Paulina Nieto, who grew up in Columbus, Indiana, was only 2 months old when she started to have heart problems due to a narrow artery.
鈥淲hen I was about 6 months old, I had surgery to open the artery and that helped for a while until I started having problems again,鈥� said Nieto.
She had her first heart transplant when she was two and her second when she was 16.
鈥淭hat was something that was really scary because when I was younger I couldn鈥檛 remember anything,鈥� said Nieto. 鈥淭his time I had to go through the motions and the emotions. I can still remember going into the surgery room and having to wait there and not knowing if I was going to come out alive or not.鈥�
Nieto is now 19 and healthy. She says art therapy, a psychotherapy that helps people express emotions through art, helped her get through the stress of that last surgery while at in Indianapolis.
Art therapy is finding its place in the mental health profession, but most states including Indiana, don鈥檛 recognize it as its own profession. It鈥檚 often something licensed counselors use as a tool. But there鈥檚 been more of an effort to increase the number of art therapists in the state now that Second Lady Karen Pence has focused a spotlight on art therapy.
Pence, who鈥檚 from Indiana, helped to raise money to get two art therapists at Riley鈥檚 . During her trip to Indiana this September, she visited to participate in an art therapy group session with some patients. They used syringes to paint on white canvases.
Riley鈥檚 art therapists use syringe painting to take the fear out of the medical syringes the patients often see.
For Nieto, one of her cardiologists, , suggested she try art therapy to help cope with the stress of undergoing a heart transplant.
鈥淚 started a couple of classes and we were just painting and talking about how I felt, just the emotions that I went through. I think it was a really beneficial way of letting my emotions out in a healthy way,鈥� said Nieto.
Caldwell is the former director of The Riley Heart Center, and he鈥檚 noticed his patients who do art therapy have lower heart rates and blood pressure, and they are more relaxed. 鈥淭here鈥檙e endorphins that are produced by these types of activities and you can decrease the use of synthetic drugs that help deal with pain.鈥�
is one of the art therapists at Riley鈥檚, where the hospital offers art therapy to all patients. Allbery says she sees patients as young as two.
鈥淭hey're here to get physically better but we also want to make sure emotionally they鈥檙e doing okay too,鈥� said Allbery. 鈥淎s they get older we are working on 鈥榳hat鈥檚 it like to have what we have? What鈥檚 it like to have a chronic illness?鈥� We are able to follow them as they grow older which is really great.鈥�
Why Art Therapists Face Challenges
Art therapists are up against misconceptions that art therapy is like arts and crafts, or it鈥檚 as simple as taking some time to color or draw.
But one of the largest challenges is the lack of a state license, which makes it difficult for art therapists to bill insurance.
directs the graduate level art therapy program at the Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis. She believes Pence has helped to clarify some of these misconceptions, and she鈥檚 helped to advocate for licensure.
鈥淚 think Karen Pence has helped in that sense that she has brought this awareness, that it鈥檚 not just painting, not just making art. It goes on such a deeper level than that,鈥� said Misluk.
According to Misluk, art therapists get around the billing hurdle by being trained and licensed as mental health counselors.
鈥淭hey are working a lot of times as a licensed mental health counselor who uses their training as an art therapist,鈥� said Misluk.
But for the safety of the community, art therapists want a unique license to prove they have met the educational and clinical requirements.
This would afford them title protection, so that someone who passes themselves off as an art therapist could be fined if they don鈥檛 have the proper training.
But in Indiana, or in any other state in the midwest, the title 鈥渁rt therapist鈥� isn鈥檛 protected. So someone could falsely say they are an art therapist and actually cause harm to a patient.
鈥淭here鈥檚 really nothing that states that they can鈥檛 do it. It is so dangerous,鈥� said Misluk. 鈥淭hat has been our debate and we鈥檝e tried with several different avenues to get them (state officials) to see this is, this could be scary.鈥�
What鈥檚 Needed To Get Licensed
According to the , there are about 50 art therapists in Indiana. Misluk thinks there needs to be up to 250 art therapists in the state to make licensing possible.
She believes it鈥檚 going to take time to change Indiana鈥檚 lacks rules even with three universities graduating more art therapists.
That鈥檚 why Misluk is focused on educating the community and addressing misconceptions of art therapy.
鈥淪o whether you make great art by society standards or whether you happen to create stick figures, it鈥檚 the way of knowing that becomes the real therapeutic factor in art therapy,鈥� said Misluk.
Nieto noticed those therapeutic benefits during her art therapy sessions.
鈥淎fter my transplant I realized that life is just so beautiful. It鈥檚 so short,鈥� said Nieto. 鈥淪o, with every painting that I do, I try to put as many colors, bright colors as possible. I just love the brightness of life.鈥�
Art therapy helped Nieto so much, she plans to study to become an art therapist.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 something that I鈥檓 really looking forward to because being able to give back to the community in the same way that they did for me. I feel like that鈥檚 just kinda my life goal,鈥� said Nieto.
Nieto hopes to one day return to Riley鈥檚 Children鈥檚 Health. She wants to use art therapy to help children through their recovery.
Editor's Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Eileen Misluk directs the masters of arts and art therapy program at the Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis. She directs the graduate art therapy program. This story has been updated to reflect this correction.
This story was produced by , a news collaborative covering public health.
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