Art Therapy and Dollhouses…We Made It ‘A Thing’

I’m Beth VanDerMolen, and I’m pretty lucky for more reasons than three capital letters in my last name.  I’m an Art Therapist in the Chicagoland area.  Never heard of Art Therapy?  Well it’s just as it sounds: a thoughtful way for patients to process feelings when words just won’t do.  Trust me, that part already was a thing, and I’ll share more details later.  In May of last year, a support group of oncology patients and myself were brainstorming a community art piece. We landed on the idea to create a dollhouse depicting the journey through their cancer diagnosis. If you’ve been diagnosed with anything life threatening you’ll probably relate to the different spaces your mind and body will take you.  Each room would be designed and decorated for a different stage or emotion on their medical journey.  It sounded great, we committed to the plan and only one thing came in the way…I had committed to the plan without a dollhouse.

A quick google search lead me to Hope Houses Workshop and then an out-of-the-blue email to them describing our interest.  We were fast friends.  Our conversation about art therapy, dollhouse-making and mission-oriented work went beyond my wildest dreams. I learned the workshop exists to inspire hope

in people; dollhouses were just a handmade way to create connections and stretch imaginations.  They recruited a young volunteer named George to build the dollhouse my patients would later transform – that’s us in the picture. You might have guessed, I’m the one in rose colored glasses.

I experienced generosity, and it came with love, hope, and gratitude. I was asking for a favor, and they were the one thanking me?  What’s even more amazing, in the process of providing love, hope, and gratitude in the form of a dollhouse, the energy behind the Hope Houses Workshop mission rubbed off.  We both knew our talents, we both have hearts for others and we both have energy to make a difference.  That chance I took asking for help on behalf of my patients, that time listening to each other’s story, it’s left both of us dreaming much bigger. We made art therapy and dollhouses a thing last year and we’re not done yet. 

My advice to you…don’t sit on that plan too long before you take a chance.  Send that out-of-the-blue email, tell your story and hope for good things.  Stay tuned for more about art therapy, updates on the dollhouse, and the good we’re doing together with Hope Houses Workshop.