From poverty to domestic violence to illnesses like cancer, catastrophes in life often exact a huge emotional toll.
Two long-time friends, powered by the East Valley Women’s League, are doing something to ease the anxiety that comes with such hardships by bringing art therapy to their troubled lives.
Called Inner Expressions, the Women’s League program is the brainchild of member Nancy Mann and artist-author Sandra Marshall and directed at women and children whose lives have been upended by a major disruption in their lives.
The two Ahwatukee friends have paired with organizations like the Children’s Cancer Network in Chandler, Maggie’s Place’s, a Phoenix center for homeless pregnant women; and AZCEND, also in Chandler.
They envision working with other groups as well, including Save the Family and Child Crisis AZ in Mesa, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley and even Title 1 schools, which serve largely students from poverty-level homes.
Inner Expressions turned out to be a good fit when Mann pitched it to her fellow members of the East Valley Women’s League.
Formed in 2021 by two sisters – Tara Stainton of Tempe and Tracy Worischeck of Ahwatukee – the League “works to empower and inspire women, children, and teens to lead more promising lives,” according to its mission statement.
Its 42 active members and 59 life members have raised over $1.7 million for various charitable endeavors that include the Cinderella Affair, which gives away prom gowns and dresses to high school girls across the Valley.
Mann laid out the mission of Inner Expressions to League members to secure some funding for supplies for the program.
A registered nurse and League board member, Mann explained, “Art therapy is part of communicative therapy that focuses on the creative process for building up an artistic approach to recover a person’s mental, physical, and emotional well-being.”
She noted that the artistic process not only “can support people to understand issues that develop” but “also addresses their feelings and behavior, to reduce stress, and to improve self-esteem and self-awareness. You do not need to be talented or artistic to receive the benefits.”
Mann also said art therapy addresses a wide range of challenges, including “aging-related issues, anxiety, depression, emotional difficulties, family problems, PTSD, psychosocial issues, stress, and substance use disorder” and ticked off the various ways it can help soothe children and women suffering from them.
Prior to making her pitch – which the League members readily embraced – Mann had broached her idea with Marshall.
“I have known Nancy for years and she called me one day last year to see what we could put together,” Marshall recalled. “She had been to my art studio on several occasions so she knew we always had something different going on.
“Nancy finds the organizations we will work with and sets me free to create the best possible art adventure for each particular group,” Marshall continued.
“It’s nice because the women from EVWL join in creating art with the groups,” she added. “I feel like everybody gets something out of it and it’s just a big fun creative evening. My goal is to have these groups escape into another world.”
Both Marshall and Mann have been pleased with the response from the kids and women they have worked with.
“The response has just been wonderful,” Marshall said. “We put on good music, and everybody is creating. It’s nice because no matter what the age, everyone participates to their level. I always begin the session by having everybody say, ‘I can’t mess up.’
She recalled a 10-year-old boy who “worked so hard on his artwork and told me he messed it up and he was so upset.
“I showed him how, with art, you don’t really mess up – it just turns into something else, sometimes for the better. This is exactly what happened and this 10-year-old was beyond excited. He was showing everyone his work and what had happened. It made me so happy.”
Marshall also recalled a mother who had been going through a stressful situation and was at an event to paint her her children. “She looked in my eyes and just said, ‘Thank you. I can’t believe I painted this. I needed this tonight.’ I could feel she really meant it.”
Mann, who worked in pediatrics for many years, added that although the program is not trauma-certified, “There’s been excellent feedback on it.”
“People feel so relaxed and less stressed after they do it,” Mann said. “They get a little bit of social connection with the other children or mothers that are participating. It’s helping with their thinking, their motivation, their self-esteem. It’s been so rewarding to watch this work in action.”
She and some League members sit with the “artists” so that “we can provide feedback and be more interactive with them instead of hovering over them.”
“On a more realistic level, we are helping them out by providing support and feedback,” Mann added.
Marshall frequently brings along to the sessions a friend and fellow artist, Christie Boscamp, who is studying art therapy.
They met when Marshall ran the one-time Be An Artist Studio, and recalled, Boscamp “is a believer in art and that you could learn because she came in not thinking she was an artist, but wanted the studio to stay open and now she’s a full-fledged artist.”
While the program will be on a summer hiatus, Mann said she and Marshall plan to resume in the fall. Organizations that would like to learn more for a possible Inner Expressions session can contact Mann through the East Valley Women’s League at evwl.org/contact.
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