At UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, health care professionals use a different approach to support people going through any type of mental health crisis or long-term issue. Since 1963, the hospital has been using creative arts, like music, drawing, and dancing, as a way of tapping into patients’ emotions and help them reach out for help.
“Somebody might be able to share where they’re at through a song, where they couldn’t necessarily have the words for it otherwise. Or, they might be able to draw or create something to represent their feelings that they can’t articulate,” says Robert Miller, CEAT (Creative and Expressive Arts Therapies) program coordinator at UPMC Western. “And we’ve been able to really help people use those skills and those coping strategies that they already have in ways that can bring them out of their shell.”
“We can utilize that UPMC squad to help us out and provide some of those interventions that the other ambulance would have done,” says Nickl. “So, for UPMC to be able to supplement that at times, and for us to be able to keep resources available for the community based off of what they can provide to us, is insurmountable. It’s been great.”
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Not everyone is able to talk about their mental health.
Most, if not all, of us have dealt with some sort of behavioral health issue, whether we’re experiencing acute anxiety, depression, substance use disorder, or something else. But often the person dealing with these issues has trouble putting their feelings into words. Unable to describe what’s going on inside their minds and bodies, inside their lives, they stall in their treatment or recovery. They are desperate for a way to express themselves.
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First on the Scene
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Song, dance, and art therapy are important behavioral health tools at UPMC
This stage of recovery process is such an important, and sometimes overlooked, piece of recovery. There are so many misconceptions about what happens here at Western, but really, mental health services, whether in the acute phase – what we have here – or not, it’s something that impacts everyone.
Robert Miller
CEAT (Creative and Expressive Arts Therapies)
Program Coordinator at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
First on the Scene
While UPMC has been using some sort of creative arts therapy since the 1960s, the CEAT department Miller coordinates officially started in 1981. Since then, the department has gradually expanded to offer different types of creative therapies, administered by trained professionals in music, art, dance/movement, recreation, yoga, and expressive arts, like drama, writing, and poetry. The idea is to tap into a patient’s natural strengths and talents and use them as a way they can share what they are going through emotionally.
“I generally start with a warmup, and I try to make sure that warmup is fun. I empower them to choose what they want to draw, what materials to use or what they want to sculpt,” says art therapist David Ohm. “At the end of the session, there is a time to talk if they choose to share, whether that’s about the process or whether it’s to ask other people about their artwork. It’s just a great way to connect with people. That’s the biggest strength.”
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Verbal psychotherapies, while crucial to recovery, can often be intimidating to some people. Creative arts therapies can be less threatening and easier to engage with. CEAT doesn’t replace psychotherapy, but rather is used in concert with classic mental health treatments at Western to provide comprehensive treatment for everything from anxiety and depression to autism spectrum disorders and dementia to eating disorders.
“This stage of recovery process is such an important, and sometimes overlooked, piece of recovery,” says Miller. “There are so many misconceptions about what happens here at Western, but really, mental health services, whether in the acute phase – what we have here – or not, it’s something that impacts everyone.”
In Allegheny County, crisis resolution is just a phone call away
Maybe your issues are chronic, as with clinical depression or anxiety; or perhaps you are just struggling and can’t pinpoint why.
In Allegheny County, crisis resolution is just a phone call away
Maybe your issues are chronic, as with clinical depression or anxiety; or perhaps you are just struggling and can’t pinpoint why.