Alumna’s art and altruism unite to help clients capture their dreams

Patricia Geiling Blum ’79 recently returned from a trip to Athens, Greece, with her family. This was no vacation. The New Jersey native, who now resides in California, was asked to present a lecture to mental health professionals from around the globe at a meeting of the World Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation.  

Blum’s topic? Overcoming the stigma of mental illness.

It’s an issue with which she has been involved her entire professional life. “One in four people has a mental health issue,” said Blum, vice president of operations for medical treatment programs at one of California’s largest providers of mental health services. Even with the prevalence, she added, negative connotations exist. Her goal is to help make people whole again, and give a voice to those who might have lost theirs along the way.

“Mental health recovery is real,” Blum said. “It’s wonderful working with people through these programs so that they can get therapy, socialization training, and support.”

Where she is now is a long way from where Blum, 49, began.

As a psychology and art major, Blum credited Mary Washington with instilling the drive to build a successful career.

“Dr. Mueller, my sculpture professor, was my mentor. He pushed me to be the best I could be, to keep working harder,” Blum said in a recent interview. “It wasn’t good enough to just be OK.” While studying under Dr. Mueller, Blum was featured in a one-woman art show.

At Mary Washington, she said, “there was great camaraderie and support from faculty and peers – just a very positive community. I loved my time there.”

Something else she learned at Mary Washington was how to combine her art with altruism. “My junior year, I got an internship at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington D.C., working with people with severe mental health issues,” Blum said. At the time, St. Elizabeth’s had one of the only established art therapy programs in the country. 

After graduation, Blum took a bus to California to visit family. It was there she met her husband, Chris Blum, and established a home. “After we got married,” she said, “I enrolled in grad school for art therapy at Sacramento State.”  While still in school, Blum accepted her first position at Crestwood Behavioral Heath Inc., as a six-hour-a-week recreational assistant.

But Dr. Mueller’s “work harder” mantra stayed with her. Blum soon was promoted to hospital administrator and ran one of Crestwood’s mental health recovery facilities from 1985 to 1996.  During that time, Blum moved with her husband and three children – Tara, now 22, Christopher, 18, and Sean, 14 – to the town of Yountville in the heart of California’s wine country. 

Now in her 27th year with Crestwood, Blum oversees 17 programs throughout the state of California, including a nonprofit vocational program called Dreamcatchers Empowerment Network. Dreamcatchers provides training for consumers of mental health services to successfully transition back into a working community.

Blum is also pursuing her doctorate at Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center. She plans to graduate in June.

                                                                                                         – Melissa Magliola