Karen Pence wants people to know that art therapy isn’t just arts and crafts. The wife of Vice President Mike Pence is a passionate advocate of art therapy. She hopes to use her public profile to raise awareness about the mental health profession.
Art therapy involves more than simply cutting, pasting, and painting to pass the time. Patients explore thoughts and feelings through art. They can learn how to reduce anxiety and change addictive behaviors, says the American Art Therapy Association. Making art can even help patients regain physical abilities like fine motor skills. The main goal is to improve a patient’s ability to function normally after illness or trauma.
Mrs. Pence visited art therapy programs across the state of Indiana, as well as in Israel, Canada, Japan, and Germany. The field is growing worldwide. But it is not yet well understood, she says.
The former elementary school teacher was first exposed to art therapy while visiting a Washington hospital. She has a master’s degree in art education. Her specialty is watercolor painting. But even with that degree, Mrs. Pence learned that art therapy “wasn’t something that I would be qualified to do.” It involves training in psychology and medicine too.
Mrs. Pence sees potential good in the work of professional art therapists. She serves on the board of Tracy’s Kids, an art therapy program for youth cancer patients. Now that she is in the public eye in Washington, D.C., Mrs. Pence may be able to highlight the benefits of art therapy. With more awareness, the American Art Therapy Association hopes to grow its base of therapists nationwide. It also hopes that eventually health insurance programs will cover some of the cost for art therapy, like they do for physical therapy.
Most U.S. First Ladies have public platforms for causes they support. Sometimes—especially in the last 30 years—the wives of vice presidents do as well. Current First Lady Melania Trump wants the public to know what cyber bullying is. She wants to help combat it among young people. Before her, First Lady Michelle Obama focused on nutrition. And Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, promoted literacy and breast cancer awareness.
Even without a prominent position, each of us can help others. It starts with the encouragement found in Philippians 2:4. “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
