YOUTH CONSULTATION SERVICE GRANT: ART THERAPY AS A POSITIVE TREATMENT TOOL

The one-time NCJW BCS grant to the Youth Consultation Service (YCS) was designated for an art therapy program to benefit the nearly 100 children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 21 who live at Kilbarchan and the Holley Childcare and Development Center, residential treatment facilities for children and teenagers, the majority of whom are victims of sexual abuse and exploitation.

The art therapy program offers the children who are too frightened to put words to their abuse the opportunity to explore therapeutic and healing processes using art media and materials.  Although it is often falsely referred to as “art class” or “art lessons”, art therapy has been cited as “an effective treatment for persons experiencing developmental, medical, educational, social or psychological impairments (Art Therapy Credential Board, 2019).

The therapeutic intervention utilized is designed to address the anxiety, depression, anger, self-esteem problems and impaired social skill development that can result from exposure to abuse.  The art therapist provides the children with a safe place to experience and express their emotions, to explore nonviolent and appropriate ways of managing themselves, to make positive choices, to experience personal respect and to ultimately heal from the effects of their trauma.

YCS hired Victoria Faljean as an art therapist. She has a MA degree in mental health counseling with an art therapy specialization and is a National Certified Counselor (NCC). She is at the Holley Center three days per week and at Kilbarchan the other two days.  Ms. Faljean works with the children in groups of four to ten. She assists the young residents in the exploration of their emotional conflicts and behaviors that come with abuse, while establishing self-awareness and focusing on improving their overall mental health.  Creative arts therapy has been found to be beneficial for populations who specifically suffer from traumatic experiences.  Ms. Faljean explained, “Art therapy enables individuals to utilize art materials which gives them the opportunity to express themselves non-verbally and creatively during their therapeutic journey.”

Here you can see some of the positive impact of art therapy at YCS in the confident words of the children:

“I feel like I am more comfortable talking about myself when I am making art work. It is different than regular therapy because I can also use pencils to tell my story.” A teenage girl, age 13.

“I was never able to use different types of materials other than crayons at home.  I get to learn how to paint and use pastels in art therapy. I am a real artist now!”  A young boy, age 11.

“I used to hate art in school and I never did my own art at home. I love it now. I think I am going to start giving away my paintings to my friends back home.”  A teenage boy, age 15.

Click photos to enlarge