By Elizabeth Evearitt
Art Therapy is a relatively new field of study in the realm of Psychology that is used by many to assist in giving emotional freedom in their lives through visual expression in a structured setting (Kramer). Art can be an unspoken form of communication that is able to express great emotion and insight into its creator. This belief is the basis for the practice of Art Therapy, which allows the client to acknowledge his feelings at any given moment, without the limitations of words (Stoltzfus). Several independent practitioners, many of whom are still practicing today, pioneered this mode of therapy in the 1930s when psychiatrists became interested in the artwork that their patients created. They linked patient artwork with illnesses and found a strong correlation between the two (Brommer and Gatto213). Around the same time, many art teachers were discovering how spontaneous art expression could often represent emotion, especially in children. Since that time it has evolved into a regulated form of therapy, which uses any form of art media and the creative art process to facilitate patient responses and access inner emotions and the reasons for problems the patient is facing. Based on several heavily analyzed and proven studies and theories, Art Therapy has proven to be helpful for many people by increasing self-awareness and unlocking hidden emotions (Malchiodi, Horovitz, and Betts). The Art Therapy Program at Philhaven was effective in treating patients’ mental and behavioral disorders.
Many individuals in south-central Pennsylvania have severe mental illnesses or behavioral disorders, but are unable to connect with conventional types of therapies. They, for whatever reason, are unwilling or unable to respond to standard treatments such as medication and meeting with a psychologist to talk through problems or possible solutions (Yoder). These customary remedies often cannot penetrate the defenses that the patient may have created to protect himself and another treatment must be available. Nonverbal therapies are effective because they bypass the limitations of structured speech and go directly to heart issues. These treatments are able to assist the electively mute, foreign language speakers and children (Stoltzfus).
Philhaven clinicians have spent about 20 years trying to help these individuals through the use of art and other nonverbal therapies. Philhaven Behavioral Healthcare Services is a non-profit heath care organization specializing in mood disorders such as anxiety, depression, eating and behavioral disorders and provides treatment for all ages and backgrounds. Owned and operated by the Lancaster Conference of the Mennonite Church since 1952, it has worked to offer an incredible variety of extensive programs to the region of south central Pennsylvania (Philhaven Behavioral). At one time, one of these programs was the Craft Arts Therapy department. Geared at using art, music, dance and drama to help patients deal with their inner struggles, this program saw great changes and improvements in its participants but was discontinued due to a lack of funding (Stoltzfus). This program, Directed by Trish Stoltzfus, worked alongside the other nonverbal therapy programs such as horticulture, animal and ropes courses, at aiming to bypass the defenses set up by patients and reach deeper into the true reasons for the occurring problems.
The nonverbal therapies, such as art therapy, were extremely effective in treating many people in Philhaven’s program. Kenneth Yoder is the Director of Education at Philhaven. Yoder says that he has seen, first hand, how art therapy can assist a patient in dealing with problems that they may not even perceive as being present (Yoder). The Craft Arts Therapy program used all forms of art media and encouraged all styles as long as the patient was connecting with the situations and feelings causing the issues in their lives (Stoltzfus). Art therapists, traditionally and at Philhaven, encourage all art forms but focus on paints, charcoal, crayons and clay with their patients. Some mediums can help a patient describe different kinds of emotions or situations. For example, clay is often used to deal with bad feelings and sticky, messy or confusing situations (Keyes 5). Breakthroughs were usually made in people’s lives during the activity of working on the project. One patient who struggled with a severe eating disorder and control issues was freed from her self-inflicted prison by exploring splatter painting while another older gentleman realized the joy in creating something, which helped him with is issues of depression (Yoder). These and many other cases show how the action of creating and expression help people express the inward struggle to the outer world without the confines of words.
Philhaven used Expressive Art Therapy in group settings, although individual treatment was not uncommon. The creative process is extremely important to therapy but, group discussion was equally significant to the treatment The sessions began with the group members working individually on projects and then when the projects were completed they would meet to discuss their completed artwork’s meanings and the symbolism present. The discussion was an integral part of the therapeutic process because it allowed the patients to interact with each other and learn from peer’s experiences. In doing this, the emotions were often released verbally, making patients realize their own ability to step outside of their normal comfort zone. This helped them see that they were not alone. Each participant was encouraged, but not required,
to share his work with the group (Stoltzfus). It also helped to bridge the gap between the nonverbal and verbal therapies, giving the verbal therapies a way to help the patient work at healing.
When patients are unwilling or unable to share their work, art therapists can look for indicators of certain feelings within the artwork through psychoanalysis. Some art therapists focus on psychoanalysis entirely, looking mostly at the product to diagnose the problems and look for solutions. Psychoanalysis looks at the relationships of the figures drawn, sizes of objects and the placement of these objects on the page to draw conclusions about the patient (Keyes 22-48). While there are strong correlations between certain elements of art and various disorders, they are not always reliable and tend to leave the patient out of the diagnostic process. Psychoanalytical art therapy has been helpful to many in conjunction with conventional psychology but in most of these cases, it was part of a vast array of other psychological testing (Ulman and Dachinger 367). While these were interesting to study, Philhaven chose to focus on the process of creating and discussion of completed work rather than taking the psychoanalytical approach. The feelings and thoughts of the patient during the creative process are most insightful during treatment. Art therapists at Philhaven used this only as a tool to help start discussion about someone’s work or for personal interest. The therapist then used these discussions in the conventional therapy sessions. The staff worked closely together to help the patient using all modalities of treatment (Stoltzfus).
In the last seventy years that it has been practiced, art therapy has been helpful for thousands of individuals. Philhaven’s program has helped many people in the years that it was implemented to become whole. It was effective in treating various emotional disorders by bypassing the verbal barriers and going deeper. Group settings allowed patients to dialogue with eachother and find solutions to seemingly isolating problems. Avoiding psychoanalysis as a sole-diagnostic tool also helped the program to work because it focused on patient needs. The Craft Arts Therapy Program and use of Art Therapy at Philhaven was extremely effective in helping patients recover from mental illness and deal with deep disorders.
Works Cited
Brommer, Gerald F., and Joseph A. Gatto. Careers in Art. Worcester: Davis Publications Inc., 1984.
Keyes, Margaret Frings. Inward Journey: Art as Therapy. La Salle: Open Court, 1983.
Kramer, Edith. "Art and Emptiness: New Problems in Art Education and Art Therapy."
American Journal of Art Therapy. August 2001: 6-16. EBSCOhost. ACCESS PA Power
Lib., LMHS Lib. 26 May 2004.
Malchiodi, C., E. Horovitz, and D. Betts, American Art Therapy Association, Inc. 2004.
American Art Therapy Association, Inc., 26 April 2004. <www.arttherapy.org>
Philhaven Behavioral Healthcare Services. Home page. 21 April 2004. <www.philhaven.com>
Ulman, Elinor, and Penny Dachinger, eds. Art Therapy In Theory and Practice. New York: Schocken Books, 1975.
Stoltzfus, Trish. Letter to the Author. 28 April 2004.
Yoder, Kenneth. Personal Interview. 27 April 2004.
Elizabeth Evearitt
508 Dogwood Dr.
York, PA 17406
Madgiebee@aol.com
Lancaster Mennonite School
Advanced Writing