Lajja Dixit on Art Therapy
Lajja is an Art Therapist based in Nepal. She works in a psychiatric ward of a hospital and involves herself in projects which require her expertise, to support individuals or groups of people. She believes in the power of Art and how tools of Art Therapy can help change lives.
By Paintings in Hospitals
Lajja Dixit
My work as an Art Therapist has both consistency and variation. The whole point of the work I do, is to provide emotional support and change negative perspectives into positives.
24 Hours (1995) by Mark CannonPaintings in Hospitals
I have chosen '24 hours’ by Mark Cannon, 1995.
It is a striking sculpture made out of 24 clocks in a variety of colours. I feel it denotes the importance of time, how it can play such a huge part, both good and bad, in our daily life. This is one of the artworks which I can relate to on a personal and professional level. It has both a generic and an individualistic appeal to it.
24 Clocks
This artwork with 24 clocks in different shades but repeated shapes also gives me a perception of how life can be as different as we want it to be within the limited time period of a day. I see consistency, just like some of the things we do every day, like daily rituals or having three meals a day.
Daily Emotions
I also see variation, like the emotions we feel or the experiences we have, which are not the same on a daily basis. The way we approach simple things like a conversation which turns heated or emotional, or even a sight on the road will be different depending on our own emotional quotient.
Iridescent Wave by Sandra BlowPaintings in Hospitals
My work as an Art Therapist has both consistency & variation
The whole point of the work I do, is to provide emotional support and change negative perspectives into positives. But every client is different and their story are also different. The way a client approaches and perceives their issues are also varied.
My approach to an Individual has to be Specific
To reach the ultimate goal of providing emotional support. Strategies of coping mechanism for self-discovery can be varied but, in the end, with every client, the purpose is the same. It is about making the most of the time frame, dealing with varied emotions and supporting their emotional needs.
Studio Interior by Alfred CohenPaintings in Hospitals
Lajja Dixon on Art and Mental Health
To work in mental health has its challenges, especially in a society where a visit to a mental health practice can raise eyebrows. It has taken me many years to build an identity as a therapist who uses the tools of art, believing in the power of it, for great therapeutic use.
