Art that heals

A silver and white striped tabby cat brushes her fur against the frosted glass as she paces back and forth on the window sill of Bloomington Hospital's Adult Day Center. Whirling to switch directions, her tail flicks a flower pot made from an old coffee tin decorated with paper snowflakes and glitter.\nHopping down from her perch, she skitters by a sign propped up in the corner of the room -- an ancient wooden slab with 'Folks Art' painted in fading white letters. Group projects line the wall above it -- the main one being 'The Hands of Time' mural. Painted and beaded hand molds hang on the frame, representing each person's life and personality.\nThe group and individual projects displayed throughout the center provide patients with the opportunity for social interaction and expression of themselves through art.\nCreative therapy offers people of all ages and cultures an alternative or supplementary way to cope with their illnesses or problems -- to channel their pain into positive outlets. It's a way to work on their communication and relationship skills while improving their social, physical, emotional and mental well-being.\n"Hands-on activities give people a sense of accomplishment -- a way to express themselves that they wouldn't otherwise be able to with words," said Libby Stafford, director of the Adult Day Center. \nArt, music and dance are all part of the daily activities at the center.\nStafford suggested it's not the art that's therapeutic, but the relationships that can grow from it.\n"Interacting with or helping a person with an activity is just as, if not more, important than the activity itself," she said. "Tasks typically lead to conversation and eventually conversation leads to bigger things." \nOrganizers and volunteers at the center prefer to work one-on-one with clients to encourage communication, Stafford said.\nJackie McCoy, the center's project coordinator, always has a new activity planned to keep clients occupied, entertained and feeling productive. From woodworking and staining glass to having a "Western Day" featuring a bluegrass band, she said her clients' capabilities were unlimited.\n"We do projects because it stimulates them to think about what they're doing and what they've done," McCoy said. "Art and music sometime sparks a memory, even if it's only for a little while."\nSeveral of the employees agreed that music especially had a powerful effect. If nothing else struck a chord with the clients, music would. Playing, listening or dancing to music always has a soothing or emotional effect.\nMusic therapy is also linked with dance therapy. Both music and dance movement stimulate the connection between a person's mind and body, making them acutely aware of themselves and others. \n"(Music therapy) can make the difference between withdrawal and awareness, between isolation and interaction, between chronic pain and discomfort and between demoralization and dignity," said Barbara Crowe, a past president of the National Association of Music Therapy.\nCreative therapies aren't just limited to people with illnesses or problems; they can be a good outlet for relieving stress. The focus on the mind-body connection applies to everyone. \nSenior Andrea Hebert, a dance therapy major, said creative therapies are used for all sorts of people.\n"In hospitals, jails, businesses, abuse shelters, centers for the mentally or physically disabled, people with eating disorders -- you don't even have to be a patient," Hebert said of places and uses for creative therapies.\nEmployees of the Bloomington Hospital's Children's Therapy Clinic also realize the benefits of projects involving art, music or movement.\nSometimes people must be taught or retaught how to do daily activities by using 'sensory integration.' This method combines stimulation of the hearing and feeling senses, assisting people in their full development, occupational therapist Amy Olson said.\nChildren's therapists constantly have to create fun and effective ways to teach certain concepts. To work with motor skills, they will sometimes use art or mazes. For a sense of balance and depth perception, they practice dance and movement.\n"Sometimes we have to play music just to capture and keep their attention. Since a child's job is to play, it's hard to keep them focused," Olson said.\nThe American Art Therapy Association is dedicated to promoting and improving art therapy. Their mission is to make people aware of the alternative therapies available and the benefits that can come from them. \nAATA's Web site describes the mission of art therapy:\n"Through creating art and reflecting on the art products and processes, people can increase awareness of self and others, cope with symptoms, stress, and traumatic experiences, enhance cognitive abilities; and enjoy the life-affirming pleasures of making art"