19 Year Old Uses Art to Manage Her Multiple Sclerosis

Art therapy is used to help many people cope with different life situations. This can include chronic illnesses such as MS. According to The American Art Therapy Association art therapy is “an integrative mental health and human services profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship.” Art therapy is facilitated by a professional art therapist and is designed to support the “personal and relational treatment goals as well as community concerns.” Art therapy can help patients with chronic illnesses to cope by giving them a medium through which they can express their feelings and concerns, and work through different psychological and emotional phases that accompany a diagnosis of a chronic disease. This can also be a hobby that can help patients find a sense of worth when they are feeling down. In addition, art therapy can be a great way for MS patients to exercise muscles in the arms and hands. There is no doubt that with her determination and personal experience with art therapy, Caitlin will go far in her newly chosen field.