Many people might define art therapy simply as “making art as a way to feel better.” Yet it has much deeper and multifaceted benefits. “It enables a person to turn inward reflection into outward creative expression of thoughts, emotions or struggles, non-verbally,” says art therapy researcher Rachel Brandoff, PhD.
Much of Dr. Brandoff’s clinical work and research focuses on individuals dealing with prolonged grief disorder and physical or emotional trauma. But she also explores how art therapy can enhance well-being for communities and across fields — ranging from medicine, nursing and public health to architecture and interior design.
One such initiative, a unique course she co-created called Health and the Art Experience, guides students from multiple disciplines to develop, implement and analyze projects where art is designed to address specific social, emotional or educational issues. For example, one project studied whether an economically depressed town’s self-regard could change when it invited artists to adorn abandoned homes with light. Another assessed bus shelter art installations as a tool for building awareness about local resurgence in HIV/AIDS.
“I believe deeply that efforts like these can have wide-ranging benefits for individuals and communities,” Dr. Brandoff explains. “In fact, I’m working with colleagues to bring art therapy principles to the design of outpatient healthcare facilities — such as Jefferson’s new Honickman Center — as another way of providing care for our patients, their families and our surrounding communities.”
