There is a third way in which humanistic nursing and art are related.
For many years, the arts have been used in nursing for their therapeutic
effects, especially with psychiatric, geriatric, and pediatric patients.
The nurse and a patient or a group of patients participate in an
artistic experience together. These may be passive activities, such as,
attending a concert or play or visiting {89} an art exhibit; or they
may be active ones in which nurse and patients are involved in artistic
expression or creation.
Music, poetry, painting, drama, and dance have been used effectively in
various nursing situations. For instance, Christoffers, a nurse and
dancer, emphasizes the importance of body language as communication and
supports her view with clinical evidence. She urges nurses to become
"physically literate--to develop an understanding and appreciation of
the part played by body language in human relationships."[7] Or again,
according to Garner, "Music, when carefully planned, can be used as a
source of culture, nurturance, communication, socialization, and
therapeusis."[8]
A major therapeutic value of art lies in the fact that it confronts one
with reality. "Art is a lie which makes us realize the truth."[9] In his
novel, _The Conspiracy_, Hersey has Lucan, a poet, write to Seneca:
"To me the ideal of a work of art is that each man should be
able, in contemplating it, to see himself as he really is. Thus
art and reality meet. This is the great healing strength of
art, this is the power of art, ... Art's power which nothing
can challenge, is the blinding light of recognition."[10]
By using various art forms the nurse helps the patient experience,
become aware of, and express his feelings. When the activity occurs in a
group, the members have the additional advantage of sharing in others'
expressions and of developing fellow-feeling. Increased socialization is
another important therapeutic effect nurse-artists/art appreciators seek
in the use of art. A corollary benefit is improved communication between
the patient and the nurse or between the patient and others.
Obviously, self-knowledge and fellow-feeling are consistent with the aim
of humanistic nursing to nurture well-being and more-being. A person
develops his human potential and becomes the unique individual he is
through his relationships with other men.