A casual observer might think the art therapists and the music therapist at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital just use art and music to help pediatric patients have fun. That observation would only be half right. Art Therapists Shannon Scott-Miller, A.T.R.-B.C., and Kathy Richards-Peal, A.T.R.-B.C., and Music Therapist Bob Huffman, M.T.-B.C., readily admit that their jobs are fun. But art and music therapists have special training to assess and plan for their patients, to assist children with their coping skills, and to support the patients’ emotional and developmental needs.

“Music is very powerful, as is art,” says Huffman. Emotions can be evoked, and music and art therapists are trained to handle them. “Song writing [one of the activities Huffman does with the patients] can evoke hopeful things, angry things, and feelings of all sorts,” says Huffman.“We have the skills and training to know what to walk in there [hospital rooms] with, how to get to the heart of the matter, and help them deal with it,” Scott-Miller adds.

The Creative Arts Team enhances Child and Family Life’s mission of normalizing life for pediatric patients and their families. “We try to take an unpleasant situation and make it cope-able,” Huffman says.

“We focus on their strengths,” says Scott-Miller. “They already know that something is wrong with them medically,” says Richards-Peal. “They need to know what is right with them.”

Donna Murphy, B.S., C.T.R.S., M.S.W., C.C.L.S., Director, Child and Family Life, says, “As each therapist uses their training in art or music to reach out to the children and families, they are impacting the child’s development in a positive way and, in turn, teaching them lifelong coping skills throughout their development, enhancing self-esteem and self-image, giving a sense of mastery or independence, and helping them be able to cope with the hospitalization in an experiential way.”

Sixteen-year-old Brittnee McNally from Jackson, Michigan, has created art, played music, and even started to write a song during her hospitalization. “I never would have done something like this [art] on my own,” she says. “Kathy helped me get started, and we did it together.” Richards-Peal compares the partnership of art therapy to a dance. “It is not me leading them,” she says. “We share the way the session is going.”

When asked about her sessions with Huffman, Brittnee says, “Bob is awesome. He is willing to help any way he can to make your stay better.”

Brittnee’s mom, Barbara Duffy-Smith, agrees. “It is such a great release for the kids and even me,” she says. “Words can’t describe the love they show. They are able to make a complete stranger feel comfortable and at ease.”

A FAMILY-CENTERED EFFORT

In keeping with Mott’s commitment to family-centered care, all three therapists also work with parents and siblings. “We’re fortunate to have a team,” Scott-Miller adds. “That gives us the ability to reach as many kids as possible.”

And what are their goals for the program? Richards-Peal replies, “We ask our patients to dream a lot. We’ve got to be dreaming, too.”

Music and art therapy are two of the programs Child and Family Life provides at no charge to patients or their families.