Recently I read a flashy news on internet titled, ‘Girl dies during menstrual confinement.’ A 16 year old girl died in a remote village of Nepal after being buried under a landslide in a cow-shed, where she had been confined while menstruating. Such shocking news explains the inhuman treatment and ostracisation faced by women across the world during the monthly periods. In the western Nepal, girls are confined to sheds during menstruation, in a local tradition called chaupadi. This inhuman practice continues even after the Supreme Court in 2004 outlawed it, describing it as a violation of human rights.
 
 It is known that attitudes to menstruation and menstrual practices developed at menarche persist throughout life.   Though menstrual education programs are conducted in schools, the factual information that adolescent girls need is not always available to them leaving behind a large number of unanswered questions, ranged from sophisticated to poignantly ignorant, in the minds of young girls.
 
Our aim at Beyond Horizon Health and Social Circle, CHAT and nLiten is to provide a deep insight into the questions,enlighten the girls about menstrual myths and taboos and suggest strategies of adapting menstrual education sessions to fit the concern of the adolescents.
 
More than 3000 female Indian students have been a part of our program on menstrual health and hygiene. In our program,we carry a study about knowledge, attitude and practices about girls on this subject, then an introductory workshop which enhances the knowledge and doubts on the subject of menstrual health and adolescent healthy lifestyle is taught. A small booklet is distributed which is prepared by evaluating the questions asked by girls and the KAP study. This helps in reducing myths and taboos in the minds of young girls. Again after 6 weeks a post KAP study is conducted to access the level of understanding and implementation of sanitary practices taught during the workshop.

 In our studies the most popular categories of questions asked were on menstrual physiology, beauty and symptoms associated with menstruation. Can we remove eggs (ovum) out of the body, why do we get menses monthly and not yearly, why does baby grow in mother’s womb and not in any other organ like stomach, how do astronauts get menses in space, does growth in height ceases after menarche, do boys too develop pubic and axillary hair, does a girl become pregnant immediately after menarche, what is meant by sex education and STDs etc. are some of the interesting questions showing the curiosity, ignorance and misconceptions in the minds of young girls. Myths and taboos like during menses a girl shouldn’t enter kitchen, perform religious activities and touch others, a girl gets infertility if her used and disposed sanitary pad is sniffed by a snake etc. were persistent. The significant increase in the questions under beauty category from 2% (6th grades) to 39% (7th grades) depicts sudden increase in level of self consciousness and attraction towards opposite sex.
 
Questions asked by local adolescent girls should be considered by physicians and health education policy makers as the bases for designing subsequent material and programs on menstrual health education.
Puberty initiation rites heralding menarche that are celebrated in India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) should be encouraged world wide.

Beyond Horizon Health and Social Circle(BHAAS) in association with Center for Creative Healing Art Therapy (CHAT) organized program on the occasion of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on 27th June 2011. This awareness programme was conducted for around 450 students of Vidyavardhini School, Shivajinagar (Pune). The program commenced with the introduction of the Guest Dr. Atul Rakshe, Founder BHAAS and Shree Niramaya Ayurveda Kendra and Dr. Vikas Chothe.
The program consisted of Vyasana Janajagriti Bharud (drama poems on drug abuse awareness) performed by the students and staff of the school; depicting the evils of addiction, affected family members and role of the students. An inspiring and thought provoking speech by Dr. Atul Rakshe, was delivered. His speech increased the awareness of children against drinking and smoking habits. Dr. Rakshe also stressed on good habits, personal hygiene and avoiding junk food like Maggie and soft drinks. Dr.Vikas Chothe gave an excellent presentation showing how children falling into the habit of drinking at an early age are more prone for getting into drug addiction later in their life. He also urged teachers to discuss these topics among students, by taking them into confidence.
Mrs.Shailaja Jagtap, Headmistress of secondary school gave the vote of thanks on behalf of the school. She praised Dr. Atul Rakshe and Dr. Vikas Chothe for their philanthropic work and crusade against drug abuse. Mrs. Sangita Atre, Headmistress of primary school presented a rose and a memento to each guest on behalf of Vidyavardhini School. The program ended by children pledging that they would abstain themselves from such drug habits and carry this message of the harmful effects of drugs on health back to their homes.

