School-Based Art Therapy

Abstract

School shootings, terrorist attacks, gang violence, and political unrest permeate school walls, disrupting students’ academic and/or social performance. Lack of access to affordable treatment has a long-term negative effect, but many communities are unable to provide sufficient outpatient mental healthcare. Structured, community-based art therapy interventions cultivate creative solutions, providing a renewed sense of agency and resolution provide a venue for collective expression for students facing adversity in their families and communities. This chapter reviews a school-based art therapy model, the NYU Art Therapy in Schools Program, which provides immediate, accessible intervention to address the acute and chronic stressors that impede the development of students. Structured, community-based art therapy intervention offers a venue for collective expression, normalizing responses and identifying those in need of more intensive care. Recommendations for the greater expansion of school art therapy in public education are shared to address growing mental health needs.

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