Have you or someone you know been to therapy recently?
Gone are the days in which seeking therapeutic help is viewed as taboo. Instead therapy has been complimented with mental health practices which, through evidence-based studies, have been proven to have outstanding effects on every aspect of our lives.
One of these practices is art therapy, a non-verbal form of expression that utilizes the arts and the creative process to work through trauma, gain emotional self-regulation and recognize patterns. Some experts have argued that because it bypasses introductions and built-in reports, art therapy is often seen as a step ahead of verbal therapy, and as such, a faster way to dive into our traumas.
Melissa Ulloa and Sachy-Yanice Rodriguez, are the two experts responsible for Cayuga Centers’ art therapy program, which was started in October of 2019. Upon joining the Cayuga Centers team, Ulloa and Rodriguez immediately knew the organization could benefit from their knowledge.
“When we first got hired, we were the only two people in the clinical team with an art therapy background, and later on we found out we were both hired with the intention to kick-start the art therapy program – it was meant to be.”
Because language is not required and sensory recognition is the driving factor, art therapy is especially valuable to children who don’t yet have the cognitive capacity to speak about themselves and to correctly label or identify their emotions. This becomes especially true for the children that come to Cayuga Centers who have had traumatic experiences and are in dire need of therapeutic support.
“A lot of the minors that come to us have never even heard about therapy, let alone art therapy because it is simply not offered in the countries they come from,” said Ulloa “This is an opportunity for them to learn, and to find a way to get more comfortable expressing themselves.”
Unlike popular belief, process, as opposed to symbolism, is the main driver of art therapy and there is a lot of thought and planning that goes into every single art therapy session. Ulloa and Rodriguez have come up with a curriculum that reflects and protects this knowledge and as stated by both art therapists, a lot of meaning and metaphors go into each intervention:
“We want to be there throughout the entire process to analyze what they’re doing, what materials they are using, how they’re using them, where they’re placing them – all of those actions come into the final analysis that we do at the end of each session”
The art therapy strategy often expands to the unification sessions Cayuga Centers’ therapists are in charge of. When a unification session with biological parents proves especially difficult, art therapy and the creative process serves as a connection activity between parent and child, and it often decreases the level of awkwardness in the room:
“There are some minors who have some hesitation when meeting parents again, but art is an inviting, comforting place, where they can all work together. When art is present, it turns out to be a beautiful first meeting in the US and it gives the children a tangible art piece to remember it by.”
There are many misconceptions that people have over art therapy, but if there are two things both of these experts want parents and sponsors to know, is that art therapy is an option at Cayuga Centers and that it has equal weight to regular verbal therapy sessions.
“One of my favorite things about doing art therapy groups is that a lot of times in traditional therapy sessions a clinician might get lost and tell the minor ‘this is how you solve this’, whereas in art therapy we can show instead of tell. It’s honestly beautiful and we hope it will become the norm in all forms of therapy.”
Whether it is a regular practice at home to regulate emotions or a guided session with an expert, there is no doubt that art has many benefits to the growth of a child, especially when that growth has been interrupted by difficult circumstances that are out of our control. For more tips on how to implement creative practices at home check out this list of resources to encourage arts and crafts to get the inner creativity of every child flowing.