Maaze BHHAS: BHHAS initiatives for environment:

Maaze BHHAS: BHHAS initiatives for environment:

Art Therapy & Deafmutism –

Aadhar creates its new rainbow

Anxiety, agitated behavior, echolalia, sensitivity — these are regular feelings for many children who have deaf mutism. They can’t express their feelings vocally. Beyond Horizon Health and Social Circle (BHAAS), a non profit organization working in the field of health, environment and Ayurveda along with Creative Healing Art Therapy (CHAT) had organized free medical checkup and mental health assessment program through Art therapy at Aadhar Autistic School, Bibewadi on 10^th August 2010.

Having deaf mutism is mentally, physically, and emotionally stressful and many people living with it (particularly those on the “higher” end of the spectrum) can benefit from productive ways of expressing their feelings, says Pratibha Dande, the Headmistress of the Aadhar Autistic School.

The Centre for Creative Healing Art Therapy offers art therapy to autistic deaf children, where they can express thesmelves artistically outside of the therapeutic process. Since lack of communication is a key characteristic of deaf mutism, the ability to communicate through images is one of art therapy’s greatest strengths.

Art making has shown to enhance cognitive abilities, improve social skills, and encourage self-esteem in school-age children, says Dr.Atul Rakshe founder of BHAAS.

Creative Art Therapy Project encourages children with deaf mutism to develop their artistic skills. “Honestly, I think public awareness of art therapy for autistic children has to be improved in our country. If you don’t intervene at an early stage then you may miss opportunities to alleviate anxiety which may lead to attention deficit hyperactivity disorders and depression too,” said Dr. Vikas.

“Based on this medical health checkup and mental health assessment evaluation we are developing creative art activities to help reduce impulsive behaviors, enhance interpersonal behavior, and improve study skills and classroom performance. In students with sensory-motor deficits, we choose specific art tasks that help to expand fine and gross motor skills, support self-esteem, and increase independence.” says Dr.Kavita Jadhav, Physiotherapist from Hardikar hospital.

Drawing is a useful tool for both revealing and addressing visual-spatial deficits such as mental rotation and improving hand-eye coordination.

The pictures that the children draw had recurrent themes: dirty fish tanks, weak fishes, pollutants and toxins in water which were explained as water pollution caused by humans. This depicts their environmental awareness and understanding of ecosystem.

To be happy, to play in the sun, dream about flying planes and being astronauts, play football and cricket for Indian national team like other normal children are among the rights of autistic children too. Art projects provide a person with ASD with visual, concrete format in which to develop abstract thinking skills, express creativity, and increase flexibility .In addition to the art therapy project, there is other work underway to find ways to provide direct psychological counseling to both child and parent, in order to help parents guide their children through the ongoing disability.

On seeing an old man beautifully drawn by a student Dr.Vikas, who was observing the art therapy process in action asked him to tell something about his painting.

Yogesh, a 6^th grade student grinned, “This is my dearest grandfather, who used to love me so much.” On asking him how is your grandfather now, he sadly replied. “He is no more. He left us last week.” Yogesh’s answer provided an important clue about the reason why he was staring into space for long time nowadays and that could help teachers improve the process aimed at healing him.”

The art therapy process helps uncover the complex nature of the youngsters’ hearts, where the problems lie,” said Dr.Vikas Chothe, an art therapist and Ayurvedic physician.

In a “My life” activity, art therapist Dr.Vikas gave a presentation about lives of famous personalities like Bill Gates, Beethoven , Thomas Alva Edison, Mozart , Vincent van Gogh , Henry Ford etc and how they achieved great success inspite of being Autistic at some part of their lives. Then he asked them to draw what they wanted to do in their life, on a small sheet of paper.

The inspired, ignorant-looking children drew almost in unison about flying fighter planes, car racing, football, cricket, being chef, mathematicians, astronauts and businessmen. It is this evidence that convinces that these children can not only be good citizens in society but also be pioneers in different arenas of life.

All the seven doctors who participated in this camp were felicitated by Mrs.Pratibha Dande, headmistress of the school. About 108 children were examined and suitable recommendations were given for their overall health and personality development.

“The physical health checkup revealed that these children are more prone to gastrointestinal disorders, recurrent cough and cold, some children also had problems of bed wetting. Few children had dental and skin problems too.” said Dr.Aditi Kumbhar.

