Education Technology | Artx

The following is a guest post (a first for this blog!), written by Philip J Reed, on behalf of Corona Regional Medical Center.

One of art therapy’s major benefits is its ability to engage the imagination so completely that it temporarily halts a person’s capacity to label and make judgments. When this takes place, individuals are able to rely more completely on their intuition, trust others, and learn more about acceptance and change. For at-risk children and adolescents in particular, art therapy has proven quite effective in addressing problematic behaviors and emotions.

Feelings are a tricky thing with kids. While some older children might be hesitant to speak with a professional about their struggles, art and imagery hail back to their earliest ways of learning how to interact with the world and communicate. By combining art with language, behavioral health specialists are able to gain greater insight into the help a child may require but may not be able to express verbally. As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Art creates a safe place for children to express themselves and illustrate their thoughts and feelings. For examples, therapists have seen artistic expression work for children dangerously close to failing school. Concentration levels can increase, self-esteem and self-control are benefited, and angry feelings may diminish. By building an artistic talent, children often start feeling better about themselves.

Along with improving their feelings about themselves, art becomes a medium over which children have control. While the child has the right to choose the materials he uses, the art therapist contributes their understanding of media. For example, whether it might be helpful to use oil pastel versus paint or clay to express a certain image. Through helping to facilitate art making, the therapist can make additional connections without the child feeling pressured to talk if he doesn’t want to. From one session to another, the therapist can gauge how the art changes, which is a powerful assessment tool.

Eventually, relationships with the therapist become strengthened by trust, and the child may be ready to create a deeper connection. The potential for where art therapy can lead is tremendous. In some cases, art therapists find that children who aren’t formally a part of the art therapy program ask to participate in various projects, simply to let their feelings out. Art truly “has a soothing and healing quality to it. Art is a language of its very own, especially for kids.”

For more reading, check out Shirely Riley’s article on art therapy with adolescents and Letitia Star’s article on Fine Art and At Risk Youth.