Robert Latchman is a 37 year old man who has suffered from learning disabilities and schizophrenia for his whole life. At the age of 19 he was enrolled in an art therapy program called the League of Education and Treatment Center, a nonprofit day program for adults with neurological disabilities. In 2011 Latchman got hit by two cars and had to undergo multiple surgeries to fix the physical damage. But what about his psychological damages? With the help of the art therapy program he became an example of someone who has benefited from the power that the arts hold to heal the mind. (Art Therapy Saves Schizophrenic Hit By Two Penises by, Susan Donaldson James). Furthermore the contributions that art has had on the mentally ill is extraordinary, …show more content…
For example, Adrian Hill, a man from England with tuberculosis used the idea of “participating in art projects with patients” (The History Of Art Therapy) as a way to help patients to express themselves and more importantly help them express how they are feeling without the use of words. Self expression in the form of art helped the patients be outgoing and confident without worrying that people might judge or make any unnecessary comments about their artwork. The process you go through while creating art is not only stimulating but also helps to “ dig deep and express and explore your inner new self in new ways-unleash buried feelings” (Art Therapy: Healing Through Self-Expression by Meghan Rabbitt). Art allows us to reach into a place that is not only untouched but unedited, expressing a true emotion deep …show more content…
For example, when most people are diagnosed with any type of mental disease, the first and foremost thing to do is get them on some type of medication. Nevertheless thanks to new and upcoming research there has been proven evidence that “ engagement with artistic activities, either as an observer of the creative efforts of others or as an initiator of one’s own creative efforts, can enhance one’s moods, emotions, and other psychological states as well as have a salient impact on important physiological parameters” (The Connection Between Art, Healing, And Public Health: A Review of Current Literature) by Heather L. Stuckey and Jeremy Nobel). Any type of art between, music, drawing, painting, writing, or etc. has been used to help ease the emotion of the mentally ill. Not only can it create a sense of safety, but the please some get from making art has been proven to ease anxiety, decrease depression, calm nerves, and help cope with things that may be harder for one to take in with a mental
Mental Illness Survivor Relates How She Overcame the Ordeal Tilly Dunn was diagnosed with bipolar disorder (called manic depression in the past) as an adult. She battled mental illness for 51 years. How is it to suffer mental illness for decades? Ask Tilly Dunn, a Dutch who immigrated as a child to Canada from Holland with her family.
This class allows Melinda to get comfortable with expressing her emotions through art. This development eventually leads her to articulating her emotions. Mr. Freeman inspires Melinda through his ways of teaching art and how to express one’s self through
PTSD, created by Ruth Cuthand, is an 11 ¼” x 11 ¼” beaded MRI scan, one of six works belonging to her Brain Scan Series (Figure 1). Born of Plains Cree, Scottish, and Irish ancestry, Cuthand is a mixed media artist whose artwork explores social, political, and physical issues pertinent to Indigenous peoples in a postcolonial society. Her contemporary work challenges mainstream perspectives—each piece of her Brain Scan Series is a dichotomy for viewers between aesthetic and subject matter. Confronting the long-term impacts of colonialism, Cuthand uses beadwork to address Indigenous mental illness in a palatable way for viewers; her piece ADHD is both vibrant and alluring to amplify the topic. Focusing on Cuthand’s use of medium, colour, and
Therapeutic art is used to assist people in understanding who they truly are and how they have grown from their past and any traumatizing experiences they may have experienced previously. Author, Laurie Halse Anderson explains the struggle of being the high school outcast through character Melinda Sordino. Anderson uses Melinda 's evolving tree artwork to symbolize past calamities in Melinda 's life, as well as how Melinda is growing as a character throughout her freshman year of high school. While Melinda is struggling most, she struggles with finishing her trees the way that she wants them to look.
Postpartum Depression Created a Human Activist Postnatal depression, commonly known as postpartum depression, is a clinical depression which can affect women after giving childbirth. Women continuously suffer from the disease without receiving any type of treatments and attempt to cure themselves. Having someone share their own experiences through writing can support one during the therapeutic process and hopefully make the recovering course less painful. The short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, is an embellishment of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s personal experience after giving birth to her daughter Katherine.
