The Healing Art

July 9, 2001 -- A bright, accomplished pianist, "Anne" was also a diabetic who had suffered the disease's worst blows. First, she lost her sight -- then a leg to amputation. That's when Anne's spirit lost strength. To help her work through a severe bout of depresssion, an art therapist at her hospital introduced Anne to sculpture. As she worked the clay -- shaping it into delicate flowers, leaves, shells -- Anne found release for her emotions, focus for her thoughts. Her depression gradually lifted.

"Zack" was always in trouble in school. When it came to impulse control, he acted like a toddler, not a 15-year-old. But learning to draw helped slow Zack's actions. Creating art was almost like meditation. His thoughts gained focus; his impulses grew quieter. Slowly, he learned control.

The severe pain of sickle-cell anemia was nearly too much for 8-year-old "Leroy." He spent his days in bed with a heating pad, covered with blankets, trusting no one, speaking little. But when his art therapist made two small clay animals for him, he had a vent for his emotions. "The lion is eating the snake's head," he told his therapist, acting out his anger.

And "Albert" was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease. No longer able to speak, he was often agitated. Yet it was clear from his face that painting simple circles in watercolor gave him focus and happiness. In a matter of a few weeks, the circles evolved into very recognizable forms -- boats, water. It turned out that although Albert had not painted for 30 years, this used to be his hobby. Back then, he favored seascapes.

"We had tapped into a deep piece of his self-esteem," says Laura Greenstone, Albert's art therapist. "The process of creating art had stimulated a cognitive function in his brain. Even though he was never verbal, his attention span improved, he was less agitated, better able to calm himself. He used art to become connected to the world."

A Picture of the Soul

Communicating through the visual arts, achieving a sense of well-being through art -- that is the essence of art therapy. It's a practice, and a process, that's not about talent, but purely about expression.

"Art is a language unto itself, helping us say the things we don't have words for," says Nancy Gerber, MS, director of the graduate school in art therapy education at MCP Hahnemann University in Philadelphia. "Art therapy allows people to express those things for which they have never had words, but which currently affect their lives."

A melding of artist and psychotherapist, art therapists nurture a patient's trust -- the first important step in the healing process, says Gerber. "People can be so fearful of art, fearful of putting it out there," she tells WebMD. "We create an atmosphere of acceptance, that anything they do is fine."