THE ART OF RESILIENCE

Arts in Health is a rapidly emerging field integrating the arts into a variety of healthcare and community settings for therapeutic, educational, and expressive purposes. It is dedicated to connecting people with the power of the arts at key moments in their lives and transforming their experience of health to include wellbeing. Evidence Shows that creative activities improve physical and mental health, improve sense of well-being, decrease anxiety and pain, and enhance connectedness and communication.

The MRC Arts in Health Program brings resilience-building arts programming to vulnerable populations throughout Berkshire county. MRC volunteers facilitating art programs have completed training with the Creative Center at University Settlement in New York City and with the Foundation for Art and Healing. Berkshire MRC is proud to be a member of The National Organization for Arts in Health.

Currently we are bringing art to the Lee Senior Center and The Brien Center – Berkshire County’s largest provider of behavioral health and addition services. We have also done service at Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington where we supported our amazing healthcare heroes!

Our program is grant funded to date, but we also welcome the financial support of individuals and businesses who believe in the healing power of art! We are actively recruiting volunteers and online as well as on-site training is provided. It’s meaningful and fun service and the volunteers benefit as much as the participants! If you would like to learn more about volunteering or supporting the Arts In Health Program, please email CreativeResilience@wmmrc.org

Click the link to see the finished product of a Community Mandala Art Program MRC volunteers facilitated with Intensive Outpatient Program participants at The Brien Center. And below, what Brien Program Staff had to say about it!

Collaborative Art Project @ The Brien Center

“Offering the MRC provided art activities to our Intensive Outpatient Program participants has been a wonderful experience for them. They repeatedly talk about how much they like it and I see them looking forward to the next session. From a clinical standpoint, what we see is that the clients are starting to remember that using substances is not the only way to feel good. We also see a sense of pride in what has been created. When this happens for someone who begins the session with the belief that they are not creative or artistic or won’t be good at it – they learn that something is possible, even when they didn’t believe it was. Both of these developments are very important for someone’s chances of achieving sustained recovery”.