ABSTRACT The pain and suffering of Frida Kahlo and Chuck Close gave them the ability to create personal works of art to tell a story. The more suffering each of them encountered, the more artwork was produced, revealing the thoughts in their head, the pain that was endured and what gave them relief. Art really can be a drug, and from this essay, it will outline the development of each of their careers through all of the works of art and progress. INTRODUCTION My essay will address the progressive struggles and pain of two artists Chuck Close and Frida Kahlo, and how they each earned recognition through self-portraiture.
Art is a really good way of communicating because anyone can look at a drawing and say o look that is a flower! “I draw because words are too unpredictable”(Alexie 5). One used this quote because it is really true that words are to unpredictable. “I draw because I
Merleau-Ponty tells us that, “the real has to be described, not constructed or formed” (1969, p. 17). Phenomenological art therapy as explicated by Betensky (1995) is a clearly formulated art therapy approach that attempts to understand the phenomena of the artwork and the creative process from within itself through "intentional observation" and reflection. The three main features of the phenomenological method are 1) the attention to the description of the perceived phenomena; 2) focus on capturing the essence; and 3) the essence is found by intuiting and not by deduction or induction. The 5 key concepts of phenomenology concepts outlined by Merleau–Ponty in the introduction of Phenomenology of Religion (Bettis 1969) can be applied to art therapy (Carpendale, 2002).
After a traumatic experience, it is only natural that one changes. In Laurie Halse Anderson’s “Speak”, many characters gradually transform back to the people they were before a major event. The growth is evident , Whether it be through artistic expression, determination, or speaking. Art can transform the person creating it and the person perceiving it. In the book, artistic expression allows Melinda to voice her struggles thus so, letting her become more comfortable about creating art with her emotions.
1.1 Music Therapy Music therapy is the practice of using music as a form of treatment for certain conditions (especially mental conditions). The idea of using music as a form of therapy dates back to Aristotle’s and Plato’s days. Aristotle understood the great impact music had on listeners and spoke about how it can affect the emotional states of an individual. “Music directly imitates the passions or states of the soul… when one listens to music that imitates a certain passion, he becomes imbued with the same passion; and if over a long time he habitually listens to music that rouses ignoble passions, his whole character will be shaped to an ignoble form” (Aristotle). Music can affect the brain and body in unexpected ways.
Eileen Miller said that “Art can permeate the very deepest part of us, where no words exist.” Every person experiences emotion, and for some people these emotions are more prominent than they are for others. A great deal of those emotions are negative and make a person’s day to day life difficult to manage. Art is a beneficial form of stress relief and self-expression for several individuals. Research has shown that art therapy is a reliable and valid therapeutic treatment that reduces depression, improves social anxiety, and assists in treating individuals with many types of phobias.
“For some time there has been a popular notion that creativity, especially a high degree of creativity, and mental illness has much in common. In fact, the idea that “madness” and creative “genius” are related can be traced back to some of the early Greek philosophers. In recent years, some research findings have lent some support to the notion that various types of mental conditions are linked in interesting ways to creativity and that extraordinary creativity itself might predispose some individuals to certain types of mental illness. ”(Reference 1) Few artists have created a body of work that is so inseparable from the facts and myths of the artist's life and persona.
The painter, the photographer, and the sculptor create their joy as if they are a child with a box of crayons. Forged in creativity, their piece growing closer to their heart and the viewers. Art heals, art helps, and art teaches. Without it, we are not human but with it, we can create galaxies. Art’s beneficial impact on communities is evident through effective health treatment, adaptive education, and economic gain.
Depression affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about life situations (Catherine Ulbricht, 2013). According to the National Institute of Mental Health, depressive disorders affect approximately 18.8 million American adults. People who receive music therapy following regular treatments of depression experience fewer symptoms and an improved overall sense of well-being. Music therapy is an effective treatment of depression because it helps others express their emotions and interact in a non-verbal way, which is especially good for those who have a hard time describing their inner
Art can be both dark and joyful. Art imitates life, and subsequently, life imitates art. The outcomes of these imitations can both be good and bad. One good effect from art is the simple emotion of joy that it can be brought about. Some of the happiest moments in life originate from emotions brought about by art.