INDIANAPOLIS — On Tuesday afternoon, Lauren Belcher is visiting a patient at IU Health Methodist Hospital.
“You want to try scratch art?” she asks.
Belcher is introducing the patient to the art therapy program. It's about using art activities to help trauma patients process difficult experiences.
“It’s a big change, a lot of emotions, so we’re able to go in there, spend extended periods of time with them and get to know them on a personal level,” Belcher said.
Belcher knows firsthand how trauma can impact a person’s life.
“When I was 5 years old, I drowned at a local water park,” she said.
She survived but was later diagnosed with a rare disease in which a bone in her wrist essentially dies. After that, she learned she was a Type 1 diabetic.
“My own personal medical history really pushed me to want to work in a medical setting and provide that care for people in the hospital,” Belcher said.
The art therapy program continues to grow. It started in the summer of 2024.
“I would say yes, we do see a lot of interest from patients,” said Ella Beardsley an art therapist.
Beardsley also started as an intern and is now a full-time art therapist. The hospital now has someone on staff five days a week, increasing the number of activities available to patients.
“We’re not trying to force them to engage, but offer and give them options of what we can facilitate,” Beardsley said.
