Blog

The Whitney Museum of American Art has recently partnered with NYC Health and Hospitals agency in offering Art in Medicine workshops for all public hospital employees inspired by artwork on loan from the museum’s collection.

The powerful intersection of art therapy and mental health is only recently being written about, with this groundbreaking text "Art Therapy and Childbearing Issues" edited by Nora Swan-Foster at the top of the list.

Today is World Maternal Mental Health Day, first established in 2014 to draw awareness to the many socio-emotional challenges perinatal families face.

The World Health Organization just released a new report that coincides with National Infertility Awareness Week. Almost 18% of the global adult population–which averages to 1 in 6 individuals worldwide–are impacted by infertility in their lifetime, regardless of biological sex, socioeconomic status, or location.

The use of art as therapy has countless benefits for one's overall well-being. Creating “art for art’s sake” is an exercise of self-care that can cultivate self-compassion and aid in healing.

It’s not easy to practice what we preach. As a working mama of 2 supporting other caregivers for a living, it’s hard to find the time/energy/motivation/space/art supplies/etc etc etc to engage in any kind of regular art-making practice like I used to.

In honor of Creative Arts Therapy week, I want to highlight a recent “Art and Object” article about the fascinating intersectional field of “neuroaesthetics,” which is the use of evolving brain imaging technology to measure exactly how engaging in visual art, music, and dance impacts the human body and corresponding behavior, with evidence that only 20 minutes of art exposure daily can positively impacts both.

It was such a pleasure to be featured on the “Fit as a Fiddle” podcast with my colleague Dr. Sneha Gazi discussing how art therapy can be helpful in navigating more “messy” life stages throughout the reproductive spectrum, building creative resilience to manage stress, and learning to make meaning from overwhelming or traumatic experiences.

In the past six months, ten children tragically lost their lives to the unspeakable actions of mothers who were all suffering from severe and untreated symptoms of PMADs, including Erin Merdy in Brooklyn, Dimone Fleming in the Bronx, Paulesha Green-Pulliam in San Francisco and Lindsay Clancy in a Massachusetts town.

Just three weeks after George Floyd’s murder, 26 year-old Sha-Asia Semple died shortly after the birth of her first child due to fatal errors in properly administering her epidural and a subsequent failed intubation in a Brooklyn public hospital.

A recent "Discover" magazine article highlighted the benefits of visual art exposure on mental health. Viewing visual art activates the same brain reward systems as other pleasurable, highly sensory activities.

I agree that children need to learn experientially by trial and error so that they can better cope with distress in the future and that parents shouldn’t “hover” or overly interfere with their children’s every concern, but I fundamentally disagree with the covert parent-shaming that is often the subtext of these parenting buzzwords that have become mainstream, like “snowplow parent, lawnmower parent, helicopter parent, tiger mom,” etc. etc.

Cheryl Beck (2018) shares that up to 45% of new mothers have reported experiencing birth trauma and adds that “birth trauma is in the eye of the beholder.”

Aside from individual and group therapy, I offer arts-based wellness workshops as a chance for these populations to reconnect with their "inner artists" and immerse themselves in a much needed creative self-care break.

Holiday season is always emotionally charged, especially for new parents who are stressed about introducing their new bundles to loved ones, attending first family-friendly social gatherings since emerging from their pregnancy or newborn “bubble,” feeling pressure to host, or trying to present themselves as more “put together” than they actually feel during this massive life stage transition.

Trish Duggan writes in a recent “Rolling Stone” article, “…the need for art does not always strike at the most convenient times. In fact, the need for art may come when you are feeling the least inspired."

Today I had the privilege of chatting live with Lindsey Bliss, doula, mother of 7, and co-founder of Carriage House Birth.

Perinatal loss impacts 1 in 4 childbearing families. It is estimated that about 10-15% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. A stillbirth occurs after 28 weeks of pregnancy and before birth, and neonatal death occurs within the first month of birth.

With school almost back in session and the autumnal equinox around the corner, it's a perfect time to practice self care. Join CBT expert Dr. Terri Bacow, Ph.D and myself virtually on Thursday September 22 from 12-1pm for a free, experiential workshop to learn several concrete coping strategies to reduce daily anxiety and practice mindful art-making for stress management in real-time.

The process of becoming a parent involves a massive bio-psycho-social-shift that can shatter one’s previously formed sense of self. This can feel overwhelming and even traumatic without a compassionate space to process, repair and authentically integrate the birth of this “new” parent identity.