Philosophy

Word therapies only go so far in healing traumatic events. Victims of sexual child abuse, PTSD, and other traumatic events have found healing through art making. The Healing Art Process is very effective in allowing the victim of trauma to release their pain in a safe and unconscious manner. 

It is not necessary to know or talk about what is being healed. Art has the power to help emotional and physiological reactions without words. The process of making art is itself a tool for healing. Imagery is a language of the body and the mind working in concert. By making art around our personal language we are able to deal with emotions that are not always acceptable in society but that we all feel – anger, fear, anxiety. 

Traumatic experiences cut us off from the emotions that are attached to the trauma and our recovery is hampered by this emotional blockage. Art making allows us to reconnect to those emotions and heal them. Art making enhances self-acceptance, and our personal and spiritual connections. 

Everyone is an artist and can heal with the creative process. This process gets us out of our heads and lets us ignore all the negative things we tell ourselves. It is a way of seeing ourselves clearly and illuminating the beauty within us and those around us. As we put our personal language on paper, we learn about ourselves and ignite a positive emotional transformation. 

Self-understanding, personal insights, higher states of consciousness, and personal growth can all occur during the expressive art process. Our emotions are an energy source.  Revealing them through the creative process, energizes us in a positive way. 

As a childhood sexual abuse survivor, I have personally experienced the healing power of art making. It has allowed me to touch on many frightening, repressed emotions that I could not voice any other way. Verbalizing abuse is incredibly difficult and words don't always express what I want to say. Through the creation of imagery I have been able to touch these emotions and express them in a visual manner that I can share with others. 

Ultimately this process brings people together and leads to more healing. I have tiles decorating the front of my house with childish drawings that I did as an adult. On two separate occasions someone has stopped to ask about them. When I explained my experiences that inspired the tiles, they both began to cry and shared that they were abuse victims. I am constantly amazed at the magical way art can create a safe place for healing and sharing. 

Linda G. Litteral

Women’s Detention Facility

Child abuse and neglect increases the likelihood of being arrested for a violent crime by 30% as reported by a study in 2001, sponsored by the US Department of Justice. To directly combat the negative effects of physical and sexual abuse I am developing an art curriculum built around the treatment process developed by Stephanie Covington Beyond Trauma: A Healing Journey for Women.

At a progressive thinking local women's detention facility, the Re-entry Services Division is working with me while they transition from current cognitive thinking curriculum to a women focused program that includes art making.

I am developing curriculum and will teach 400+ women at the detention facility, directly impacting hundreds of lives. Current counselors at the facility would also learn about how art impacts healing and how to teach it. Other artists that are using healing art practices in their own work have shown an interest in collaborating in this project. Gallery owners in the community have also expressed interest in showing art work from the program to educate the community on the positive results of art making for social change

Trauma and abuse impacts all socio-economic and racial groups. Art will lower the levels of anxiety, depression, PTSD and other psychological stresses for the women there. Art will empower them to become change makers in their communities.  

Drawing: Expressing Trauma With Line

I am currently teaching a class I designed at the detention center. Using pencil and paper I encourage the women to use expressive line, while teaching them drawing skills. 

The positive responses of the inmates has been amazing! We have tears and laughter, discovery and transformation throughout the classes. I have watched their self confidence in their ability to express themselves grow over the course of the class.

I am acutely aware of the thin line between us. As a sexual abuse victim, I acted out of anger and fear, just as many of the women in the detention facilities have. While teaching the class, I have seen women who have had the same issues I have had, not inmates. 

I choose to address child abuse and trauma in my art practice. The Bureau of Justice study in 2006 found that 57% of incarcerated women in state prisons had reported sexual abuse before they were admitted. The detention center reports that 80% of the population has reported sexual abuse. A large portion of the population has suffered from the type of trauma in which I specialize. Using art to help them strive towards wholeness is incredibly important to me.