Pens, PAINT & psychology

When Dan Anthon decided to change his life and get a second undergraduate degree at age 30, he never imagined how successful he would be today. \nAnthon, a certified and licensed art therapist in Evanston, Ill., discovered his skills and abilities by taking an online assessment test. The test results said he had an innate ability in art and design, so he went back to school to pursue a career in the field. During his art courses he heard about art therapy and had a gut reaction to it. \nAnthon decided to become an art therapist to use his natural skills and to practice a marketable and successful job. After spending 2 1/2 years working in a hospital as a manager of an expressive therapy department, he was laid off because of new management and budgetary issues. Distraught, Anthon decided to take a chance at starting his own practice. \nNow, eight years later, Anthon is a well-established art therapist in the Chicago area working with all different populations. \nIn his Evanston studio, he works with patients ranging from children to adults and sometimes couples and families. He does not want the therapy to be about the cause of pain but about finding a new strategy or a new way to approach life.\n"What I'm trying to do here is help them discover what they need to do ... I try to figure out a way to get at what's going (on) inside the person and help them get it out," he said.\nAnthon also conducts art therapy sessions for children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease at the Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. \nLeigh Ann Erickson, the executive director of the Indiana chapter of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis, said the foundation holds art therapy sessions at Riley for children ages six to 18 with IBD. There are three sessions held each year with Anthon.\nThe disease itself is very debilitating and children often miss a lot of key socialization, Anthon said. Anthon says the children can get out "rather complicated" things in images during the two-hour therapy session. Although the therapy sessions are held only three times per year, Anthon says it has greatly helped the children. \nThe children feel more comfortable in the company of others who also have their same disease, he said. Anthon, who acts as their ambassador during the sessions, said he can be an adult but also likes to relate to the children. The groups have not been larger than seven or eight children but are still effective, he said. \nThe artwork produced by the children has evolved into awards given to volunteers of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, Erickson said. The Foundation has also highlighted some of the artwork at the annual gala event where the pieces were sold to raise money for the CCFA. \n"The kids seem pleased that their artwork is being used to benefit CCFA and its supporters," Erickson said. \nAnthon is most effective in his practice because he can communicate with his patients, whether it is verbally or expressively. \n"You can misinterpret communication but it gives you clues ... Art is the same way, it comes from a human being, the natural assumption is that the artwork is going to be an expression of the person." \nDan Anthon can be reached at danthon1@sbcglobal.net.\n-- Contact staff writer Christine Lunde at clunde@indiana.edu.