Tom Flanagan interviews Carrie Sandman of Sandman Art Therapy in Warren, RI. Art is therapeutic on multiple dimensions. We are able to express some of our feelings and concerns with art when we do not have the words or understand the feelings that are complicting our lives. Loss of loved ones, life changes, and daily pressures can contribute to anxieties which, when unaddressed, can lead to poor choices. Art can bring meaning back into our lives and can help us understand ourselfves in new ways. In this session, we will hear from an art therapist whose practice includes a less familiar approach known as Sand Tray therapy. While artistic activities can feel playful, they are also a means toward some genuinely seriously positive impacts.

Tom Flanagan interviews John Schilkowsky, Clinical Director at Pappas OPT. Pain is a very subjective experience.  Chronic pain and acute pain have different psychological effects.  Think of how a subtle search for tooth pain can come into focus when a conversation turns to dentistry.  If one anxiously seeks to find a source of a pain, in part to explain a feeling of anxiety, a source can be found.  Even if it is a small pain, dwelling on an unmanaged pain can grow into an enormous discomfort.  Fears about future effects of pain on work and on our quality of life can press upon us.  Pain., large and small, may nudge people toward self-medication, however occupational and physical therapy is a real option.   In this session, we will hear from a clinical care giver how one physical therapy practice engages anxious clients.

Tom Flanagan of Blue Skies RI interviews Hannah Oxley of Oxley BreathWork to introduce friends and famliy with anxious loved ones to the practice of breathe control.  There are a variety of forms of breathe control and also a range of understandings about breathe control.  Hannah will share experiences from her practice to address interests in encouraging anxious loved ones to explore this practice. Hannah also will provide some paths directly into this field of anxiety therapy.