Healing Through Art is a collaborative effort between McLaren Regional medical Center and the Flint Institute of Art dedicated to the promotion of healing for cancer patients through the creative visual arts process. Through this partnership, cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers will have an open, safe and confidential environment to explore a visual vocabulary for expressing their thoughts and experiences that are often difficult to convey in words. Shifting to a visual language can reveal profound unconscious thoughts and feelings that can then be explored with a trained art therapist.

According to a study in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, art therapy has been shown to reduce pain and anxiety in cancer patients. Over the four-month study, researchers observed 50 patients and documented a decrease in pain, tiredness, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, lack of appetite and shortness of breath after sessions in art therapy.

Currently, art therapy is not offered locally. Through this collaboration, McLaren Regional Medical Center and the Flint Institute of Arts would provide a service for patients and their caregivers. Because this is designed to be a community partnership, local artists would be would be utilized as artists-in-residence along with the art therapists. In most art therapy programs, once treatment is complete, the art discontinues. Through this collaborative, patients who wanted to continue art would be able to utilize the Flint Institute of Arts.

On October 14, 2008, a special fundraising luncheon was held at the Flint Institute of Arts to kickoff a community campaign about art therapy. More than 180 people attended the event and over $27,000 of the $100,000 goal was raised.