Healing Art: Support group helps families, survivors work through emotions

 

A new Art Therapy program sponsored by the June E. Nylen Cancer Center is helping patients and families express their emotions and share a little of themselves in an artistic way.The program began in March and is led by Melissa Wallace.“The artwork that is created is an individual reflection of inner emotions, thoughts, and feelings,” said Wallace. “It’s not necessarily an art class, the end product is not as important as the process itself.”The program started as a way to provide an expressive support setting for those suffering from grief. “We are very excited about having an art therapy support group available to our patients and families,” said Cancer Center executive director Karen Van De Steeg. “This is another avenue for us to foster healing amongst those who need it most.”But it also provides a way for caregivers, families and cancer center staff to walk through the feelings of loss, understanding and remorse.“We don’t naturally feel in words, we have to translate our emotions into words - the artistic process bypasses that translation and allows for a more direct connection to a deeper level of our inner self,” said Wallace.As for the artwork that participants create, it is all different, Wallace said.“That’s individual for each person. I would assume some people are naturally creative and want to explore using this creativity as a way to heal, and others have never been artistic before and are simply curious in experiencing a new way to express themselves.”Either way, the payoff is a clearer mind, and a shared vision of one’s emotions. “Creativity is a natural human quality - it is innate in everyone whether they are aware of it or not,” Wallace said. “It can be musical, artistic, writing, physically, spiritually - each person has his or her own way of being creative. I simply give them a safe, welcoming place and the materials to allow that creativity to rise to the surface.”