Healing Grief and Trauma with Prescriptive Art

"The Bright Lightness of Koot H." photo courtesy of Nancy Gershman

Did you know specialized artists and musicians will collaborate with bereaved individuals to custom create art or music commemorating deceased loved ones?

For example, Nancy Gershman, who coined the term “prescriptive artist,” is a digital artist who repurposes a griever’s life-affirming photos, memories, and stories of the deceased into a fine art photomontage (a “Healing Dreamscape”) to counter loss and regrets.

When I interviewed Nancy, she explained that prescriptive art is “custom-created artwork which recontextualizes memory, shifting the griever’s perspec­tive of the deceased from absent supporter to supportive presence. It also provides the griever with a tangible object that reinforces this shift.”

For example the photo above depicts a photomontage Nancy created for Hope after her son Ishmael was fatally shot. Through a review of photos and stories that Hope shared with Nancy about Ishmael, Nancy was able to illuminate the sensory qualities that Hope loved about her son, such as the way he looked as a baby and the way he loved to grill hot dogs on cold, windy days in Chicago. Nancy also included colors and meaningful objects that Hope found peaceful, integrating the imagery in a way that symbolized for Hope that she and Ishmael were forever connected arm and arm in spirit.

In an article, Nancy Gershman and Jenna Baddeley wrote for the American Psychotherapy Association’s Annals Fall 2010, Hope commented that the Dreamscape Nancy made for her created a turning point in her healing. The authors quote Hope as saying, “When I saw what we made, I just got caught up in the moment…It seemed as if Ishmael was here, alive. Because it’s physically here [as Hope’s screen saver] where I see it every day…He’s here and in my heart.”

As trauma therapists, I believe this is what we are also helping people to do- create a “preferred legacy” or  redemptive story out of what has happened. In our own way, we are also helping our clients to create “healing dreamscapes” so they can view themselves and their lives in a new light.

To contact Nancy about creating a prescriptive photomontage, visit her website at www.artforyoursake.com. Another site, www.bereavementartists.com features an entire directory of specialized artists who custom create works of art in a variety of media (including quilts, portraits, urns, and jewelry) to honor a loved one’s story and legacy.