Danielle Andersen, primary therapist, Jacqueline Pidich, senior allied clinical therapist, and Jamie Benjamin, clinical manager, along with master’s‑level art therapy intern Katie‑Lynne Lussier (not pictured), arranged the art exhibit at Princeton House Behavioral Health’s Princeton/Women outpatient site.
On the front door, above messages about Naloxone and Princeton House Behavioral Health’s commitment to being an LGBTQ+ safe zone, is a card bearing a cartoon replica of the Mona Lisa and the message, “You are a masterpiece.”
It serves as a welcoming entry point to the Princeton House Behavioral Health Women’s Program outpatient center in Princeton, N.J. and an art exhibit that went up in the first week of April. The walls and ceilings of offices, hallways, break rooms, and the lobby were all decked out with artworks produced by patients and staff alike.
The exhibit was arranged by Jacqueline Pidich, senior allied clinical therapist, Danielle Andersen, primary therapist, and master’s level art therapy intern Katie-Lynne Lussier, with the support of Jamie Benjamin, clinical manager for the Princeton Women’s Program site.
Creative arts are crucial parts of each patient’s treatment plan at Princeton House, and they continued to be part of the program during the past three years, when most outpatient care was provided virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But art therapy can lose something in the translation to virtual care. Activities were often limited to household basics – pen or pencil and paper – so the recent return to in-person treatment was welcomed by patients and art therapists who wanted to get their hands dirty again.
Making a mess can be fun, Pidich said, and it can also be seen as an example of alternate rebellion – a skill taught in Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT.
Alternate rebellion is the act of redirecting an urge toward ineffective behavior into something more constructive, such as finger painting. Art therapy also helps patients by focusing on DBT skills such as mindfulness, distraction, and self-soothing.
Many pieces in the art exhibit were created by patients during art therapy and creative expression group sessions in March, including two murals that cover the main hallway through the Women’s Program site.
One mural features a set of wings that were outlined on the wall and then filled in with feathers created by patients in response to the question, “What do you need for your wings to fly?”
Patients created feathers adorned with personalized designs and words such as resilience, healing, power, self-love, and gentleness.
The second mural consists of a flowerpot overflowing with colorful mandalas created by patients. Mandalas – geometric symbols employed in Eastern traditions to represent a spiritual journey – are used in group therapy to help patients stay centered and grounded.
The exhibit also included masks painted by patients in group sessions, a wooden house and a turtle sculpture crafted by a patient at home, and mobiles that were designed and installed by staff members at the Princeton Women’s Program location.