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Art as therapy

Painting heals, says U.S.-based art therapist Sangeeta Prasad

HEALING TOUCH Sangeeta

Her method of healing is different. The soft-spoken Sangeeta Prasad, is one of the few Indian art therapists the world over. Sangeeta, who's based in Washington DC, uses art to bring solace to the emotionally distraught, the mentally and terminally ill. "All of us at some point have used art to handle our various mental states. We experience a sense of achievement and release of tension when we engage in such a creative process. As children, we enjoyed drawing with crayons or making mud pots, drawing on the beach, the walls of a newly painted house or doodling on a page. We see art in temples and on billboards. Yet there is another form — art in healing. Art therapy is a tool to understand who we are and communicate our thoughts, feelings and emotions," says Sangeeta.

Innermost thoughts

What does an art therapy session involve?

"During a session, one draws or paints but the purpose is to focus on one's inner experiences and feelings, and develop and express images that emerge from within."

According to Sangeeta, while the creative process is in itself a form of healing, the images are used to understand the psychological process of the person and the issues involved.

"The art therapist (who needs to have a knowledge of psychology as well) may suggest themes to help the patient express his particular problem or ask him to draw a picture using colours and shapes to depict how he feels. A child, sexually abused by his father, had depicted his father as a monster and himself as small and scared. A mentally challenged person may depict his situation as one of being trapped.

"The therapist interprets the images and engages in a dialogue to help understand the person and his problems. He can talk in a symbolic way about the tools the patient might use to get out of it instead of directly asking what he is going to do to get better."

Do clients have to know art? "It is better if they are not artists. If they are, they will want to create beautiful images. And that might prove a little difficult for us to understand the mental state of the patient." "An art therapist is part of an inter-disciplinary team, and he/she works with doctors, psychiatrists and social workers, depending on the population. If it is a child with emotional problems, I work on the emotional aspect, while the psychiatrist and the doctor treat using medication and the teacher, on the academic aspect. Together, we contribute towards the healing process."

Is art therapy long term or short term? "Any healing process is continuous and takes place in stages. If I am working with a frustrated child who always tears his artwork and feels he's useless, and if I can at the end of a few sessions inspire him to complete one picture and get him to repeat that experience, that itself is the beginning. If it's a person with suicidal tendencies, the goal is to make him feel comfortable to talk about the issues that have been bothering him. That itself is a release. If the patient is in excruciating pain, the goal may be to study how art can be used to help relieve the pain."

What is it like working with children? "Children are a lot more disciplined. The good part about art is that there is no right or wrong. And I can use so many media — clay, drawing and painting. Children and adults gravitate towards art once they experience pleasure."

SUDHA UMASHANKER

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