What Is Art Therapy? It is a counseling/therapeutic intervention that encourages students to express emotional difficulties they may be experiencing at home or in school.

What Can Students Gain from Participating in Art Therapy? Insight into their feelings and behaviors Learn to manage their emotions more productively Improve their social skills Develop stronger coping skills Develop positive ways to express themselves

Identifying Students for Art Therapy: Emotional difficulties related to school or home life. Students who continually appear withdrawn, depressed, angry or anxious. Students who are bullied on a regular basis. Students who have difficulty expressing themselves verbally. Students who have difficulty organizing and controlling themselves due to ADHD or related problems. Students who have a poor body image, are insecure or may be confused about their sexual identity. Students who are having adjustment difficulties to middle school and are highly stressed due to academics, peer pressure or home life.

How Does A Student Begin Art Therapy? 1.Teacher/staff completes an art therapy referral form 2.Student will be informally assessed via observation, teacher/staff interview, and an art therapy interest survey 3.If determined that student may benefit, he/she will be given a permission form to participate 4.When permission form is returned to Art Therapist, the student will be further assessed and goals/objectives will be determined 5.Student will attend art therapy sessions 1 class period per week on a regular basis In order to provide quality sessions, my caseload maximum is 45 students. I will develop a waiting list based on the degree of emotional needs once my caseload is full. The LCSW and myself try not to overlap services so that we can accommodate more students in the school.

Monitoring Student Progress Students are evaluated every month based on a therapeutic rubric as well as a progress report each marking period. Categories include: Social Skills/Communication Coping Skills Insight Self Expression/Motivation Overall Student Progress Students will be terminated from the program if they are continually resistant to therapy and are not benefiting from the sessions.