Art Therapy Provides Healing

Evelyn Berde has dedicated her to life re-creating memories through art. She has recently compiled her life's work, artwork she has done over several decades, so she could share her story with people and encourage people to do the same.

On a recent night, her collection of paintings, sculptures and collages, titled Leaving the River was on display at the West End Museum in Boston. Berde was there to tell her story and describe how she used art to withstand pain in times of loss.

Berde allows for her strong use of color and original ornaments from her past to dictate her story. They capture emotional story and allow the audience to really connect with her moments of tragedy and of happiness.

Berde said creating art was cathartic for her, as she drew inspiration from some of her most painful childhood memories.

"When I create a piece that has tremendous emotional connection I am totally absorbed in the work.  I am usually immersed in the process and the memories of the experience I am trying to illustrate," Berde said.

Jenny Schreiber is the Executive Director of Jeff's Place — a non-profit organization that helps children cope with death of loved ones. She attended the exhibit as an observer and admired Berde's exemplary teaching methods. "The teaching she does through sharing her story is such a wonderful way to help others tell their stories," said Schreiber.

Many of Berde's pieces depict her difficult childhood memories growing up in the West End of Boston. She said her family was forced out during the urban renewal of the late 1950s, when almost a third of the city was demolished to make way for a new highway, low to moderate income high- rises and commercial and government buildings. "A lot of people didn't even know this existed. I always have to say to them, it's the sign that says, ‘If you lived here you'd be home now,'" Berde said. "That sign has always been hard for me to drive by because this is where I lived," she recalled.

Her art installation was inspired by a traumatic incident on the Charles River. When Berde was 6 years old, her 9-year-old brother drowned in the Charles River. Most of her pieces in the collection depict what she says was a heartbreaking and confusing time for her. Since she was left with unanswered questions, Berde said she created art.  She painted for her brother Danny and dedicated her work to his memory.  "They feel like a real testament to Danny's life and what happened to him," she said.

Berde's struggle with congenital scoliosis from birth, a curvature of the spine, and spending her youth in a brace was also a fundamental focal point of her artwork. "I felt like I had to prove something because I was always being told you can't do this, you can't do that. I had to constantly push," she said.

Ed Pazzanese is a fan of Berde's and described her unique and vivid story-telling manner. "She has the ability to tell you the narratives of each of those artworks and put them in a context that makes them come to life and many artists cannot communicate their story and their process, she does it beautifully."

In addition to being an artist, Berde is a therapist and teacher. She has worked with children and grieving families who struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder. She advocates for art therapy and storytelling, especially for children. "Art can help to heal PTSD because as we work through horrible experiences, the process of making art, playing music, writing poetry or stories, filmmaking, drama, or dance can be a transforming experience," she said.

"All the research now is saying, especially with trauma, that talk therapy isn't always the way it doesn't access the part of the brain after a trauma, the part of the brain you need to get to, but you can get to it through drawing," said Deborah Rivlin, the director of education and training at The Childrens Room: Center for Grieving Children and Teenagers, Inc.

Berde said her goal is to inspire others through her work and promote art as a therapeutic resource. "Many people who have viewed my exhibit have come to me to discuss making their own installation and putting their own stories together. Making art forces us to face our hardest times alone and unsheltered," she said.

In addition to helping children and families, development in art therapy now includes returning soldiers, who may be suffering from PTSD.

Berde's work will be on display in the West End Museum through Oct. 8.