Art Therapy

In a study by researchers at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, cancer patients reported a significant reduction in anxiety and depression after an hour long session with an art therapist.

At Georgetown's Lombardi Arts & Humanities Program, they believe encouraging a creative response to breast cancer helps patients get in touch with their emotions and it improves their quality of life.

Cancer survivors look forward to the therapy session - a few hours where they can relax their body, clear their mind and let their creative juices to flow.

"Let the spirit of friendship and whatever you want to invite today to help inform your artwork."

Leslie Blackburn and Lisa Flaxman are reaping the benefits of the healing power of art. The two women are bonded by a common thread. They are both breast cancer survivors. Their friendship blossomed while participating in the arts and humanities program at Lombardi's Ourisman Breast Center. These days, they relish spending peaceful moments making "friendship dolls."

Attention to detail is important to these budding artists when creating their fancy figurines. But Instructor Karen Gallant says it's not about producing perfection or even making something good.

"I notice them giving themselves permission to play. They give themselves permission to explore and express themselves. And it's interesting, as the process goes on, what they begin to talk about, sometimes very openly, and share rather very vulnerable feelings."

Program Director Nancy Morgan believes encouraging a creative response to illness helps patients improve their quality of life.

"I saw a great deal of stress. I saw a great deal of anxiety. I saw people become passive when they got the diagnosis. So, we started to match those emotional states with art that could help."

Arts and crafts are only one part of the Lombardi Arts and Humanities Program. There's also creative writing, drama, dance and the visual arts to help the healing process along.

The Lombardi program is a creative cure for Leslie and her daughter Meghan. The survivor says having cancer took away everything she knew about herself, her life and her world. The medicinal art sessions helped her to reclaim her life.

"I think doing things like this reminds me that I am more than cancer. It helps me stay who I am rather than just totally living in the world of, like, death and destruction which treatment is pretty much like that."

This healing journey leads many patients to want to give back once they complete their treatments. Lisa Flaxman is now a part of that network. The artistic outlet gave her sanity at a time of chaos in her life.

"I was pulled out of myself, often, as I was talking to someone else about their art or their poetry. I was very involved in other people's lives in an environment where I think most people feel alone."

"The relationships at Lombardi are long term. You don't just come and take care of your cancer and go away. We are creating a community that is warm and welcoming and creative to come back to and be a part of."