About Our Program
The Arts and Integrative Medicine (AIM) Program at Montefiore Einstein works to further the Psychology Division’s strategic goals of providing exceptional, patient-centered care while producing superior patient satisfaction. Using an integrative approach, AIM expands evidence-based practices by incorporating the arts, technology and mindfulness into treatment. These proven alternative treatments provide additional ways to help manage symptoms and pain, alleviate anxiety and enhance quality of life while championing the individual’s capacity for self-knowledge and healing.
Integrative medicine views health from a whole-person perspective and strives to address each person’s physical, psychological, social and preventative health. Research shows that creative arts therapy can play a vital role in psychiatric care and overall patient health and wellness, improving the quality of life for children, teenagers, adults and older adults. Therapeutic creative practices enable people to engage in psychological treatment even when they find it difficult to express themselves verbally. Patients enrolled in the psychiatric AIM Program find that treatment can:
- Build self-esteem
- Improve coping skills
- Improve socialization with others
- Improve their mental state
- Provide psychological stability
Healing arts programs are available through the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM), Oncology, Palliative Care, Rehabilitation Medicine, Psychiatry and other departments to complement patient care by reducing pain and other physical symptoms, providing comfort and enjoyment, promoting self-expression and enhancing quality of life. The driving force behind the Arts and Integrative Medicine Program at Montefiore Einstein is to fulfill our mission: to heal, to teach, to discover and to advance the health, wellness and quality of life.
Our Services
The Arts and Integrative Medicine Program at Montefiore Einstein combines integrative medicine with creative arts therapy facilitated by licensed mental health professionals. AIM uses innovative practices to help adults and children achieve developmental, behavioral, mental health and physical health goals. Montefiore Einstein's licensed creative arts therapists work at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Einstein, the Moses Campus, the Wakefield Campus and the Einstein Campus.
Creative arts therapies are incorporated into both inpatient and outpatient treatment programs at Montefiore Einstein and provide relief for a wide range of health conditions, including:
- Acute and chronic pain
- Alzheimer's disease and dementia
- Anxiety and depression
- Autism
- Eating disorders and body image
- Grief
- Heart disease
- HIV/AIDS
- Learning disabilities
- Pre- and postsurgery stress and anxiety
- Pregnancy and fertility
- Psychiatric illness
- Respiratory disease (e.g. asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease—COPD)
No background in the arts or artistic ability is needed to benefit from creative arts therapy. Many published studies support the use of creative arts therapies, and research shows these therapies can help to:
- Boost mental skills and mood, including feelings of peacefulness, satisfaction and calm
- Enhance treatment for addiction
- Help people discover new meaning through the illness experience
- Improve self-esteem, social skills and social bonding
- Lower symptoms of trauma
- Provide a means of self-expression, positive engagement and communication
- Reduce illness-related stress and anxiety
- Relieve pain
Young patients may benefit from AIM’s Youth Empowerment Series (YES) at the Moses Child Outpatient Psychiatry Division, while adults may participate in the Montefiore Fine Art Program and Collection. Both programs collaborate with community artists to facilitate patient-focused groups culminating in public exhibitions. These fine art displays are integrated into the daily life of Montefiore Einstein, fostering a life-affirming, restorative and supportive environment for patients, families, caregivers, students, faculty and staff by showcasing contemporary art in a novel way in a hospital setting. This groundbreaking fine arts program has been proven to decrease stress, increase connection and positively impact mental illness stigma.
Find Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Locations
Our programs are equipped to provide behavioral health services in person or via our Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant telehealth platform. Most insurance providers offer coverage for our services—please call to inquire. Additionally, multilingual or interpreter services may be available.