Local nonprofit is poised to take research “worldwide”

Patricia Tomlinson, the executive director of Arts in Health Ocala Metro, left, and Cassandra Belden, the community engaged research and evalutive specialist from the UF research team, right, talk about some their arts research during a press conference held to reveal a revolutionary study that shows the power of arts to heal at Arts in Health Ocala Metro on Northeast 8th Avenue in Ocala, Fla. on Monday, August 26, 2024. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

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Posted August 26, 2024 | By Susan Smiley-Height, susan@magnoliamediaco.com

A small gathering of people at the elegant historic home that is the headquarters of the Arts in Health Ocala Metro nonprofit heard some big news on Monday morning about a monthslong study into the arts as a tool for healing.

The mission of AiHOM is to use things such as visual art, dance and music to serve local populations that include youth, veterans, individuals with special needs, those with Parkinson’s disease and dementia, and others. The clientele currently ranges in age from 2 years to 85 years.

On Monday, the organization’s executive director, Patricia Tomlinson, and researcher Cassandra “Cassie” Belden revealed the results of the study, which can be accessed on the website at aihocala.org

“One of the main questions we wanted to ask in this research was, ‘Are our art interactions making a difference in well-being, self-esteem and mental health?’ We found out they do, and we’re very excited about that,” Tomlinson said.

The “key findings reveal that arts engagement dramatically enhances quality of life, confidence, and social and physical activity. These results are especially significant for veterans, trauma survivors, seniors with dementia, people with disabilities, healthcare workers, caregivers, children, adolescents, and entire communities.”

In October, Tomlinson will present the findings at the 1st International Meeting of Arts Prescribing Healthcare in Thessaloniki, Greece, while Belden will make a presentation during the National Organization for Arts in Health conference in Houston, Texas.

“We’re going to divide and conquer,” Belden said. “We’re taking the research worldwide.”

The four primary groups involved in the research, according to the study, were Kut Different, which serves Black boys; Dare 2B Great, serving young at-risk women; The Arc of Marion, which serves adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities; and the AdventHealth Pediatric Rehabilitation Center.

Lisa Irwin, founder of the LILAC (Lisa Irwin Legacy for Arts & Culture) Foundation, was among those at the event. Arts in Health Ocala Metro began as an initiative of the foundation in partnership with the University of Florida Arts in Medicine Program. Also on hand was artist Christopher Hershberger, who works with clients at The Arc Marion.

Tomlinson opened the event by saying, “We have always gathered data from every art interaction we have had. We are a nonprofit that uses art to facilitate health and well-being. We have visual artists, musicians, literary and dancers, and we are very excited to utilize all the power of art in our interactions.”

She showed copies of a survey tool called the “beach ball.”

“When we gather data, we use this to talk about whether they fit in, whether they are worried, proud, nervous—various well-being and self-esteem questions. When we are not able to survey the participants, for example, if they are very young children, we have a survey we can give staff and, if applicable, parents, talking about whether we are making a difference, whether the people are looking forward to it, various things like that. In addition, our artists all keep notes from every interaction.”

Belden, who is from Buffalo, New York, said she has “always been an artist of some sort; ceramics, photography, mainly oil paintings, and has always been interested in how the arts have the ability to heal. She moved to Florida two years ago in search of a graduate program in art therapy and during an internship at The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, someone told her about a program at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

“I was looking into the UF Center for Arts in Medicine graduate program and I saw that I could be taught tactical skills like research and evaluation that would help advance the field alongside my own personal practice. I dove into that program, and this year I’ve had the opportunity to use what I learned and do this evaluation for AiHOM,” she noted.

Belden, who also is a National Research and Impact Associate with One Nation/One Project and an outreach assistant at the Tampa Museum of Art, explained to the group about the mixed methodology of taking qualitative information and distilling it into quantitative data for the AiHOM study.

“The point of the research is in the title of my position, which is Community Engaged Research and Evaluation. The biggest thing is, we want to retell the story of the community. We want those voices to shine through. I came into this field as an artist and understand its power to connect and to heal and to raise feelings of resiliency and self-esteem,” she said.

“We came up with different surveys, such as with our partnered staff at The Arc of Marion and AdventHealth Pediatric Rehabilitation Center. These are observation tools where they work closely with the participants and get them to share with us their reflections on what they view with the artists,” Belden explained.

“We also had focus groups, and I heard the most beautiful stories come out of these. It had me in tears every time. I heard about people who are really isolated, or experience really low mobility, dancing, reaching for things, little kids reaching for paint or walking toward music. Just the most beautiful reflections of what the arts can do for people experiencing adverse effects to health,” she added.

