Karen Pence, Vice President Pence’s wife, is planning on using her new office as the country’s second lady to raise awareness about art therapy, according to the Associated Press.
“One thing I can bring to this as second lady is making people aware of what art therapy is and how it works,” she said in an interview. “It’s not arts and crafts.”
“I don’t really see my role as policy maker or policy changer,” she added. “I just want to make people aware of what art therapy is.”
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Pence, a former elementary school teacher with a Master’s degree in art education, advocated for art therapy while she was Indiana’s first lady. During that time, she observed art therapy programs in Japan, Germany, Israel and Canada.
Pence is currently accompanying her husband on a trip to Germany this weekend, where the vice president is attending the Munich Security Conference. The second lady will visit art therapy programs there, as well.
Art therapy uses “art media, the creative process, and the resulting artwork to explore their feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety and increase self-esteem,” according to the American Art Therapy Association.
“They can do things that help the patient have a little more control,” Pence told the AP.