Advocacy Project:The Power of Art Therapy

For Adolescents

Jessica Wood

What is Art Therapy?• 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. Research in the field confirms that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to become more physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy and functional, resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, handle life adjustments, and achieve insight. (About Us, 2012)

• Art therapy is the therapeutic use of art making, within a professional relationship, by people who experience illness, trauma, or challenges in living, and by people who seek personal development. Through creating art and reflecting on the art products and processes, people can increase awareness of self and others cope with symptoms, stress, and traumatic experiences; enhance cognitive abilities; and enjoy the life-affirming pleasures of making art. (About Us, 2012)

Background History• 1915 -Margaret Naumberg

• Walden School in NYC• Montessori beliefs

• believed that children thrive when encouraged to express themselves through creative expressions and find motivation to learn through the subjects that most interest them.

• saw the importance of the inner life of a child as expressed through art forms as being as vital to a rich education as the pursuit of knowledge. (Art Therapy - History and Philosophy, 2011)

Background Continued

• Visual expression has been used for healing throughout history, but art therapy did not emerge as a distinct profession until the 1940s. In the early 20th century, psychiatrists became interested in the artwork created by their patients with mental illness. (About Us, 2012)

Connection to This We Believe– Often preoccupied with self– Searching for adult identity

and acceptance– Experience levels of self-

esteem– Believe personal problems,

feelings, and experiences are unique to themselves

– Psychologically vulnerable– Overreact to ridicule,

embarrassment, and rejection– Must deal with increased

pressure around others’ expectations of them

How Art Therapy Contributes– it is a great way to get past the

initial wall that surrounds the troubled teenager, and a fine therapeutic tool to encourage the story the youth would like to tell(Riley S. , 1999)

– can help to better understand themselves and how they function as individuals and as part of a family or group system. Art expression, lends itself well to analysis and to individual adjustment to life. (Bush, 1997)

– The discipline of art increases confidence and raises self-esteem (Wallace-DiGarbo & Hill, 2006)

Benefits to Art Therapy

• Externalization of internal stress.

• Nonthreatening form of communication.

• Art develops individuality. • Teens are drawn to graffiti.• Creative problem-solving. • The power of images. (Art Therapy

for Adolescents, 2011)

Specifically Addresses

• Common Issues:– ADHD– OCD– Bipolar Disorder– Depression– Autism– Trauma– Abuse

• Sexual• Substance

– Eating Disorders– Family Relationships– Emotional adjustments

Connecting to Middle School Education

• school art therapists are highly trained professionals who offer specific skills and services to help students with their educational and emotional development (Stepney, 2001)

Example Ideas

• Cartooning: Make a Cartoon Worksheet

• Draw an emotion• *Collage• Drawing two fantasy

creatures• Name design

References• Art Therapy - History and Philosophy. (2011, January 13). Retrieved from The Continuum

Center for Health & Healing: http://www.healthandhealingny.org/complement/art_history.asp• Art Therapy for Adolescents. (2011). Retrieved from The Psychology Career Center:

http://www.allpsychologycareers.com/topics/art-therapy-adolescents.html• About Us. (2012). Retrieved from American Art Therapy Assoication:

http://www.americanarttherapyassociation.org/aata-aboutus.html• Bush, J. (1997). The Handbook of School Art Therapy: Introducing Art Therapy into a School

System. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas Publisher.• Furrer, P. (1982). Art Therapy Activities and Lesson Plans for Individuals and Groups.

Springfield: Charles C Thomas.• Linesch, D. G. (1988). Adolescent Art Therapy. Levittown: Brunner/Mazel.• Riley, S. (1999). Contemporary Art Therapy with Adolescents. London: Jessica Kingsley.• Riley, S. (2001). Art therapy with adolescents. WJM: Western Journal of Medicine, 54-57.• Stepney, S. A. (2001). Art Therapy with Students at Risk: Introducing Art Therapy into an

Alternative Learning Environment for Adolescents. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas.• Wallace-DiGarbo, A., & Hill, D. C. (2006). Art as Agency: Exploring Empowerment of At-Risk

Youth. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 119-125