Painting away the pain
One of the highpoints in most of these therapies is the ability to focus on the process and not the result. Originally from London, Susan Bulough Khare, in Pune has been using art as therapy for the past two decades. A qualified B Ed teacher, Bullogh was working in Ireland with refugees in 1970s. “We were using art techniques to bring about equality and anti racism,” she says. After working psychiatric units in England, Khare went to Ireland. “I was working on a project with women who were undergoing bereavement counselling in Dublin. While on this project we came to India to research on the Indian jewellary in 1989,” she says. And this trip triggered her jourey to discover therapeutic value of art. “During my research I realised how specific piece of jewellery reminded someone of something,” she says. She started working on varied techniques like how different visuals evoked different feelings. But the main thing was to get people to make spontaneous pieces of art. Khare therefore uses the visual medium to bring to surface the underlying anxieties and traumas and treats them at different levels. “I may ask the participants to paint unjustifiably and this small act becomes the vehicle for talking,” she says. Khare takes four, five sessions every week around 12 students in each batch. “Just doing things together, sharing experiences and participation add onto the experience,” she says. In India Khare has been extensively working Madhavi Kapoor foundation and has conducted numerous teacher training classes too.
Adithy, a practising psychologist has attended around five sessions with Khare and says, “I have seen it help me and others find direction in life. It helps you come out of inhibitions and get a fresh perspective in life,” she says.
Inputs by Dipanita Nath in Delhi)

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