Cherry Pie

Prior to my acceptance into the program I spent many hours in nursing homes and outpatient clinics observing occupational therapists and learning what it was all about. One session that stood out to me was observing an older lady in the nursing home who was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, bake a pie. We had a lot of fun during this session and I could tell she was enjoying it and motivated, but truly had no idea how this session related to her illness. Now that I have learned more about this field it all makes sense. This lady obviously wanted to be well enough to be able to bake again, but with her illness, she was too weak to stand for long periods of time. My OT would observe her everyday in the kitchen while she went through the steps of baking, time how long she was able to stand and would teach her precautions to take when she got too weak and tried to find ways to adapt. I learned how to make a cherry pie that day, but looking back I learned a lot more than I thought I did!

Art Therapy

Leisure Exploration and Creativity with Veterans and Service Members was the podcast that I chose to listen to. This podcast stood out to me because I have multiple family members that are veterans. Rusty Noesner, a US navy seal veteran, suffered two traumatic head injuries. When he returned to the US, he began therapy at Walter Reed, and had many benefits from art therapy. Rusty discusses the importance of art and self-expression and how he used this creative process to adapt back into his life. Using different kinds of art mediums, he was better able to express his anxiety and frustrations.

The process of art therapy puts your brain into a creative process and areas of your brain begin to come back to life. He was touched so much by this process that he began his own nonprofit for veterans, War Paints. He explained how many veterans were afraid of trying art therapy because it wasn’t “masculine” enough for them. As occupational therapist, it is our job to encourage art therapy and explain that expressing yourself is a strength. Veterans do not want to be pitied or looked down upon, so it is very important on how you initiate this process. Art can range from woodworking to photography to journaling. It is not about just painting a picture, it is about engaging in a creative process of your choice to stimulate your brain. Data shows that 20 veterans a day die of suicide. Leisure participation has also been found to increase quality of life, self-esteem, and emotional well-being.