The Hellenic American College Counseling Center has begun welcoming students, staff, and faculty to the new Expressive Arts Lab it has created at its premises.
The Lab is intended to be a safe, creative space that all members of the college community can use to express themselves. Participants can choose among a wide range of expressive media—from drawing, painting and charcoal sketching, to wood working, music, drama, dance, and poetry. Activities are facilitated by graduate interns under the supervision of Dr. Alessandra Sax, Director of the Psychology Division, and the Counseling Center Coordinator, Dr. Maria Agorastou. All materials are provided by the Counseling Center.
The initiative was designed by one of the University’s own graduates, Amy Josephine Pedicino (MSPsy ‘21), and emerged from a new graduate psychology course on Holistic Approaches to Wellness and the Expressive Arts, developed and taught by Dr. Sax. Students in the course, as well as those in the undergraduate course, Child Centered Play Therapy, will have opportunities through the Lab for extended, experiential learning.
The creation of the Lab reflects a holistic health philosophy, which guides all the Center’s services, and which cares for the individual as a whole person, with physical, cognitive, emotional, social—and creative—needs. As Dr. Sax points out, mental health professionals have long studied the connection between the creative arts and mental health outcomes, both in therapeutic and non-therapeutic settings. Mounting evidence suggests that creative expression can enhance an individual’s mood and overall well-being.
Members of the community can experience the Lab on their own or with a group of peers or colleagues. Appointments can be booked by emailing the Center at
The Expressive Arts Lab will also be hosting an Open Day for students, staff, and faculty on Thursday, November 11th. Details will be posted on the Hellenic American College Facebook page.
