By Katie Curley
1No, this is not art class. It's art therapy, and more and more children locally are benefiting from the nontraditional way of expressing their feelings and finding help for what might ail or worry them.
In some cases, the tactile sensation of playing with clay can focus and calm a child with ADD. For other children, drawing and painting can help them describe what they're feeling that day.
"Art is a third being in the room," said art therapist and licensed mental health councilor Stephanie Musial, who works with young children and their families as part of her new practice in Amesbury. "Art decreases anxiety, and people are then able to talk more about what is going on for them."
But it's not just children who are connecting with art therapy — a field that combines traditional mental health theories and techniques with an understanding of the creative process on the psyche.
Susan Swanson of West Newbury has been working with clients ages 3 to 103 for more than 30 years. In addition to engaging the elderly through art, Swanson develops programs for at-risk adolescents and works with companies to help their employees feel creative and empowered.
"Art is one of the easier ways to express yourself," Swanson said. "Children especially love to move and can use paints and other materials with freedom and creativity. They can take space and express a fantasy on paper. For the elderly, I get them engaged in collage work to remember things in their lives and to share."
Swanson, who has a master's degree from Lesley University in Cambridge, got involved in the field of art therapy at its infancy. The lifelong artist said she didn't want to be someone who sat in her studio by herself every day. After watching how a loved one's personality changed after suffering a head injury, she realized how much psychology affects one's well-being.
With the elderly, Swanson said, the goal of art therapy is to encourage them to be creative and joyful as well as help them with mobility. For children, she said, the hope is to acquire a better understanding of them as individuals and their behavior.
Swanson uses simple exercises, such as having a child draw a picture of their family or one that depicts their family doing something, as a way to get a clearer picture of his or her home life.
"The manner in which they approach drawing is pretty indicative of their personality traits and development stage," she said. "The way the child draws a picture of their family and how they draw them, I am able to get an idea of what the family dynamics are."
Musial, also of West Newbury, began her career in art therapy more than 10 years ago. Even then, she said, most people were unfamiliar with the field. After graduating from Emmanuel College in Boston with a degree in studio art, she earned her master's in art therapy from Lesley University and later received her mental health counseling license.
"At that time, there was no talk of both art and therapy," Musial said. "Once I got to Leslie, I said, 'This is what I'm supposed to do.' Putting the art and psychology together made sense."
Shelves filled with art supplies, instruments and paintings litter Musial's new light and airy office at 14 Cedar St. in Amesbury. The mother of two sons, she works primarily with youngsters from 15 months old to about sixth grade who have developmental disabilities and behavioral disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Asperger syndrome, mild autism, and bipolar disorder, as well as kids with physical disabilities or who have a history of abuse.
"Most kids have quite a bit of anxiety and worry. If we can refocus this energy, they let their guard down," she said. "It really increases self-esteem."
To engage youngsters, Musial turns to easy-to-identify ideas such as colors and animals to serve as jumping-off points.
"I start groups asking what their color for the day is," Musial said. "Usually children say 'I am red,' and then give a reason why."
From there, she said, children are asked to create drawings, Popsicle stick houses or whatever they happen to feel like creating that day. The idea, she said, is to have fun while opening up opportunities for expression and talking throughout the session.
"I leave it very open," Musial said. "This isn't art class where you expect them to draw a duck. It doesn't have to look like anything — colors, shapes, clay, craft, whatever."
Musial always allows time each session for "closure," during which the child tells her what animal they are that day.
"It gives me a sense as to how they are doing, if the session has helped and if there is anything I can do before they leave," she said.
According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapists are master-level professionals who hold a degree in art therapy or related field. Educational requirements include theories of art therapy, counseling and psychotherapy; ethics and standards of practice, and experiences in clinical practices. Therapists are skilled in a variety of art mediums, including drawing and sculpture, for assessment and treatment of their clients.
Musial currently splits her time between teaching in the behavioral program at Northshore Education Consortium in Beverly and her new practice, which she hopes to quickly expand by creating sessions for children and their mothers as well as family support programs.
Swanson is holding workshops on the North Shore to help adults tap into their own creative power. She also works to develop and host art therapy programs at places such as Atria Merrimack Place and Brigham Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Newburyport, the Jewish Rehabilitation Center in Swampscott, and Shadow Mountain Institute, a residential program for at-risk adolescents; in addition to working with businesses on programs for their employees and seeing clients in her home studio in West Newbury.
They both agree that art therapy is something that can serve all ages and a variety of needs.
"Thirty years ago, the field called art therapy was brand new," Swanson said. "I'm always trying to educate people as to what it is and what it is not. It is a tool to get people to express and engage interactively to gain insight about themselves."
