Almost daily, we hear of the devastating impact of climate change and animal agriculture on the planet: increased wildfires, heatwaves, floods, extreme storms, climbing sea levels, the erosion of natural environments, and the extinction of species on a massive scale. We also know that climate change influences migration patterns, communities’ infrastructure and creates less secure food systems. A recent report by the American Psychological...

In this article about the healing powers of art when faced with a life-threatening illness, expressive art therapist Stephanie McLeod-Estevez describes her journey of art-making in response to her cancer diagnosis and treatment. I love her words, “Using the arts is a way of accessing some of the process — to enable you to bring it outside of you and, like a suitcase, unpack what has been inside and ultimately putting it back together again.”...

This short video shows the power of art for a girl with cystic fibrosis who spends much of her life in the hospital. She expresses herself through painting with the aid of an art therapist. She’s reducing stress and dealing with the impact of her physical symptoms, sometimes with talk, sometimes without. http://cnycentral.com/news/local/canastota-woman-looks-to-art-therapy-to-cope-with-chronic-disease Share...

This moving essay (below) describes a distraught mother, coping with her daughter’s cancer, being envied because of her weight loss. What is the message to this woman’s daughters: one who is dealing with illness and the other with illness of her beloved sister? We’re so obsessed with thinness in our culture that we value it, by any means necessary. What a travesty. As the author says, “If you want to know how someone is,...

Got stress? Start making some art! Another study shows the benefits of art-making and it really (reallyreally) doesn’t matter whether or not you’re a great (technically skilled) artist or not. Truly, there’s an artist in every one of us. Let yours shine! http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2016/06/20/science-suggests-an-artful-way-to-reduce-stress/#66060994d891 Share...

I was so heartened by this short video of comfort dogs giving Orlando victims a moment of love and peace. http://www.wfaa.com/news/nation/comfort-dogs-helping-people-grieve-in-orlando/243091192 Share...