East Montgomery Times

In New Orleans, Mardi Gras is celebrated with parties, parades, costumes, and revelry marking the end of the Carnival season. Inspired by this festive atmosphere, Michelle Peterson, a Certified Recreation Therapist at Temple Health-Chestnut Hill Hospital's Senior Behavioral Health Unit, brought a piece of Mardi Gras to her patients.

Peterson invited patients to create Mardi Gras-style masks while listening to festive music and engaging in activities like bingo. "The group I have now responds really well to art, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to get them engaged," said Peterson. The activity also included discussions about Mardi Gras traditions such as the parade in New Orleans and the significance of Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. This allowed patients from diverse backgrounds to reflect on their own traditions.

Since joining Chestnut Hill Hospital in 2014, Peterson has used her expertise in therapeutic recreation, psychology, and fine arts to design engaging programs for her patients. The mask-making exercise was particularly successful. "I printed out pages of mask designs, and I had patients color them in," explained Peterson. After cutting out the designs and attaching them to popsicle sticks, she arranged them for a voting session using poker chips during an afternoon therapy program.

The following day included memory recall activities where patients tried to remember which mask they created. This is part of Peterson's focus on rewarding programming that fosters a positive atmosphere on the unit. "We focus on so many things: art, music, crafts, reminiscing, coping skills development, and an overall sense of self," said Peterson.