Arts in Healing program helps Florence students express emotions through art

The MUSC Arts in Healing program was established in 2018 with the goal of enhancing community health and well-being by granting access to the natural healing potential of the arts. With a focus on both clinical and nonclinical needs in health care and the community at large, Arts in Healing offers a wide range of programs, from evidence-based therapeutic interventions to mindful art installations. 

According to the Creative Arts Therapy Initiative (CATI) impact report, in the fall of 2021, experts declared a national emergency in children’s mental health, urging organizations to employ school-based wellness services to increase access to care. In response, MUSC Arts in Healing developed CATI in partnership with the MUSC Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness, which now covers schools and districts statewide.

This past summer, the Florence 1 School District decided to take its student counseling to the next level by incorporating the CATI program. The superintendent of Florence 1 Schools, Richard O’Malley, Ed.D., saw a need for more mental health support and believed art therapy would be greatly beneficial. After several months of using the program, the coordinator for clinical services at Florence 1 Schools, Krystle Graham, said it’s been a great success. 

“This has been very impactful because students with social anxiety and depression are able to express themselves through an array of different activities that the clinicians have prepared for them,” said Graham. “It has helped the students make it through their day if they've had times when they acted out in class. They look forward to the groups because it is a break in their traditional schedule. It helps them cope with the rest of the day.”

Group services for Arts in Healing are now available at Florence 1 Schools, which were expanded to include staff in December. According to the MUSC Health Arts in Healing program coordinator, Elizabeth Graham Anderson, who is also a registered art therapist and a Ph.D. candidate, students come in groups of no more than six to these therapy sessions and are asked to create art based on how they’re feeling that day. Currently, she works with more than 80 students. Goals within the art therapy program include helping students to cope with anxiety, depression and grief.  

“I think the students benefit because the art scaffolds and supports communication. Emotion feels very abstract. We don't always have language for some of those thoughts, and so, to be able to access those parts of the brain that are abstract through imagery sometimes is more powerful,” said Graham Anderson. “It supports their thinking and allows them to develop communication skills towards how they're feeling.

According to the 2023 CATI impact report, the program is working. 

-94% of students said they enjoyed being in art therapy groups. 

-89% of students said they learned new ways to deal with their feelings in art therapy.

-92% of teachers would like to see art therapy continue.

-97% of guardians reported the art therapy process gave their children an alternative form of safe expression. 

“It's such a need. We can see that reception from the school staff, and some of the feedback was really exciting,” said Graham Anderson. “I received feedback yesterday about how some students have been having continuous discipline issues and challenges. Since they had started art therapy, the school support staff said that they haven't had any issues, which is huge. That's really validating that they need this outlet. They need this safe form of expression.”

To learn more about the benefits of art therapy and the CATI program, you can visit our Arts in Healing page.