Latest news with #arttherapy
CBS News
8 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
How a quiet Wisconsin high school senior used her art to connect with her classmates
Waunakee, Wisconsin — According to many of her senior classmates at Waunakee High School in Waunakee, Wisconsin, 18-year-old Molly Schafer was a loner. "I haven't talked to her in years," one student told CBS News. "Not a lot of kids did hang out with her," another said. That wasn't always the case. Back in elementary and middle school, before her social anxiety kicked in, Schafer said she was much more engaging. "There was a connection there, at some point," Schafer said. "...And, I don't know, I really wanted to just talk to them again, or be seen again." That longing for connection, is a common high school lament. But what is really interesting is that Schafer didn't blame her peers. She didn't sulk. Instead, she took it upon herself to reconnect in a most unusual way. Just about every day, for hours a day, Schafer would climb to a loft in her garage and try to paint her way out of her isolation by creating portraits of all those students she used to know. She made 44 such paintings. She put about 13 hours into each one, for 600 total hours of work. She then presented them to the students to keep. "The time and effort that she put into that is incredible," one student said of the painting she made for them. Although the reviews were rave, the paintings also evoked some of remorse. "All of us feel a little regret for not paying more attention," one student said. Said another: "I wish I would have made more relationships with some kids that I didn't talk with." Molly said the feeling is mutual, and hopes other students, and adults, learn from her experience and actions. "You can't go through life thinking that you don't have friends because they don't like you," Schafer said. 'Because that's not the case, people aren't thinking that hard about you. It's all in your head. You just have to try."
CTV News
a day ago
- General
- CTV News
Dealing with stress through painting in nature
Calgary Watch A Calgary artist has spent the past three years helping military members and first responders deal with stress through painting in nature.
CTV News
a day ago
- Health
- CTV News
Local military and first responders relieve stress through art
Todd Lachance is the founder of Plein Air MD. He helps military members and first responders relieve their stress through painting. Todd Lachance is an artist who started Plein Air MD in 2022 as a way for military members and first responders to manage their stressful careers that, in some cases, lead to post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI). Lachance takes participants into natural settings around southern Alberta and teaches them to paint what they see. 'I've seen art therapy where it's done in a classroom, but just with the addition of nature, it's just that extra component of reconnecting with nature,' he said. 'I'm not trying to turn them into artists; I just get them out and just give them a good day.' Lachance has been painting for 30 years. He saw a need to help people in stressful careers and started Plein Air MD. 'My goal is to get them in the zone where they're creating with their minds and their hands in the eyes of nature and putting it all together and losing themselves in it, and that sort of starts a healing process, I think,' he said. 'These are the people that keep us safe and healthy, and to help that community so they can do their jobs better just makes everybody safer and healthier.' Barb Maller is a nurse at the Alberta Children's Hospital in the oncology unit. 'I just get to be a helper and try and make a terrible experience for them and their families a little more bearable,' she said. 'I have noticed, though, that when I have my days off, I really need to take some time and not just, you know, get the groceries and get the laundry done; I need to do some things for myself to decompress.' This was Maller's third outing with Lachance, and on this outing, they were at Mallard Point in Fish Creek Provincial Park, set up close to a tributary of the Bow River. 'It does really help me decompress; it's really relaxing for me, and especially if you combine that with a beautiful day, there's nothing better,' she said. 'I have my sister (Alison Young) with me today; that's another great way for me to decompress—just being with my family because I love my family and they're really important to me.' Maller shares some of her heart-wrenching stories with Young, who says her heart goes out to the children and her sister. Lachance opens the sessions up to family members of military and first responders as well. 'It's pretty fun to get out here and just hear the birds and the water and let your creative side take over,' said Young. 'It's pretty interesting because when you paint, you see more of the detail, you notice more things. It perks up your senses, I guess.' Julie Heyland is a medical office assistant at her husband's practice. (He's a rheumatologist.) She balances her career along with three children and says her stress level can peak during the workweek. 'I think there's a lot of good in prevention,' she said. 'So if I can take these moments for myself and kind of calm down, feel the wind, feel the sun, listen to the water, listen to the birds, it makes a big difference in my mental health and sanity to be able to just calm down and kind of recharge.' Lachance says he's looking to expand and would like to one day include teachers in Plein Air MD. You can learn more about it at
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Health
- News.com.au
How art helps this mother and son spend valued time together
The colourful paintings strung around the Bawden family home are more than just decoration — they've been a lifeline. For Adelaide mum Michelle and her son Leo, 20, who lives with an acquired brain injury, art has been therapy for nearly two decades. A recent survey by New Corp Australia's Growth Distillery with Medibank found 22 per cent of Australians spend time on hobbies or passions when their mental health dips, and 13 per cent turn to meditation and breathing exercises. The pair regularly paint or create 'soul pages' together, mixing paint, magazine clippings, and even leaves to boost their mental health and bond. 'It's a form of mindfulness we do,' said Mrs Bawden, a creative arts therapist. 'There's a lot to be said for sitting side-by-side in stillness, painting together – I see a peace come over him. 'Creativity is so important for our mental health, and we just make art – I don't do the arts therapy process with him as he's my son.' The tradition began after Leo was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour at just seven months old, beginning a five-year journey of hospital stays. At age of two, Mrs Bawden started bringing watercolour paints and paper to his hospital bed, and he would 'make a great big mess'. 'It made him really happy,' she recalled. The duo also meditates regularly, and she says he opens up to her when he's not feeling 'quite right'. 'We have a lovely relationship where I am very safe for him,' she said. 'We are working to give him a little bit more emotional language around why is that, what does it mean.' Leo said creating art with his mum was 'very therapeutic and calming'. 'It helps me to understand how my body is feeling and what is going on for me,' he said.
CNA
05-06-2025
- Health
- CNA
Brahm Centre to open new outlet in Telok Blangah to meet rising demand for eldercare
Seniors living in the West can expect more wellness activities closer to home, with Brahm Centre opening up a new outlet in Telok Blangah. Set to open next January, the new centre aims to meet rising demand for eldercare services, from counselling to art therapy. The centre marked the occasion with its first-ever senior art exhibition. Natalie Ong with this report.
