and inner voice in ways that are distinct from verbal articulation alone. Kinesthetic, sensory, perceptual, and symbolic opportunities invite alternative modes of communication, which can circumvent the limitations of language. Visual and symbolic expression gives voice to experience and empowers transformation.
Many of the pieces in the Art as Therapy exhibit have been led by Dawna Walters-Hardesty, LPCC, who incorporates art therapy concepts into her work with children, adults, individuals, groups, and families. She explains the process as, “During a session, a therapist who uses art works with the client to understand what is causing distress,” she said. “Then the therapist guides the client to create art that addresses the cause of the issue. I explain that clients don’t have to think of themselves as creative or artistic to benefit and help the client choose and use a medium, such as drawing, sculpture, collage, or painting, guiding the client through expressing themselves through art, usually by asking questions, and discussing the results, including both the work of art and what the client felt.”
While many mental health clinicians incorporate components of art therapy into their work, art therapists are specifically trained master-level clinicians who work with people of all ages across a broad spectrum of practice. Utilizing art therapy techniques can provide relief to those who are challenged with medical and mental health problems, as well as individuals seeking emotional, creative, and spiritual growth.
Anyone interested in learning more about this or any other mental health service is encouraged to contact MSW Solutions, LLC at 740-502-3047 or any of the local community mental health services agencies.
The Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum is open Tuesday – Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. and every day from noon to 4 p.m. beginning Tuesday, May 21. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for children, and $15 for families. The museum offers free admission for Coshocton County residents every Sunday.
Category: Arts & Entertainment
