Rutgers • Robert Wood Johnson Medicine • Spring 2015 Page 30

28 Robert WoodJohnson

MEDICINE

Movement

Arts

Collaborative

Engagement and Health

Programs Meet at
the Intersection of

ver since she was a child, Heather S.
Lee, PhD, LCSW, has been intrigued

by the arts, regardless of the medium.

This interest, and the desire to have arts

opportunities accessible to all, is in part due
to her father, a photographer who joined the
Navy at the age of 17, learned his craft in the
service, and ultimately worked as a photog-
rapher for NASA at the height of the space
program, Dr. Lee says. Although he passed
away when Dr. Lee was 9, his story contin-
ues to fascinate her.

Now a licensed clinical social worker and

assistant professor of family medicine and
community health at Robert Wood Johnson
Medical School, Dr. Lee remains driven by
that interest in the arts--with a twist. Today,
she is focused in part on how arts engage-
ment can be used as a healing medium.

"As I was growing up, I didn't have a lot

of opportunities to explore the arts, and I
always wanted them," Dr. Lee says. "In my
adult life, I've delved into these areas on my
own as I could. Whether it be photography,

writing, or dance, these experiences have
been really critical to my development.
When I started to do clinical work, I knew

that was the next step in the work that I
wanted to do with clients."

Although she is a member of the full-time

research faculty at the medical school, Dr.
Lee also has served since January 2014 as
the student assistance facilitator (SAF), a
position that provides her with the opportu-
nity to be engaged with students at the med-

ical school, while taking on clinical work
related to substance abuse and other mental

health issues.

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