Early intervention of art therapy into a child with deaf mutism’s life is one helpful way to release stress and get to know who they are and hence a parent teacher meeting is arranged on 31^st August to increase awareness and remove myths about ASD(autism spectrum disorder) amongst the parents.

A three months Art therapy program is going to be conducted for children who showed anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and aggression in their mental health assessment.

Art a day keeps doctor away....

A picture is worth a thousand words. This is very true not only for children who often have problems talking about their painful experiences,but also in various mental health patients.

Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy. Through the use of artistic expressions and other diagnostic procedures, doctors will be able to more accurately treat patients. Ayurvedic physician, Dr.Vikas Chothe practicing art therapy at Astha deaddiction centre says, “Sometimes disturbed people cannot tell others about their feelings and thoughts. Art therapy not only allows them to tell their stories, it is also a healing process.“Through art, doctors will be able to analyse what they have gone through, what is on their minds and recommend the appropriate treatment. Case studies have involved many areas including burn recovery in adolescents and young children, eating disorders, emotional impairment in young children, reading performance, childhood grief, and sexual abuse in adolescents”
Dr. Vaibhav Lunkad says one of his patients refused to talk about her problem. For several sessions, she remained silent and uncooperative. Realising that the normal approach was not working, he decided to give her paper and colorful crayons, and encouraged her to draw anything she wanted. She began to open up. Her sketches were dark and gloomy, reflections of her severe depression. She had been sexually and physically abused, and using her paintings, she communicated her traumatic experiences.
Dr. Vasudev Paraliker, Pune’s renowned Psychiatrist says art therapy is not a cure for mental illness, rather it is one of the methods to better understand patients and help them on their road to recovery. “The famous painter Van Gogh suffered from mental illness, too. Famous Mexican artist Freida Cahlo told her stories through her paintings. It shows that everybody has a creative element within, and the tool for them to express their state of mind is art.” The cause of mental disturbances are often preceded by emotional stress and difficulty coping with conflict or adjusting to adverse events. Depression occurs among all ages and the causes include family environment, life events, biological factors, a serious loss and stress. Symptoms include talkativeness, mood changes, stress, risk-taking behavior and sleeplessness, alternating with symptoms of depression. Anxiety is one of the more common reactions to mental stress.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Bharat Sarode says art helps express feelings that are difficult to put into words, thereby releasing feelings in a safe and acceptable way, and promoting spontaneity and creativity.“When the patient draws, he is expressing his feelings through art. This process is his way of making contact with people by letting them to his inner world. Art therapy can help patients cope with their illness, and alleviates symptoms of anxiety, intrusive memories and pre-occupation.”To raise awareness on the importance of art therapy to explore intense or painful thoughts, dreams, feelings in a supportive environment Centre for Creative Healing Art Therapy is organizing Creative Art Therapy Workshop at the Centre for Biofield Sciences. MIT College, Pune.
Dr. Vikas Chothe, who is organising the workshop, says art therapy is beneficial to people who are suffering from mood disorders, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, and language and learning disabilities. Dr.Atul Rakshe says that Art therapy can be used to help people manage physical and emotional problems by using creative activities to express emotions. It provides a way for people to come to terms with emotional conflicts, increase self-awareness, and express unspoken and often unconscious concerns about their illness and their lives. Creative art therapy may also include dance and movement, drama, poetry, photo therapy and others, as well as the more traditional art methods.

Shaam Kodilkar, art therapist practicing since 29 years in Mumbai pointed to a painting by a child that depicts an incomplete family of duck including a big duck with two ducklings. She later named it as -Crying duck “After completing the painting she explained that there was no male father duck as he had no time to stay with the mother duck and ducklings, which made the ducklings cry.” Dr Vikas says the goals of art therapy are to encourage expressions, increase self-esteem and support network, encourage group cohesion and stronger self-identity. Art therapists are trained to recognize the nonverbal symbols and metaphors that are communicated within the creative process. Art therapy has been used with bone marrow transplant patients, people with eating disorders, emotionally impaired young people, disabled people, the chronically ill, chemically addicted individuals, sexually abused adolescents, caregivers of cancer patients, and others. (To participate in the workshop contact creativehealingarttherapy@gmail.com or 9922916025)