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Art therapist Shannon Scott-Miller runs an online art therapy support group for CF patients, giving teenagers like Emma Pittenger (on computer screen) a chance to meet other CF patients. |
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Innovative online art therapy group helps connect CF patients with one another
People with cystic fibrosis (CF) don’t have the opportunity to meet and talk to other people with CF because of the risk of contracting several species of bacteria. The lungs of most CF patients are infected with bacteria, but over time the strains of bacteria in their lungs can become more aggressive and resistant to treatment. To keep from spreading those bacteria among CF patients, their physical contact with each other is restricted.
Technology and innovative thinking have provided a way for CF patients from the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital to connect with each other. Last year an online art therapy support group started, allowing teenagers to meet and support each other online.
A Fostering Innovation Grant from the University of Michigan Health System paid for the webcams and the art supplies. Members of the CF treatment team from Child and Family Life and Social Work worked together to apply for the grant and to enroll teens once the project received funding.
Art therapy allows kids to tap into their natural coping skills and use their imaginations and their creativity. Teenagers use the group to tell their stories, express emotions, reduce stress and build self esteem. Groups are separated by age (ranging from 13 to 17). Art therapist Shannon Scott-Miller, who leads the group, says she was surprised and amazed by how quickly the kids developed friendships. “Everything seemed to flow,” she says. “Patients found common interests and were immediately very supportive of each other.”
“The art therapy group for our CF patients has been an excellent program,” says Samya Z. Nasr, M.D., professor of Pediatrics and director of the Cystic Fibrosis Center at the University of Michigan Health System. She says, “Since the CF patients can’t interact face to face, an activity like this is much needed. This program allows patients to interact with one another with no fear of catching any infections. It allows them to exchange ideas and talk about their difficulties with their disease through art.” Nasr says that feedback from the patients has been excellent.
Emma Pittenger, 14, is one of the patients who has benefited from the program. She has participated in two six-week sessions and says the group has “allowed me to feel less alone.”
Emma’s mom, Heidi Pittenger, says, “Cystic fibrosis can be such an isolating disease. Not being able to share physical contact with those who share the illness, you start to feel like you’re the only one in the world with all these problems. It’s been great for Emma to physically see (via webcam) that there are others out there like her. She’s also realized that many of them share the same thoughts and feelings she does.”
Art therapy has many benefits for patients including reducing isolation, increasing feelings of belonging, increasing sense of control and teaching coping skills. Your donation can help support the program and provide art supplies for Mott’s young artists. For more information, call 734-936-6519. |