She said the research primarily focused on well-being and quality of life and “all the components that go hand-in-hand with that, like confidence and self-esteem and the ways in which participants socially engaged with not only each other, but with staff, and the way those engagements strengthened the connections they have.”

“One of the things we homed in on was the amazing quality that AiHOM delivers—its ability to have these people be physically engaged. It’s not just mental components, but physical components and building skills and fine motor abilities. It’s phenomenal. Look at the report and some of the qualities highlighted in it. And let’s give a round of applause for the artists because without their dedication and talent and inclusivity and their tailored expertise at adapting every single experience to every single participant, none of this would have been possible,” Belden offered.

Tomlinson also noted that the research will be used as a “toolkit” for others.

“As a young nonprofit in the arts and health movement, which is really gaining traction throughout the U.S., we are in a wonderful position to start creating things for other organizations that may want to emulate what we are doing. Cassie is working on a toolkit so others can benefit from what we’ve learned and maybe any mistakes we’ve made so they can go forward with their own research and add to the body of incredible research that we’re getting,” Tomlinson shared.

“It’s so much more than the art making, it’s everything that comes from the belief in yourself to create and to advance and take initiative in your life,” Belden noted. “We have people from 2 years old to 85 years old being served. That is so invaluable to this community, for the artists who work here to tailor all of that knowledge and experiences to all of these who range not only in age but in ability and everyone is feeling satisfied by this art engagement.

“And we discovered things that went beyond what we sought to discover,” she said. “We found a remarkable set of firsts that happen when you include the arts in community and healthcare spaces. People observing things from their participants, their loved ones, that they had never seen them do before because of the arts. Like never seen them say that before, never seen them dance, never seen them create something like that before, and that furthers the connection and the extent to which participants are excelling. People are getting to spread their wings … that’s so beautiful.”

Rhonda Kincaid, community engagement coordinator for The ARC of Marion, applauded the group’s initiative.

“I can’t believe there is a nonprofit out there that does this,” she said. “We are so grateful to them to come in and give their expertise, whether it be painting or music. Many of our clients probably didn’t know they had these abilities in them. We just did a show together called Hear Us Roar at the Ocala Civic Theatre and it was amazing … something our clients probably would never have had the opportunity to do without Arts in Health and Arc collaborating together.”

Kincaid said Hershberger comes to The Arc every Friday and spends the day with clients.

“He is so talented, and he brings that out of our clients. They’ll spend the whole day with him in art class and it’s kind of like Bob Ross, one stroke at a time. At the end of the day, they have a painting. Quite a few of them went to Hear Us Roar and were sold and we also put them on our website for sale and we have the Art Giving project, explaining what we do with AiHOM and I go out to different businesses all over Ocala and Marion County so we can get the word out there and share these beautiful paintings,” Kincaid noted.

“The clients who take these classes have come a long, long way in the past year and a half. It’s nothing for them to get up and sing karaoke. It also helps them deal with their behaviors as well,” she shared.

When asked if she sees the program continuing, she said with a laugh, “The arts are so under-funded in Marion County. I hope this program never goes away because I’ll have to start singing to them again.”

Hershberger said he became involved with AiHOM at the behest of Irwin, who approached him with the idea of Arts in Health in the early stages of forming the organization.

“And I was immediately on board. This unique endeavor provided a way for me to give back in a meaningful way with my skills and talents,” he said.

He met with Kincaid and toured the Arc facility and met with some of the people he would be working with.

“It was a perfect fit. They were excited to have an artist, and I was glad to be of service,” he said.

Over time, the budding artists tried other activities, from origami to painting.

“Ultimately it has primarily been painting; it is what the clients are motivated for and love. Our typical workshop starts with an open discussion where we collectively come up with ideas for the day, sometimes merging multiple ideas or lining up themes for the next couple of weeks. And then we get to work,” he said.

“It has been a true pleasure to watch as some of the clients have become so proficient they help others during the workshops or explore their own ideas. Which comes to our favorite phrase at Arc Marion: ‘There is no wrong way to art.’ The arts have truly touched all of us in profound ways. From the clients and their families to the staff and myself. We’ve all been moved by what the arts can do,” he added.

Tomlinson said AiHOM is serving 17 nonprofits in Marion County and has conducted more than 600 workshops.

When asked if the research aspect might continue, Tomlinson said, “This is just the beginning.”

And, she added, “Art heals, and science proves it.”

To learn more about AiHOM and read the complete research results, go to aihocala.org