Creative Arts Therapy for Children
Creative arts therapy can be an effective treatment modality for children struggling with a wide variety of presenting difficulties including (but not limited to):
- Anxiety
- Early childhood trauma
- Emotion regulation difficulties
- Oppositional behaviours
- Difficulty socializing with others
- Difficulty navigating parental separation / blended family environments
- Low self-esteem
My approach to facilitating creative arts therapy with children is highly influenced by principles of child-centered play therapy (CCPT) – in which play is utilized as the main vehicle toward expression, communication, processing, and healing. When working with children, I set out to create a warm and accepting therapeutic environment in which children are welcomed to express and explore complex and difficult emotions (no matter how big these emotions might be) and move through the therapeutic process at their own pace. With an utmost respect for each child’s inner knowledge regarding what they need to move toward healing, I seek to create a therapeutic environment that fosters autonomy and helps each child recognize and build their personal strengths and sense of self-worth.
Potential treatment goals of creative arts therapy with children may include:
- To encourage identification and expression of emotion
- To process and integrate traumatic experience through play
- To increase autonomy / self-esteem
- To increase emotion-regulation
- To encourage creativity, playfulness, and spontaneity/ cognitive flexibility
- To help client identify/ acknowledge personal strengths
Interested in Creative Arts Therapy for Your Child?
What to Expect:
Parents will be required to attend a 30-50 minute intake session (virtual or in person) without their child present, to discuss their child’s current presenting difficulties, to communicate information regarding their child’s physical, cognitive, and social development, as well as to share information regarding family dynamics. During this session, treatment goals and therapeutic objectives will also be discussed and decided upon.
The creative arts therapy process is often most effective when children are able to attend sessions weekly, for a minimum of 3-6 months (10-20 sessions). Of course, the frequency and duration of the therapy process can vary depending on the specific needs of the child/ family. The standard fee for creative arts therapy sessions (50 minutes in length) is $143.75 per session (125.00 + 18.75 GST/HST).
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