Healing through arts

Relief operations in calamity-stricken areas have significantly lessened as days and weeks have slowly passed. But the entire process of recovery by the victims is complex. Long, especially, for individuals who have lost their houses, much more their loved ones. The recovery due to damaged properties is shorter than coping with a great loss of family members. It will take a while specially when help is insufficient or unavailable. 

Last Nov. 21, 2013 at St. Alphonsus' Seminary, Cebu City, concerned artists in various disciplines such as visual arts, theater, dance and music from Cebu, Bohol, Camiguin and as far as France convened. Organized by Ms. Annie Lim, Bro. Karl Gaspar and Radel Paredes, we planned and discussed conducting a very important mission: to help the earthquake victims recover and heal.

The stress debriefing session about using art as therapy of Peachy Fernando was truly enlightening. As an art therapy expert, she emphasized that the therapy is life enhancing and life empowering. When facilitated in a free, spontaneous manner, it bridges the mind and heart. 

Immersing in creative arts, I have realized the importance of expressing one's innermost feelings in an environment where one can draw out experiences no matter how hard they may seem. Guided but without being directly subjected and bombarded with rules and formalities, an individual can unmask from remorse and pretensions and let the true self come out. Being creative in healing.     

Generally called creative therapy, it refers to a group of techniques that are expressive and creative in nature. Its aim is to help victims find a form of expression beyond words or traditional therapy. Therefore, the scope of creative therapy is as limitless as the imagination in finding appropriate modes of expression. People in the creative world can find a variety of commonly used and professionally supported approaches like art therapy, writing, sand play, clay, movement therapy, psychodrama, role play, drama and music therapy.

It offers the opportunity for expression and communication and can be particularly helpful to people who find it hard to express their thoughts and feelings verbally.

Of all the victims from all age groups, the most vulnerable are the children who find it difficult to express from what they have experienced. There must be a technique that would allow them to express their pent up emotions. Without being conscious of the make-believe environment, the children can see what had happened and from there, they can see the light of moving on.  

Conducting workshops in various communities allows our participants to express what they truly have experienced. Using their authentic experiences, they easily forged out their emotions, a form of release. Even without verbal communication, they can draw, paint, dance or even act out what had happened.

Especially when a participant has gone through traumatic experiences, at first he would be very hesitant to share. Making letting go even harder. But when conducted in an environment where individuality is accepted, expressions would flow openly.

Specifically for children, when making up stories they become part of a creative process in which they create a narrative about their lives. The safety of the 'as if', the world of play and wonder distance them from their everyday lives, freeing them to express their feelings and experiment with different roles. Such play can be cathartic and help them live and find their inner potentials.

After letting go of their sad experiences, children feel happier and more assertive, discover their so far hidden strengths and become more independent, emphasizing on the experience and not on the performance. The group experience makes children feel part of a community, held and supported.

From an unassertive and traumatized child emerges a creative and renewed human being. The whole experience allows a person to slowly deal with the harsh reality.  Being able to overcome from the physical harshness of the calamity, from the emotional battle brought about from the loss of loved ones, comes the healing that is creative and liberating. 

From the financial, physical support to the earthquake and typhoon victims comes a kind of healing that only requires our time, talent, and compassion-to put back smiles on their faces. After rebuilding their houses follows the healing of their hearts.