THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 10, 1995 TAG: 9509070258
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY MARY ELLEN RIDDLE, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 167 lines
AS PAINTERS WORK canvases in the dunes, musicians strum guitars in smoky bars and dancers pirouette across wooden floors, mental health professionals labor in offices, also appreciating the fruit of the arts.
For those who work with troubled minds - and those who simply face life's day-to-day challenges - visual art, music, dance and poetry can mean HEALING.
Artists of all ages use the creative process to work through adversity, to soothe, to express aggression or sorrow. And both art teachers and counselors recognize the power of art to draw out or build up students or patients who need a new way to look at the world.
Arts are used by social workers seeking to learn what bothers a child; by community activists working to broaden disadvantaged children's lives, by adults needing to express themselves.
Kathy Burrus, a certified clinical social worker currently in private practice in Kill Devil Hills, is among those who successfully use drawing and music in therapy with children.
It's not always possible for children to express their emotions with words, Burrus said. A child's repertoire is limited. But drawing helps Burrus' young patients deal with grief and anxiety.
``I once worked with a preschool-aged child who had a sudden death of a parent, and the child as a result became extremely attached to the other parent,'' she said.
At the height of her anxiety, the child drew scribbles, circular movements like spirals. Burrus knew this child had more sophisticated drawing skills.
``When we did intensive treatment, in four sessions she was able to come into my office without having her parent present.''
By that time, the girl's circles became faces, though not smiling.
``We also used fish drawings,'' Burrus said. ``I draw the fish and we create families, and in her drawing she would tell me who to include in this family.
``In the beginning all her relatives were in the picture, even though she only lived with one parent. All the fish were sad. And the reason was that all the fish were going to have to go away. She was always drawn on top of the parent fish who had died.''
In time, her family drawing included only herself, her living parent and her deceased parent. But she drew herself apart from the deceased parent and closer to the surviving parent.
Six months later she entered preschool and had no difficulty separating from her family.
Burrus will examine several drawings before making conclusions.
``Some are really obvious, some are not so obvious,'' she said. ``You look at the scale of people and themselves, the placement on the page. You look at color. We look at the features they've included and the features they've omitted, and the features you'd not normally find.''
Sequencing is important, along with how rigidly or spontaneously the children draw. Sometimes the artwork simply relieves stress; sometimes it reveals hidden secrets.
A drawing of a black door in a house filled with screaming body-less faces originated from a sexual abuse victim. The self-portrait of a depressed 12-year-old appeared as a blob, featureless except for eyes. Black clouds pouring rain were drawn over the head of a child who experienced the pain of divorce. Family members are sometimes drawn in compartments when a family is emotionally disconnected.
The arts can be therapeutic not just for troubled kids, but also for youths struggling through teen years.
Victoria Toms, who operates Atlantic Dance in Kill Devil Hills, believes dance helps. Toms danced her way through the tough years characteristic of adolescence. At age 13, she said, ``I went from perfect to wildness.''
When a relative asked Toms' father what was he going to do with his daughter, he replied, ``She's temporarily insane. I raised her correctly, plus she has her dancing. She'll come around.''
Dance kept Toms focused on art and distracted from growing pains. She was so talented, she received several dance scholarships. She's performed with Bob Hope and for three consecutive years on the National Cerebral Palsy Telethon. She's received instruction from places like the Joffrey Ballet and The Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance.
But dance is for anyone, stresses Toms, not just the talented. She watches students at all skill levels gain self-esteem, leadership qualities and discipline.
Shyness slips away. Grace replaces teenage awkwardness.
``Dancing balances the soul,'' Toms said. ``Holistically, when you have that body-mind connection, it's healing. I could be having a negative, unproductive day for whatever reason, and dancing takes it away. It turns your attention to a more harmonious and natural place.''
One of Toms' former students expressed her love of dance with these words, ``Dancing is like my whole life. I love the rhythm, music and most of all the moves. Before I started, my life used to be boring and dull after school.''
Another student penned under the title, ``Living for a Dance'': ``When I perform on a stage in front of an audience, it makes me feel like a special person instead of an ordinary people.''
In Powells Point psychiatrist Dietrich Heyder's 41-year career, he's worked with many folks who have felt anything but special. When verbal skills cannot be used, for neurological reasons or otherwise, the arts have aided Heyder.
``You learn a whole lot if you read the poem, if you see a picture, if you make them draw something,'' he said.
Drawing is less intimidating to young children and offers an indirect approach to exposing feelings. Direct questioning can cause answers to please the adult.
If a parent is causing the trauma in the child's life, the child has difficulty vocalizing that. ``They can't say `my parents.' That's a no-no; you can't betray your parents,'' Heyder said.
``But on paper, where it's less direct, they do it with great relish.''
Once the child identifies an emotion, it can be discussed. Windowless homes, a tree without leaves and a person without clothes can relate to the poverty of feelings. Where does it come from, wonders Heyder.
``And then you find out,'' he said. ``So you encourage them to put in windows.''
Even in cases of schizophrenia, Heyder has met with success using writing and art.
``It's fascinating to see, a self-portrait - just strokes and white colors,'' Heyder said. ``Maybe it's a symbolic picture which we can't understand, but maybe the person can.''
On medication the patient draws another picture. ``The portrait becomes more like a person,'' Heyder said. ``It's interesting to show them what they first produced. One said, `Me, was I that nuts?' Or, 'Yes, I meant that.'
``When you show what happened in pictures or in a poem, it motivates the patient to cooperate when he or she feels well.''
Art also plays a role in rehabilitation, Heyder said.
With about any illness from schizophrenia to suicidal or homicidal behavior, patients in recovery need to be active. Something simple as molding a clay bowl to take home can elevate self-esteem. ``We are not expecting art,'' stressed Heyder. ``We are expecting an expression of feelings.''
The Albemarle School of the Arts in Elizabeth City targets a different group - disadvantaged children. Teachers are using a North Carolina Arts Council grant to introduce city kids to classical culture.
Dozens of children are learning piano, violin, painting and song in the program, getting an education they otherwise might not be exposed to. The goal is not to produce great artists, but rather to make art a part of the youths' lives.
It's the same way at Atlantic Dance, where Toms would rather use dance as therapy than as a star vehicle for kids.
Toms remembers a young student she had while running a dance school in Miami.
``Annie'' came to class with her hair in her face. Her leotard was faded and grungy and her tights were never washed. She always hung her head.
``Annie would do the steps with the group, but she would never do `chasets' alone,'' Toms said. ``Usually by the fourth or fifth class I can get them to do it. Well, this girl took all year.''
Toms tried everything, even holding her hand.
``And I would always pretend at the previous class that she had done it,'' she said. ``I would call her first, I would call her last, and say, 'That's OK, you don't have to.' ''
Finally, one day Annie stood up and did splendid chasets across the studio floor.
``Annie still dances,'' Toms said. ``My ex-partner says you'll never know she's the same girl. The chasets was a triumph for me.''
And especially for Annie! ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARY ELLEN RIDDLE
Gernell Gramby, 10, plays the violin as her sister, 2-year-old
Darvell and her mother, Eundene, watch her practice.
Psychiatrist Dr. Deitrich Heyder of Powells Point, says when verbal
skills cannot be used with patients, the arts have aided him.
Kathy Burrus, a certified clinical social worker currently in
private practice in Kill Devil Hills, is among those who
successfully use drawing and music in therapy with children. It's
not always possible for children to express their emotions with
words, Burrus said. A child's repertoire is limited. But drawings -
like these fish drawings - help Burrus' young patients deal with
grief and anxiety.
by CNB