Well hey, let's work with clay!

Hello all!

So I headed down to Tucson a day early this week. Tomorrow I finally have to take that dreaded drug test (ew gross peeing in a cup...). But today presented only an exciting adventure in art!

I met Ms. Endreson in the lobby again at 9:30. She greeted me with a bag full of art supplies and a big sketchpad under her arm. I helped her carry the supplies up to Bridges, where I discovered she had completely switched offices. It was a refreshing transition and I was incredibly happy to find this posted in the door window:

It was the perfect artsy/sciency mix to get my morning started

Like on the past Fridays I have spent at Bridges, group therapy and art therapy were not scheduled to start until after lunch. So, after meeting the Thursday techs and nurses (the staff usually changes from day to day), I spent most of my morning in Ms. Endreson's new office. Ms. Endreson and I are currently working on a surprise game for the patients that I am rather excited about. But we're still working out the details, so I'll have to keep it a secret for now. Let's just say I spent a good amount of time over the past couple days and this morning looking through old magazines.

As I perused those old magazines this morning, Kris, the Occupational Therapist at Bridges, stepped into the office to go over the details of her morning group session. She was incredibly enthusiastic about the patients' cooperation and went on to explain her lesson about metronomes and how she showed the patients how to stay calm. Ms. Endreson, Kris, and I all continued the discussion over lunch in the hospital cafeteria and I was left with a positive feeling about the group and art therapy sessions.

Group started around 1 and was led by--instead of Ms. Endreson-- Cassie, a social work intern from ASU. We managed to convince five of the twelve patients in the ward to join us in the 30 minute session. The theme today? Reminiscing.

So, how do you feel about some of these images?

If you're anywhere around my age, you probably don't have many memories of the kinds of things you see above. But the Bridges patients certainly did. I couldn't help but listen intently as three of the older gentleman got into a heated discussion over cars and drive-ins. Through their discussion, I learned a little bit more about each of their personalities.

One patient explained how he remembered bringing dates to the drive-ins when he was a teenager. Another quickly responded that he was always too shy to get a date to bring there in the first place. I loved that a visual stimulus was all they needed to reveal those descriptions of themselves.

After our exciting discussions of pedal pushers and extra big steering wheels, we took a quick break before art therapy. Ms. Endreson and I decided during this time to pursue a case-study sort of approach with one of the patients, which will hopefully involve some one-on-one art therapy sessions in the near future. More to come on that later. Now onto the squishy stuff: clay!

The art therapy project for today featured crayola air-dry clay. The "rules" were pretty open. Once we had our five patients sitting around the art table, we gave each of them a baseball-sized piece of clay and prompted them with images of animals. After all, it is easier to relate to the simple emotions of animals than the complex emotions of fellow humans, right? But, again, "rules" were broken.

Two out of the five patients created animals, including a seagull, rattlesnake, and an apparently fossilized fish. All three creatures triggered background stories that, although not very profound, still showed an increase in communication. The other three patients created more abstract sculptures, from mini furniture to connected spheres. Right now all the mini masterpieces are drying in the hospital. I can't wait to see the finished products tomorrow. Who knows...we might end up painting them.

After the messy clay, the patients hurried off to wash their hands and get to their dinners. Ms. Endreson and I cleaned up and had a quick review of the day. She gave me a number of articles today that I have already started to dig into. I keep finding more and more things about art therapy that fascinate me. So I am off to read a bit more.

Talk to you soon!
Tia

PS I was more conscious during the drive to Tucson today. So, if you're interested, here are a couple of the songs I listened to during that ever so exciting journey:

A Mural for All

Happy Sunday everyone!

Yesterday, I was able to have a few of the Bridges patients sign waivers to have their art posted on this blog. So, as promised, here are a few of the blind contour portraits they created on Friday. The one in the middle is the one I described in my earlier post:

The one on the left was actually created by Ms. Endreson. Her face isn't that orange in person, I promise! 

I returned to Bridges on Sunday and Ms. Endreson had a task for me to complete right away. Our group sessions that precede art therapy are often meant to provide a "check in" for the patients. We want to know how they are feeling and what is on their minds. So our creative "check in" for Saturday was bumper stickers. You might be thinking: "What? Bumper stickers? What are you talking about, Tia?" But think about it. Bumper stickers often express a certain feeling or belief of the car owner. We wanted to understand what kind of bumper sticker the patients would put on their cars at that moment in time.

So my task at 9am on Saturday was to create the bumper stickers. Ms. Endreson gave me a number of examples and I began to create my own. I started with a slogan that I particularly enjoyed: "Without art, earth is just 'eh.'" From there, I played with a variety of positive and negative feelings with bumper stickers that read: "Just breathe...", "STAY BACK", "You can do it", or "If you can read this, you're TOO CLOSE."

When group started, we laid out each bumper sticker on the floor in the middle of a circle of seven patients. We went around the circle and had each patient pick a single sticker they related to. I found it interesting that two patients selected the sticker that read "My religion is kindness," while another adamantly chose "Keep honking, I'm reloading." There was certainly a range of emotions that morning.

