Tanya Vallianos

The holiday season can be a challenging time for most anyone as the stresses of finances, increased demands of time and tasks, and unrealistic expectations show themselves in a grand way.

There is an emerging movement around the world to use expressive arts in healthcare settings because of the numerous benefits to overall wellness. Large research hospitals such as Duke, Stanford, Ursaline, Georgetown, Dartmouth, Sloan-Kettering and Northwestern, and others, have long understood the value of bringing the expressive arts into the hospital proper. Medical science is finding that artistic activities can actually prolong patients survival rate by reducing stress levels, increasing re

Art therapy is a modality in the psychology field that’s focus is on the transformative power of nonverbal language. Because art therapy brings together the fields of art and psychology, it integrates visual arts, human development, behavior, mental health, creative process, imagination and personality. It is based on the belief that the act of art making can help us understand more of who we are, enhance lives, and lead us towards personal growth through self-expression.