Art therapy has proven benefits for a range of chronic conditions and mood disorders. It can be a powerful piece of your care plan if you have a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS).
François Béthoux, MD, the Director of Rehabilitation Services at the Cleveland Clinic Mellen Center, spoke by phone to explain how picking up a paintbrush or marker and working through an activity with a trained therapist can benefit people with MS.
There are multiple modalities that fall under the umbrella of art therapy, including music therapy, and what we call the “therapeutic cues of the visual arts” — the display of art on the walls of a hospital — that can influence a person’s mood.
What people most often think of as art therapy is a situation where board certified therapists provide a creative activity — painting, sculpture, or something craft-based — for patients, and there is interaction with a therapist who has counseling credentials.
There’s not a lot of evidence on the effect of art therapy specifically on MS. However, I co-authored a review of studies that found an expected effect from art modalities on emotional issues and on self-confidence from feeling empowered in doing something through your body.
For many people with MS, perception of the body changes. They may have sensory issues, pain, and difficulty moving. Through the arts, we can engage people with positive emotions by allowing them to do more than they thought they could do, but also enjoying the immediate gratification of creating something.
What are the mechanisms by which art therapy can help with the symptoms of MS?
In a creative mode, often we say people go into a “flow,” where they are captivated by what they are doing. Being very focused, they hopefully forget a lot of their stressors, and by the end, they have results — the artwork.
The piece can be shared with others, generate a discussion, and maybe allow them to unleash some emotions, which is where a trained counselor comes in.
The activity involves many areas. It’s sensory, because there is a tactile activity involved, and it’s also cognitive.
It’s increasingly understood that MS
Yet, they manage cognitive issues on a daily basis despite fatigue, depression, and other factors that impact functional performance. A creative activity involves cognition in addition to an emotional component. There is this empowerment again to create something that is your own.
MS alters a person’s life in so many ways. I often comment that many of our patients have to stop working due to disability, though often their disability is not due to a single issue, but rather small or moderate effects that can alter a person’s ability to function.
What I like with art therapy is that you can touch on so many of these components. So many patients say that they forget about their pain while they’re painting. In the past, we were told people with MS don’t have MS-associated pain, and now we understand that they do, and often it is chronic pain.
Art therapy is a very accessible, low-cost intervention. It’s something that could have profound outcomes when other healthcare resources are limited.
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