Picking up her paints and brushes, she enters another world, a world of color and light where she can express the feelings she's experienced since being diagnosed with breast cancer. Drawing her brush across the canvas and creating a beachfront scene that evokes memories of happy family vacations, she starts to regain a sense of balance in her life. Marsha is taking part in a new program offered by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, a leader in cancer research and therapy. Headed by Barrie Cassileth, Ph.D., the service incorporates healing regimens designed to relieve stress and ease pain, fatigue, and other symptoms.
Many people facing a serious illness have difficulty expressing their fears and emotions.
The process of creating visual art followed by an attempt to understand its symbolic meaning can help patients deal with their hidden emotions. It makes them feel very good about themselves. A person does not have to possess great artistic skills to benefit from art therapy. Dr. Cassileth notes that the art therapist is actively involved, helping individuals express themselves both visually and verbally. Through art, whether in the form of drawing, painting, or sculpting, patients can confront unspoken and often unconscious concerns about their disease.