The introduction of a significant illness puts one in a different position on the earth. That position needs attention and exploration and integration with what has been before (Lerner, 2005).
- The Empty Seed
Experiencing serious illness and injury can have a dramatic impact on many aspects of a person’s life. There are now a number of medical practitioners who espouse a holistic approach to treatment believing alternative therapies including the expressive arts have the capacity to impact at all levels including the physical. Arts therapy as an adjunct to medical treatment is now evidenced based therapy as increasing research (particularly overseas) highlights positive benefits. Findings demonstrate the capacity of arts therapy to help healing on physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual levels. These outcomes include improvement in global health, increase in self-esteem and decrease in depression and anxiety. Stress is known to adversely affect the healing process by depressing the function of the immune system.
The expressive arts enhance integration of the body and mind helping to lessen stress levels. By enabling clients to express emotion this modality of treatment can decrease the hopeless/helpless affect that often accompanies the illness or injury experience. It provides an opportunity to transform the illness or injury ordeal into something positive whereby clients are able to make personal meaning from it. As a therapy it can be used as an intervention at any stage of the illness or injury journey.
Families too, partners, children, parents, significant others can also be profoundly affected by a person’s illness or injury. Often by having to appear strong and be the positive support can take a toll if they do not explore their own responses to the new circumstance. Expressive arts therapy is an opportunity to explore and release emotions that have the potential to become overwhelming.
Expressive art is a powerful healing process. When used with traditional forms of treatment, it can help you to release the stress-producing emotions known to cause immune system deficiency. It can also help you maximize your body-mind’s ability to work harmoniously with any form of prescribed treatment. In addition, expressive art can help you release the negative thoughts and fears that can block your body’s ability to heal physically, emotionally, and spiritually (Ganim, 1998).