The two art therapy sessions are in collaboration with Bloom Art and Integrated Therapies.
Colored pencils, crayons, magazine clippings, paint, glue sticks, construction paper, scissors and all the art supplies one could imagine filled several tables. Calming music played softly from a speaker as students took a break from their busy Wednesdays to relax with some art therapy.
Marquette’s Counseling Center, located on the fourth floor of the Wellness + Helfaer Recreation Facility, is collaborating with Bloom Art and Integrated Therapies – a non-profit art therapy-focused mental health clinic located in Walker’s Point, Milwaukee – on two art therapy open studios this semester. The first of these clinics took place on Feb. 18 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 326 of the Wellness + Helfaer Recreation Facility.
“[Art] is an extremely powerful tool that allows us to get out of our head and into our body or into our expression a little bit more,” Emily Drenovsky, a counselor and coordinator for mental health advocacy at Marquette, said. Drenovsky was the only Marquette Counselor present and is also a registered art therapist.
This was the first art therapy clinic the Counseling Center has offered, Drenovsky said.
“I think that especially for students, you’re doing so much that’s cognitive or being expected to understand concepts…and this is like the flip side of that,” Drenovsky said. “This is saying, ‘You don’t have to be perfect.’”
According to the National Library of Medicine, art therapy, “uses integrative techniques to captivate the soul, body and mind in ways that verbal expression alone doesn’t appear to.” The same article references a study that found introducing art therapy in patients being treated for major depressive disorder improved their depression and anxiety symptoms.
Drenovsky said her favorite medium to use with students or her coworkers is collage. Collage is a medium that typically involves gluing or taping pictures, stickers or other cutouts, sometimes from newspapers or magazines, together to create a piece of art.
“You don’t always have to have a vision in mind, you can find that [vision] and pull it together, which can be a really great way of building that creative muscle,” Drenovsky said.
Two interns from Bloom Art and Integrated Therapies were also at the event. Bloom offers free open studios every Thursday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., located at 700 West Virginia Street #203. Students can get there from Marquette’s campus by taking the 19 or 80 bus southbound from 6th & Wisconsin until 6th & Virginia.
Jia Kamin and Sofia Belgin, both sophomores in the College of Arts & Sciences, attended the event. While only Kamin identified herself as an artist, they both found art therapy to be beneficial.
“Usually when I do art, I’m trying to get my mind off of things, or I’m really stressed with work or classes,” Kamin said. “I like to just decompress by doing some artwork, and it really helps.”
Belgin and Kamin were both working on drawings using markers, and said they wanted to come back for the next art therapy clinic, which will happen April 14, also from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
“I think it’s just calming and something to do to keep you occupied,” Belgin said.
The Counseling Center is also collaborating with the Office of Inclusion & Belonging for “Crafting with Counselors,” on Feb. 24 in the AMU, Room 111 and April 14 from 2 – 4 p.m. in AMU Room 140. Similarly, this event will offer students a space to express their creativity while also engaging in discussion surrounding mental health and self-care.
“You can just create,” Drenovsky said. “You can do something with your hands or make something that feels like it helps you express yourself.”
Click here to find more information about Marquette’s Counseling Center and information on upcoming events.
This article was written by Annie Goode. She can be contacted at [email protected]
