222 • Introduction to Art Therapy
At the end of the session, Jerry said that the little guy in the story was wishing for some-
thing that was hard to say. After much encouragement on my part, he whispered, “blind.”
Then he said there was another word he was also finding hard to say, which turned out to be
“handicapped.” I wondered if the little boy in the story was wishing to get rid of those, and
he nodded vigorously in the affirmative (O).
I asked if he had any idea why the little boy had that problem, and he whispered, “’Cause
he’s bad!” I asked if he was bad for wanting to kill the big guy, and he nodded yes. This sug-
gested that the little “squished-up” person was in such a bad physical state because he was
so angry, and that his blindness was seen as a punishment for his badness. In this instance,
as with Jane and Larry in Chapter 9, the child attributed his disability to punishment for
“scary mad wishes,” a term coined by Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (PBS),
which I found useful with people of all ages. The wise lyrics to the song, “Scary Mad Wishes
Don’t Make Things Come True,” are so important because the fantasy of power is pervasive,
respecting neither age nor intellect.
Art Therapy in Trauma and Rehabilitation
When a person has just suffered a physical trauma, including accidental injury or surgery,
making art can help. A massive shock to the system elicits powerful feelings for which words
are weak, but for which art can be a release. Art helps both to express and to contain other-
wise overwhelming emotions. In one hospital where burn patients have had art therapy for
over 20 years, a protocol was developed for art therapy in medical trauma settings.^1
Traumatic injuries, like severe burns or car accidents, are usually followed by long peri-
ods of anguish, pain, disability, and treatment, often with uncertain outcome. Art therapy
can be helpful at every stage, from the shock of the initial trauma to the long and often dis-
couraging process of rehabilitation (DVD 10.2).
In medical hospitals and rehabilitation institutes there are now more art studios like
the one in Cleveland, Ohio, noted earlier (Malchiodi, 1999b). The Cleveland program was
started in 1967 by psychiatrist George Streeter and art therapist Mickie McGraw (A)—whose
own life in a wheelchair since contracting polio at age 11 inspired her to bring the healing
powers of art to others (Figure 10.6).
Figure 10.5 Jerry making a wire sculpture.