Our Clinical Counselors have been hard at work adapting our Art Therapy program for this time of increased self-isolation. Since they can’t meet with the youth in-person, they got creative and found ways to conduct art therapy remotely.
It all starts with our “Art Kits”. Each kit contains a drawing set, an eraser, a fine line pen, and some oil pastels. They also contain a set of paintbrushes, a sketchpad, watercolour pencil crayons, some markers, and a plastic carrying case. Thanks to the support of our community, we were able to allocate funds specifically to art therapy. Now, they’re being put to work! Art Kits are available for youth across our two Crisis Programs and our Rights of Passage Program, too.
Art therapy: a personal touch…
With the youth now equipped with the right tools, our Clinical Counselors took the next step and designed their own programs to suit the needs of the young people.
Sabrina, for example, has been creating weekly “Follow-Along Art Therapy” videos. She pre-records them and sends them to the youth workers. At that point, the youth workers can either share the video with individual youth or put together a small get-together art night. This allows for a bit of flexibility for how each youth can best participate in their Art Therapy program. And because each youth has their own art kit, they can continue practicing their creativity and self-expression on their own, even while in self-isolation.
Keith takes a different approach to his Art Therapy program. He hosts online open studio meetings through video chat. This gives youth the opportunity to have some live instruction and guidance in real-time. But again, even after the session is over, the youth can continue creating, painting, and drawing on their own time.
It’s wonderful to hear that the young people are still able to continue with this program. We’re so proud of our Clinical Counselors for their adaptability and creativity in responding to the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has presented them!