Arts and Healing
Creative arts therapies are based on the premise that when someone works creatively under the guidance of a qualified therapist, they become more expressive and communicative. This raises their awareness of issues and brings impetus for change.
The creative work can involve music, art, dance, movement, and other creative activities. By engaging both hemispheres of the brain, the arts foster creative expression of the body’s energy and wisdom, the mind’s ideas and the heart’s emotions, and can often facilitate profound overall healing.
Understanding this phenomenon, healthcare systems are beginning to invest in the arts to support the healing process for patients, their families and the broader community.
Courses
Arts and healing are intrinsically woven throughout many of the courses offered by the Center. For nearly two decades, students and the general public have been able to select from a wide variety of offerings including:
Research
Partnerships
The Center has created strategic collaborations with local artists and healthcare systems to further arts and healing work in the community and beyond.
Highlights
- TigerLion Arts to bring The Buddha Prince and Nature, both innovative “walking” plays, to the Twin Cities community.
- World-acclaimed photographer Craig Blacklock to produce Wellscapes, a series of multi-media sensory experiences.
- Dr. Heiderscheidt has a clinical practice within the Melrose Eating Disorder Program and within the University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital.