Press Release - Second Lady Karen Pence to Meet with Art Therapists in Eastern Europe

WASHINGTON, DC – Second Lady Karen Pence will travel to Tallinn, Estonia; Tbilisi, Georgia; and Podgorica, Montenegro July 29-August 2, 2017.

In Tallinn, Estonia, Mrs. Pence will tour a medical center and participate in a roundtable discussion with art therapists. Art therapy is a relatively new discipline in Estonia, but is growing. There are approximately 45 individuals in the country who practice art therapy, with about half working in Tallinn or the surrounding area.

In Tbilisi, Georgia, the Second Lady will visit with patients of an art therapy program and view their artwork. She will also participate in a roundtable discussion with art therapists. Art therapy is an emerging profession in Georgia with only a few professionally trained art therapists in the country. After the art therapy visit, Mrs. Pence will visit an exhibit of paintings inspired by Robert Frost's poems at the Tbilisi History Museum Karvasla.

In Podgorica, Montenegro, Mrs. Pence will tour a honey farm where she will learn about a local family's beekeeping business. Following the visit, Mrs. Pence will participate in a cultural tour of Lake Skadar, the largest lake on the Balkan Peninsula.

To stay updated on Mrs. Pence's events, follow her on Twitter at, @SecondLady.

About Art Therapy

According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is a mental health profession that uses the creative process of art making to improve and enhance the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages. Art therapists use art media, the creative process, and the resulting artwork to explore a person's feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety, and increase self-esteem.