Art in Medicine! A brief Lynda Barry follow up . . .

Hi all!

Well, in the days after I posted the tumblr article discussing Lynda Barry's influence on some of my approaches to teaching, I came across this article in the New York Times about medical schools’ use of art as a way to cultivate students’ perceptive skills. I have long been fascinated with blending art and medicine in multiple ways and it's fun to see examples like this.

For some reason, I was reading the comments about the article and came across something even cooler. A research study that illustrates just how effective integrating art into medical education actually is! (Click here for the full-text PDF of the study.) The study even mentions one of Moving Mountain's inspirational mentors: Parker Palmer! In the study, Palmer is quoted describing art’s value, saying:

          "works of art [can be] ‘third things’ because they have voices of their own, voices that tell the truth about a topic, but in the manner of metaphors, tell it on the slant. Mediated by a third thing, truth can emerge from, and return to, at whatever pace and depth we are able to handle."

I just love that! Palmer's words resonate with me in so many ways. Certainly, we have structured our myofascial and cranial courses around metaphors and we use poetry in the classroom. But, I think there is yet more to explore and discover here. I am ever curious about how art can be utilized in our work with our patients and love learning more about this type of work.

best,
michael