AKRON, Ohio— One in five American adults are affected by mental illness each year in Summit County, according to the County of Summit Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADM Board).

An organization is helping those individuals by giving them a way to express themselves through art therapy.

What You Need To Know

  • Community Support Services offers an art therapy program
  • 1 in 5 American adults are affected by mental illness each year in Summit County
  • CSS will host its 10th Art of Recovery Benefit 

Lewis has schizoaffective bipolar disorder. He’s a part of Community Support Services' art therapy program, which is designed to help people manage their mental illness through art.

“It gives me an outlet, and it keeps me out of trouble," said Lewis, the artist. “I can refer to it when things aren't going well. I can refer to it when things are going well.”

Lewis has been doing art since he was 3 years old. He said CSS and art therapy are a place where he can find comfort and relaxation. Michelle Morton, the expressive arts administrator at CSS, has worked with Lewis.

“It helps them with confidence," said Morton. “It helps them with their self-esteem. It's also a really good tool to work through anxiety, trauma, different memories.”

Morton works with 40 people through individual and group sessions. Bipolar, schizophrenia, anxiety, depression and PTSD are just some of the mental illnesses her clients deal with. Many of those individuals also have or are experiencing homelessness.

“Art therapy is a great way for them to express themselves, cope with some of the difficult emotions and experiences, as well as their thoughts to help improve their mental health," said Morton.

With art therapy, the clients not only create for themselves, but also for others. Lewis, along with several others, will showcase their work at the Art of Recovery Benefit.

For the last 10 years, CSS has hosted the event where those in the program can showcase and sell their work. At the event, guests can meet the artists, hear their stories and learn they are more than their diagnoses.

“My name is Lewis. I'm an artist — not somebody that's defined by my diagnosis, which is schizoaffective disorder. What defines me is my art," Lewis said.

If you know someone who suffers from a mental illness, you can contact CSS to get more information on how to join their program. The Art of Recovery Benefit is Tuesday at House Three Thirty in Akron at 5:30 p.m. and funds from the art sale will go to the artist and the art therapy program.