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How Art Therapy for Children Can Help
Art therapy for children can provide kids with an easier way to express themselves since children are more naturally artistic and creative. A young child is likely to be more comfortable initially expressing him/herself with some crayons and markers, for example, than he/she is going to be at expressing emotions and feelings through words.
A question and answer type of format can be daunting and intimidating for a child, especially when they have to try and explain themselves with their already limited vocabulary. Because of this, art therapy for children can be a much more viable solution for communication than simply having a conversation and talking about things. This can be especially true when it comes to children and traumatic events.
If a child experiences something tragic, that event usually gets buried in their subconscious where it affects them in the future. These types of things are not easy for kids to talk about, especially when there are deep-rooted emotional issues in play. Through art therapy children can help bring these suppressed emotions to the surface so the art therapist can then focus on healing the child’s issue(s).
Does Art Therapy Work For Children?
Art therapy and children can be combined to help in a variety of ways, including but not limited to the following:
- Art therapy for mental health problems in children
- Art therapy and child grief and/or loss. Can help children communicate about the death of a mom, dad, or sibling, for example
- Art therapy for bereaved children and/or a child suffering from bereavement
- Art therapy for children with learning disabilities
- Art therapy can help children with emotional problems
- Art therapy can aid kids with their cognitive abilities
- Art therapy can help a child or children with abuse, helping them communicate about physical or sexual abuse
- Art therapy and children cancer patients…can help a child with cancer
- Art therapy for treatment of schizophrenia in children
Those are just a few aspects in which art therapy can help children. Art therapy can also aid a child in achieving better self-awareness, relief from stress or anxiety, learning disorders, autism, and other traumatic experiences.
Through art therapy, children receive treatment that is based on their existing strengths, weaknesses, intrests, and concerns. It can help children of all ages and races.
As you can see, there are many ways art therapy can work for children. Some ways may be more fitting than others, and in future posts, I’ll explore a little more deeply how art therapy can help with some of the more specific examples listed above. If you believe your child has serious issues that you’d like to aid with art therapy, I’d contact a certified art therapist near you (sorry, I don’t have the list ready yet, stay tuned as I am working on a national/international directory of art therapists).
Filed as Child Art Therapy |5 Responses to “How Art Therapy for Children Can Help”
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Yes, Art therapy for children can provide kids with an easier way to express themselves. That’s so for sure, but art therapy gifts the parents no less. We learn to love ourselves by helping other to express themselves.
I would say that art therapy is not the teaching of something, but the learning of smelling the flowers and hearing the silence.
Please let me know how to arts to ventilate emotiones in children.
Dr. Kumaranayake, I’m not sure I understand what you mean…Could you rephrase the question or elaborate a little more?
I have a friend who lost her father recently, and her two younger siblings are dealing with things in very different ways, based on their ages I believe. The 14 yr old is angry, sad, etc. very emotional. I think art therapy would be an excellent outlet for him. The 6 yr old has yet to really become emotional, she doesn’t quite understand. Could this work for her too? Are there any suggestions for an activity I could have them do together that would benefit both? I tend to focus on painting, so any ideas to start with? Thanks!
@Christina: I think art therapy has the potential of being a great outlet for children. If you are really concerned about addressing something as serious as the death of a parent, I might suggest looking into a local art therapist. Otherwise, the creative process alone may be a good release of stress. You might consider doing something more hands-on and “crafty” with the younger one. I might suggest starting off with an art activity the child is comfortable with. Good luck and sorry for their loss