Our group discussion quickly became a conversation of  cooperation and community interaction; patients shared their ideas about what it meant to be assertive and even some suggestions for the ward community. So, while the patients let those thoughts ruminate in their minds during a 15 minute break, Ms. Endreson and I set up a project that matched our discussion: a mural.

On a large sheet of brown paper, we decided to let patients work together to create one large piece of art. Because structure seemed to motivate patients in the past, we then added some "rules" to the game. Each patient was supposed to use a single color (of their choice), no one was allowed to cross out or scratch out the work of another patient, and each artist was supposed to let the music we played guide their hand. But of course, as in previous projects, those rules were easily broken. So here is the finished product:

"And the days float by like water. And one day it's spring again. And this is not the end of the story."

Ms. Endreson and I participated (a lot of the red marks are mine) to provide a bit of motivation once again. We began with only two patients working on the mural, but over the entire session, we had a total of five patients contribute at least a tiny bit. I love that I can still recognize each part of the mural and which patient did them. See that red circle in the bottom right corner? That was done by a patient who was very anxious and wandered about the ward constantly, but stopped into the art room for a few minutes when I held out a red pastel for her (the only way I knew how to communicate with her, as she only spoke Spanish). Art certainly is a universal language.

After a quick vote, the patients titled the mural "Verve." And, after Ms. Enderson and I took it outside to spray it with fixative, we displayed it in the day room, where patients congregate and watch TV every day.

Not only did the mural activity encourage cooperation and conversation among the patients, but it also gave them a great sense of pride. Yet another project success! I can't wait to head back to Tucson on a few days to see that mural hanging on the wall.

Until then!
Tia

Perspective and Blind Contours

Hello all!

It was back to Tucson for me today. I'm starting to become more familiar with the drive down. We pass some very interesting places on the two-hour journey, including an ostrich farm and some sort of quarry. That's about as exciting as it gets.

I was the designated DJ again today, but because my wonderful mother offered to drive, I fell asleep for a good portion of the ride. So I don't have much of a playlist to share today.

But really the most exciting part of my day started when we reached Carondelet and I met Ms. Endreson back in the Lobby at 9:30am. She started the day off by explaining the change in patients. Today, only three of the patients whom I met last week were still at Bridges. One of those three was actually discharged today. I did miss the Tim and the other patients from last week, but I was excited to encounter some new faces.

After Ms. Endreson and I had a quick conference about the day's activities, we decided to focus on perspective and self-esteem. Our first group session was composed of five patients, four new and one from last week. Of course, right after lunch each one of them had a very glazed look on their face.

Despite the apparent lack of energy, we began the session with an observation exercise. Ms. Endreson  walked around the group circle with a simple image drawn out on paper and, after each patient had seen it for ten seconds, she asked them to try to copy the design on small sheets of paper. After everyone was done, we shared. The patients all seemed very reluctant to share what they had made. Some had created images quite far off from the original. I imagine they were all very aware of how hard the exercise was for them and, in a way, it made them hyperaware of  their own disorders. But the next activity was much more encouraging and provided the patients with more of a fun puzzle. Ever seen these before?

Do you see an old woman or a young lady?

Do you see a vase or two faces?

We gave these and other images to the patients today to explain ideas of perception and negative space. They seemed to enjoy it and spent a bit of time squinting at their papers; whether they really learned anything or not, I cannot say, but their energy certainly increased for our next couple hours of art therapy.

The art "project" today was self portraits. But with a fun twist. Inspired by the drawings of Grandma Layton, we encouraged the patients to create blind contour drawings of themselves. This basically means that they create portraits of themselves without looking at their paper, only their reflections in a mirror, and without lifting their pencil from the page (Ms. Endreson explained it as one giant spaghetti picture). 

The drawing by Grandma Layton we shared with the patients

The session started with only a couple patients, but as we started on our portraits, a few more wandered into the art room. We ended with six of us sitting around a single table! Only one of the patients followed the "rules" of a blind contour drawing, while the others either drew freehand portraits or whatever they pleased. I would love to share their images with you all, but before I get their permission, you will have to settle for my own portrait (I participate along with the group to provide a motivating factor for the patients, which seems to work!):

I added color and shading after the atrocious blind contour stage

The patients also began to add color and backgrounds to their portraits as time went on. I noticed one patient was quite discontent with her original contour, which she did in a dull brown pencil. Her glasses were off-center and her face was too wide. But as she added color, she began to loosen up and seemed much more satisfied. The metaphor I saw was one of accepting your flaws, whether physical or mental, and finding other things to improve on--things you have control over. But I did not mention that metaphor to her while she was working. I have learned that one of the biggest rules of art therapy is to let the patient "break the metaphor." Another thing I noticed today was the amount of conversation that  began at our table. Patients were complementing each other's work and getting to know one another. It was a very encouraging way to end the day.

So I realize that was a crazy long post, but today was definitely a crazy long day. We'll see what tomorrow has in store. 

