Search

Art Therapy with Students at Risk: Fostering Resilience and Growth Through Self-Expression reflects the current research, legislation, and trends that impact the theory and practice of art therapy with diverse at-risk student populations. The book is divided into eight chapters and it includes twelve therapeutic techniques. The 12 therapeutic techniques are written in a lesson plan format which provide opportunities for children to express their thoughts and feelings coupled with confirmation that their art is important to them and to others. Chapter 1, “Adolescence,” examines the developmental period between childhood and adulthood. Chapter 2, “Alternative Schools,” describes the development of alternative schools in the United States through legislative reform, education reform, and civil rights. Chapter 3, “Alternative Education,” explores the catalyst for policymakers to make quality education a civil rights issue. Chapter 4, “Emotions and Learning,” investigates the relationship between emotions and learning and the impact of this relationship on academic achievement. Chapter 5, “Multicultural and Diversity Competence,” focuses on the changing demographics in the United States which have significant implications for the art therapy profession. Chapter 6, “From Risk to Resilience,” highlights the paradigm shift in resilience research away from the deficit, pathology-focused model of development, referred to as the Damage Model to the Challenge Model. Chapter 7, “Art Psychotherapy,” provides insight into the unique criteria that distinguishes it from other types of psychotherapy. Chapter 8, “Art Therapy with Students at Risk,” presents a foundational framework for developing and implementing an art therapy program within a traditional or nontraditional learning environment. This book is designed for art therapy students, professional art therapists, educators, administrators, and practitioners in the allied professions of counseling, social work, psychology, prevention, and human services.

This updated and expanded new edition continues the theme of the first edition of providing the reader with extensive new research findings in the areas of resilience, cognitive science, neuroscience, dropout prevention and school engagement, coupled with new federal and state legislation. In addition, important trends in philosophical and theoretical models have emerged that call for a “reclaiming” of at-risk youth, reflecting the research, legislation and trends that impact the theory and practice of art therapy with diverse at-risk student populations. The book includes 19 tables, 16 illustrations (14 color plates), and is divided into seven chapters with fourteen therapeutic techniques that are written in a lesson plan format. The selected techniques provide art experiences to facilitate creative and therapeutic change for students and the fourteen color illustrations highlight students'creative responses elicited from the application of the technique. Chapter 1 examines the developmental domains of adolescence and adolescents'participation in health risk behaviors. Chapter 2 traces the evolution of the alternative schools movement from the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s to the present. Chapter 3 explores the catalysts for policymakers to embrace alternative education. Chapter 4 provides insights into the phenomenology, psychobiology, and the implications of emotion, and Chapter 5 focuses on the field of school art therapy. Chapter 6 examines the issue of risk and the issue of protection, with Chapter 7 offering a foundational framework for implementing an art therapy program for adolescents. Recommended procedures for art therapy are provided that address the following: promoting art therapy, assessment, establishing goals and objectives for treatment planning, art therapy program review, and annual reviews for students. Consequently, the application of therapeutic art experiences in a safe and supportive environment fosters resilience and enhances cognitive, emotional, and social growth. This book is designed for art therapy students, professional art therapists, educators, administrators, and practitioners in the allied professions of counseling, social work, and psychology.