Art has the role of helping children become like themselves instead of more like everyone else.
Sydney Gurewitz Clemens
Is your child just not acting like themselves? Are they acting out in ways you’ve never seen before? Are they quietly keeping to themselves? Fighting with peers, siblings, parents? Is your family having more tough days than not?
It’s scary and hard as a parent to see your child struggling. I am here to help and as a Art Therapist I am professionally trained to use art materials to help your child fill their “tool box” with helpful solutions and healthy ways to cope.
Breaking barriers with art therapy
Art therapy breaks the barriers for children to express themselves without a dependency on words. Art therapy is a beneficial treatment for children struggling with anxiety, depression, behavioral challenges, social skills, ADHD, autism, the loss of a loved one, divorce or separation of parents, and other life transitions. Creating art is a way to give image to the feelings allowing one to take a step back and separate themselves from the thoughts and experiences providing a connection between their inner and outer worlds.
Navigating social skills can be challenging for many individuals, art therapy provides applicable tools using art materials in a safe and playful environment helping to build confidence in everyday life. Individuals learn how to better navigate social skills, dig deeper into self-exploration, and enhance self-expression of emotional needs and desires.
Using the creative process individuals will develop self-awareness and insight into personal issues providing them with the tools to shine. Individuals will also learn relaxation techniques and mindfulness through guided meditation and breathing.
As an Art Therapist, I help children use different materials to communicate emotions not easily vocalized and help to create a trusting bond so we can work together and meet your child where they are. Allowing children to be in control of art supplies while creating something new is a powerful experience.
A child that creates a mess out of art supplies may bring to life the confusion and undefined feeling of being or how they are feeling emotionally. Children can create their own storyboards, poems, plays or puppet shows to tell their stories from their perspective.
Art education vs art therapy
Art therapy and art education can be seen in terms of their differences in intention and content. An art teacher’s intention is to give the students opportunities to learn about various artists, and styles, as well as, learning to explore with various materials.
An art therapist has a clear therapeutic goal that allows for personal growth and insight. Exploration of creating in a therapeutic setting gives a child space to become firm in their identity. An art teacher typically has a large number of students and the curriculum is designed to meet the district’s standards. An art therapist focuses more on the emotional and mental needs of the students.
Art therapy allows the child to explore personal struggles and develop tools to help support their emotional health. The art therapist would work with the students by engaging and cultivating the successful coping skills that are present and redirecting the disorganized and harmful thoughts and behaviors.
Every child has their own unique way to cope and express thoughts and emotions. Some children do not express emotions, some act out or regress in their natural behavior, and others become anxious. It is important to allow children to tell their story and also identify their own personal feelings surrounding the situation.
Some children use art to tell stories and recreate images, while others choose to use art as a cathartic means to release stress and anxiety. Whichever way a child chooses to use art in their healing process the art inherently allows the individual to become an active participant in their healing process.
Combining a child’s love for the creative process to heal their emotional pain is a lifelong tool they will be able to utilize to foster resilience and emotional empowerment. To learn more about services available to your family you can learn more here.
Health & Happiness,
Kayla