Until next time, 

Tia

Loving Yourself on Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day! I spent mine in Tucson today making some awesome art with the Bridges patients.

Tim attributed his color choice to growing up in the 60's 

This is Tim! He seemed to thoroughly enjoy our Valentine activity today. The overall theme of the day was "loving yourself." When I arrived at Bridges at 9am, Ms. Endreson gave me a task: to create an acrostic poem with my name. I realized that starting the day off with a fun craft was incredibly refreshing! So here's what I came up with:

Unlike yesterday, we decided to provide a bit more structure to the project. My piece was meant to serve as an example. But, as you can see, Tim decided to wander from the original plan. Overall though, it seemed like providing a prompt increased the motivation level of some of the patients. They were a bit more responsive today. When we went around the room and picked positive words to describe ourselves, they picked words such as "kind," "jovial," and "determined." 

About halfway through the session, I realized that one of the patients was a little detached from the group. Anastacio sat at the end of the activities table with a blank stare on his face. It probably didn't help that he only spoke Spanish. But even when I tried to encourage him by placing some blank paper and colored pencils in front of him, he simply stared more; he was tired and depressed. So as Ms. Endreson worked with another patient, I began a little project of my own. 

It was even Anastacio's birthday today!

Ms. Endreson had given me a movie several weeks ago to watch before we started the project. It's called Art Therapy Has Many Faces. I recalled a scene in the movie where a therapist engaged a patient by drawing their portrait and giving it to them. I figured I would try the same method with Anastacio (he was a very good model...he might have been asleep, but it worked for me!) When he woke up a little bit, I presented him with his picture and his face lit up right away. Ms. Endreson explained to me later that it was a rather effective art therapy intervention. I hope it will encourage him to make his own art in future sessions.

Overall, today was a great success. I learned the importance of providing a bit of structure for the patients and of recognizing positive thoughts. 

Before I left today, Ms. Endreson let me know that I would likely encounter a whole new set of patients next week. I can't wait to see what kind of projects we will come up with! 

Until next time, 

Tia

First Day Activities

Hello lovely people!

I cannot believe I am already writing my first SRP update. Everything is happening incredibly fast, but I am quite excited to share my first day with you all.

My day started early when my mother and I left the house at 6:30 am for the two-hour drive to Tucson. The drive was uneventful, and (with most long drives) I spent most of my time as the designated DJ in the car. I figured it would be fun to share with you all 15 of the songs I played this morning:

So as you listen to those tunes, I suppose I will describe the rest of my day. We arrived at St. Mary's around 9 and I immediately headed to the volunteer services center. One of the things I have already learned about working in a hospital is that there are a lot of official papers and details that go into the process. This morning I filled out a form to have a background check done and found out I still have to get a drug test done. I suppose it's better to be safe than sorry.

But despite the technicalities, I was still able to shadow Ms. Endreson. At 10am we met in the hospital lobby and headed to the second floor, where the Bridges GeroPsych Unit is located. Group therapy wasn't scheduled to start until 2, so we spent the first hour or so in a casual lecture setting. Ms. Endreson gave me a number of awesome articles and papers to read, eagerly helped me differentiate between creative arts therapists and visual arts therapists, and even outlined the goals of group therapy. I learned a great amount in such a small period of time (and I have even more to read about over the next couple weeks). One of the things I found most interesting was a set of pieces done by one of Ms. Endreson's previous patients. Ms. Endreson explained the process that specific patient went through, noting the changes between each piece.

Crazy messy notes from today's short info session

After our short "lecture," we grabbed a quick lunch and headed back to Bridges to educate ourselves on the patients of the day. Today, we had eleven patients to work with, but I learned that that number changes quite rapidly. In fact, two patients discharged today and another is scheduled to leave next week. I'm sure it will be interesting to see how the change in patients affects what art activities we will do over the next couple months.
Once Ms. Endreson and I briefly reviewed the backgrounds, special needs, and goals of the patients, we had a quick meeting with the other nurses, supervisors, and main doctor, Dr. Hancock, who came in to check on the patients' progress.
Then group therapy finally started. We scanned the halls and encouraged patients to attend a 50 minute session of simple sharing and speaking. Only around five patients took us up on the offer. During the session, Ms. Endreson encouraged the patients to symbolically "leave" something negative and "take" something positive. The overall theme, however, was the idea of finding a " pleasant place were you aim to be."
Art therapy started after a quick break. We decided to leave the options very open for the few patients who attended; we covered the activities table with paper, oil pastels, colored pencils, and markers. We encouraged patients to create visual versions of their "places," but many of them seemed rather unmotivated. Depression and dementia were definitely hard to overcome today. One patient, however, did create a lovely colored pencil scene of what he called his "cabin in heaven" and was rather pleased with the concept.
I left the hospital around 5:30 after a quick debriefing with Ms. Endreson. We even brainstormed some special Valentine ideas for tomorrow's art therapy session! I'll be sure to keep you updated!

Talk to you soon!
Tia