When it comes to arts in health, Houston Methodist’s Center for Performing Arts Medicine (CPAM) is a leader and innovator. CPAM, a sponsor of NOAH since 2017, is committed to the focus areas of the 2023 NOAH conference, including equity and belonging, community and public health, collaboration and partnerships, and advocacy.
CPAM’s mission is to effectively translate the collaborative potential of arts and medicine to the holistic healthcare environment. We support artists’ health and the use of the arts in environments of care through arts-oriented programming, creative arts therapies, research, community collaborations and educational outreach.
Founded in 1996 by C. Richard Stasney, MD, CPAM has become one of the largest and most comprehensive centers of its kind in the world. With daily music performances in public areas and rebroadcasts on patient TVs, creative arts therapies in clinical areas, visual art throughout the hospital, artistic staff support programming, and specialized artist health care, Houston Methodist supports an arts-enriched work environment for staff and a holistic environment of care for artists, patients and visitors.
CPAM is led by J. Todd Frazier, past president of NOAH. “I am very proud of NOAH’s commitment to the field of arts in health,” says Todd. “This is an inspiring, important yet young field as far as its integration into national standards of practice and education, so having a national organization uniting the field and focusing on supporting needed advances in the field, such as education, professionalization and community, is essential and worthy of our support and attention.”
CPAM provides that support through its programming and practices. Initiatives are guided by the Houston Methodist I CARE values: Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Excellence. These values also guide the way CPAM helps shape patients’ experience.
The arts integration team implements artistic programming for employee and patient enrichment. This summer, employees throughout Houston Methodist Hospital participated in Bloom, an artmaking process and artwork installation that allowed employees to create, share and take in art.
Our creative arts therapists make up one of the largest creative arts therapies teams in the world. Music therapists and art therapists work with patients to achieve individualized goals that enhance overall well-being in areas such as physical rehabilitation, behavioral and mental health, acute care, outpatient infusion, and neonatal care. CPAM-affiliated doctors and therapists care for performing artists from around the world, including those of the Houston Symphony, Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera and Ensemble Theatre.
CPAM’s research seeks to harness the broadest potential of the arts in therapy, rehabilitation and human performance. We examine themechanisms of music therapy, explore different applications of the arts in health care, and provide opportunities for research scholarship. CPAM interacts with the fields of music therapy and music medicine by identifying key differences between the two fields and expanding methodologies based on a foundation of evidence-based practice.
On February 7, 2023, CPAM will host the Music in Health Care Symposium, a one-day symposium exploring the applications of music in health care settings and the fields of music therapy and music medicine.
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