Expressive Arts Therapy Program
Art speaks when words cannot. The Expressive Arts Therapy Program at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin helps patients and their families express their thoughts and emotions through art. The program goes beyond arts and crafts projects and into the imagination for creative stimulation, communication and coping.
Expressive arts therapy provides:
- A safe and healing environment, promotes self-expression, storytelling and creative stimulation.
- An opportunity to address concerns about hospitalization, traumatic incidences, loss and pain through a variety of artistic mediums.
- Pain management opportunities through art experiences.
- Emotional support in coping with loss, trauma, chronic illness, repeated hospital stays and changes in appearance.
- Integration of personal goals and medical compliance through art making.
The program is offered in group settings, in the art studio and at the bedside. It includes a registered art therapist, an art specialist, local artists, volunteers and graduate student interns.
Viewing artwork created by our patients and their families is an important part of the relationship with art. Throughout the hospital, you will find permanent art displays created by local children. We also have two art galleries, the Patient Skywalk Gallery and the Student Exhibition Gallery.
Families also can get involved. The Expressive Arts Therapy Program has provided a weaving loom located in one of our intensive care units. Piece by piece, families weave messages of hope and of perseverance. It's a community of healing.
Featured Video
Watch the following video to learn about the unique ways art therapy helps patients and their families at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin: