July 2021
The Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department
Art Therapist Connects with Patients and Encourages Creativity
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“Patty”, by Jasire McBeth
Jeremy Martin is an art therapist and interdisciplinary artist of diverse interests. In 2018, Jeremy received a Master of Professional Studies in Art Therapy from Pratt Institute. As a creative arts therapist at Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital, Jeremy works with patients and families offering video and digital art therapy. One goal of Jeremy’s was to have two teen-centered KidZone TV shows, one focused on artist spotlights and the other spotlighting people with amazing careers. On his show “What’s Your Job?” Jeremy has interviewed over 20 guests including Diane Rode, Director of the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department and Jonathan Kyriacou, Vice President of Hospital Operations. The show inspires patients to think about their career interests by watching interviews with special guests from many creative career fields. Some of his shows are recorded and used as a digital educational resource for specialists in the department. For example, his interview with Medjie Pascal, a Michigan Med student living with Sickle Cell Disease is available on demand for our patients and families. In the interview, Medjie tells viewers how she balances being a mother, wife, and medical student living with Sickle Cell Disease. "I was told by my doctors at the age of eight that I wouldn't live past sixteen". Medjie loves giving back to children especially "young sicklers" as she calls them and is happy her story can inspire others. Jeremy recently used the interview in a session to inspire a 12 year old Sickle Cell patient. After watching the interview, the patient mentioned “It’s nice to see that starting a family is an option”. Jeremy also works directly with patients, encouraging them to explore their creativity. Jasire McBeth, 17, created a drawing titled "Patty" during her recent admission to the hospital. Jasire shared: "Patty is a black nurse who works in an adult hospital setting, she was inspired by the amazing work the nurses do on P5". Jasire also shared that creating artwork during her admission helps to distract her from pain. Jasire's artwork will also be featured in our Fall 2021 edition of REFLECTIONS Magazine.
Celebrating Our Cultural History Recently, we celebrated Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Caribbean American Heritage Month, LGBTQ Pride month and Jewish American heritage month. Celebrations included a KZTV Pride show and our Child Life NICU staff’s recognition of AAPI and Jewish doctors that have helped make progress in neonatal health. Fliers were made and distributed to families to bring awareness to their efforts. Some of the highlighted doctors included Dr. Margaret Chung, the first American-born Chinese woman doctor who led the first OB/GYN and pediatrics unit in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Time Magazine listed FilipinoAmerican Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga as one of the most influential people in the world in 2013 for her breakthrough that “functionally cures” newborn babies born with AIDS. It was quite the learning experience! Visit here to learn more. Mountsinai.org/childlife
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Knitting Lessons Help Child Life Staff Support Families Beginning in March 2021, a knitting club formed amongst the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department, comprised of new, intermediate and experienced knitters. Led by retired PICU nurse, Helen Hogquist, this group began meeting twice a month to learn basic stitches, as well as new projects such as baby booties. The goal of the group is to be able to pass on these skills to patients and caregivers while in the hospital, empowering them with a new hobby or leisure time activity. While in the process of learning, members of this group have experienced the benefits of knitting themselves. Brand new to knitting, PICU/PCICU Child Life Specialist, Marianne, decided to join the knitting club to be able to engage patients and family members in knitting activities throughout their admissions. She picked up the basic skills, then quickly moved on to more challenging patterns such as a hat. “It’s really calming for me and has been a nice way to connect with some of my long term patients and families in the ICU setting.” she says. Many thanks to Helen for volunteering her time and sparking new interests in the members of this group. If you are curious about learning how to knit, keep an eye out for our new monthly “Fiber Arts” show on KidZone TV, or reach out to your Child Life Specialist!
Our staff has learned so many skills to pass on to our patients and families!
Helen teaches our staff how to create hats, scarves, booties and more.
Tyler Gibgot Brings Magic to Our Patients and Families Magician and friend of KidZone TV, Tyler Gibgot has been wowing our audience since October of 2020. Tyler is the talented protégé of none other than the well-known magician, David Blaine. Tyler has been practicing magic with David since about the age of 7. Twice a month on KidZone TV, Tyler shares his mind-bending tricks with our patients and families watching from their room or live in the studio. Even though we all watch closely, we still don't know how he does it! Thankfully, Tyler shares some of his tricks, empowering our patients to learn on their own and to impress their family, friends and their medical team! Even more amazing, Tyler learned all of these intricate skills despite being legally blind. He is always happy to share his story of not letting anything stop his love of magic. Tyler not only entertains our audience, he also serves as a true inspiration.
Staff Accomplishments Allie Martin, MS, CCLS presented with Heather Miller and Samara Per from PT at the GLACLP in May about child life and physical therapy co-treatments in pediatrics. “Child Life and Physical Therapy: A Novel Treatment Model to Enable Participation of Children and Families”
KidZone TV Intern Highlight: Grace KidZone TV Studio interns are an important part of our team. Interns not only enrich and increase the reach of our daily programming, they also learn how to create positive and creative studio experiences for our patients and families. Whether inviting patients in the morning to the day’s shows, preparing the studio space for an art activity, or working one on one with a child to create a show, our interns add to the very heart of our work. Summer KidZone TV intern Grace is a musical theater major with a drama therapy minor at Marymount Manhattan College. She grew up in Westchester NY, but NYC has her heart. Grace especially loves reading her book at Central Park on a nice sunny day. She loves creating bingo boards for KZTV, but her favorite part of the internship is getting to know all the incredible patients! Click to learn more about being a KZTV intern. Mountsinai.org/childlife
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Paws & Play Corner Our facility dogs, Amos, Professor and Moby, have been busy this spring! In addition to seeing patients, families and staff on the units, the Paws & Play team has had exciting celebrations and new KidZone TV shows! In June, our facility dogs celebrated PRIDE in New York City with our patients and families by streaming our own PRIDE puppy parade on KidZone TV. In June, our handlers also hosted our second “Virtual Facility Dog Intensive” which provided an opportunity for current and future facility dog programs to learn more about our therapeutic programming and best practices. Our facility dogs have also been enjoying the summer sun on their days off by going to the beach, spending time in Central Park and cooling off with extra naps in the A/C! Follow the pups on Instagram @mountsinai_pawsandplay
Moby, Professor and Amos, along with their clinical handlers Jackie, Ali, Allie and Alex, celebrating PRIDE at Mount Sinai!
Celebrating National Animal Therapy Day
Patient Tech Activities: Using Digital Art to Encourage Creativity Our child life and creative art therapists are constantly expanding their skills in order to reach all of our pediatric patients. Our Patient Media and Technology Administrator, Lu Borges, works with our clinical staff to discover and develop technology based projects that appeal to our patients and offer new ways to encourage their reflection, creativity, and self expression. Recently, many of our staff have completed training in digital art creation using tablets. Our art therapists and recreational therapists have been incorporating this new skill in patient sessions and activity groups with wonderful success. Digital collages that include a patient’s environment and favorite items, personalized self portraits, “poster” style compositions and a new live KZTV show where patient portraits are created live on air, are just some of the newest offerings our patients and families can try. We’re excited to continue to explore technology activities for our patients!
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Creative Arts Therapy: Patient Highlight Creative arts therapies are offered to patients with an interest in the arts as a form of expression and developmental growth. Creative arts therapists collaborate closely with the unit child life specialists to coordinate and create therapeutic experiences for patients and families. Examples of the creative arts are: Art Therapy, Music Therapy, and Video Therapy. Our creative arts therapy staff supports the developmental needs of patients from the youngest child through teenagers, encouraging creativity and offering additional avenues for expression and coping. Aaron was a 12 year old patient admitted to the PICU. He initially expressed interest in only video games and computers, but when he tried making digital art for the first time with art therapist, Katherine, he exclaimed, “I can’t believe what I was missing. I’ve been waiting for this my whole life!” Aaron showed mastery of a new skill, stated pride in his work, and used digital art media as a form of self-expression during his hospital admission. He is also excited to have his art featured in the next edition of REFLECTIONS, the Zone’s teen art and literary magazine.
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