Will art therapy help my troubled teen? Art therapists are specially trained in both psychological and artistic principles. This training directs them in choosing the materials and focus appropriate to a teens’ specific needs.

Many residential treatment centers now use art therapy to help teenagers work through their problems and it is been used to reach even the most difficult teens. Art therapy offers a nonthreatening way for teens to express their feelings.

Studies suggest that art therapy can be very valuable in treating issues such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and even some phobias. It is a great way to express your emotions without words, process complex feelings and find relief.

Art therapy sessions will typically ask the teen to create art around a certain idea.

For example:

• Paint what their feelings or sadness are like
• Sculpt their family from clay
• Photo collage of their feelings from magazine clippings
• Draw a portrait of how they think others see them

Advantages of Art Therapy Works with Troubled Teens

Many parents have experienced their teen shutting down with traditional talk-therapy. While some adolescents won’t engage, others don’t express themselves well verbally. In some cases, a teen’s problems are too painful or complicated to put into words. This is where other forms of therapy – such as animal-assisted therapy and art therapy can be beneficial. Art therapy is also beneficial for dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).

As a type of expressive therapy, art therapy works very well with some teens because it is:

• Non-threatening with less of a direct focus on the teen.
• A safe outlet for expressing what they are feeling inside.
• A process over which the teen feels a sense of control.
• The session is both interesting and creative.
• A way to discover underlying thoughts and feelings.
• Easier to develop a strong relationship with the therapist.

Clinical art therapy can be effective for adolescents who usually see it as a nonthreatening form of treatment. The art that the adolescent produces can help the therapist gain some idea of the youth’s concerns and life circumstances, especially those situations that are too risky to reveal or too personally embarrassing to relate. This awareness better equips the therapist in efforts to protect and support the adolescent during this turbulent time of life.

Also read:

Goals of Therapeutic Boarding Schools

Where Can I  Send My Troubled Teen

5 Benefits of Therapeutic Boarding Schools

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If you are at your wit’s end with a good teen making bad decisions, there are excellent programs that can help through art therapy.  Parents’ Universal Resource Experts has helped, and continues to help, thousands of families dealing with troubled teens. Contact us for a free consultation.

The post How Art Therapy Benefits Troubled Teens first appeared on Help Your Teens.

It’s important to better understand why your troubled teen is reluctant to speak with a therapist. There can be several reasons, including the stigma of needing help for mental wellness.

Other reasons teens might refuse therapy is:

• They don’t think they need it; they believe they are fine the way they are.
• They believe the therapist or counselor will make them take medicine.
• They don’t believe therapy or medicine will work.
• They may have tried it when they were younger, and didn’t like it.
• They are feeling hopeless, and simply don’t want to try.

5 Ways to Help Your Troubled Teen Without Talk Therapy

1. Certified Teen Life Coach: As parents grow more desperate to get help for their troubled teenagers, Certified Teen Life Coaches have been able to fill a void as an option for some families. The mental health crisis is not diminishing anytime soon, it’s time to learn about all resources available to us to get adolescents the treatment they need. 

Marissa Terron, founder of Families in Need of Direction – Therapeutic Life Coaching, (F.I.N.D.-TLC) and a Certified Teen Life Coach, works with many adolescents (tweens and teens) and shares that although most have refused to attend counseling sessions, some simply preferred the style of a life coach for emotional support.

Teen Life Coaching also requires the parent(s) to be involved privately or as a whole to learn new strategies that will help them continue supporting their teen as they work through their issues, set and achieve goals and move toward a brighter and productive future.

2. Animal Therapy: Animal therapy has been proven beneficial for youth struggling with trauma (PTSD) and develop coping skills for anger and stress management. Research has shown when troubled teens work with dogs, horses, and/or most animals, especially if they are involved with training a pet, it can help reduce a person’s anxiety as well as help those suffering with PTSD and reactive attachment disorder (RAD).

When working with animals, specifically therapy dogs, they are trained to be attentive to a person’s needs and offer unconditional love therefore helping with teen depression. This can often help stabilize intense emotions and allows your teen to express themselves without fear of judgment.

3. Art Therapy: Studies suggest that art therapy can be very valuable in treating issues such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTDS) and even some phobias. It is a great way to express your emotions without words, process complex feelings and find relief.

Clinical art therapy can be effective for adolescents who usually see it as a nonthreatening form of treatment. The art that the adolescent produces can help the therapist gain some idea of the youth’s concerns and life circumstances, especially those situations that are too risky to reveal or too personally embarrassing to relate. This awareness better equips the therapist in efforts to protect and support the adolescent during this turbulent time of life.

4. Gardening (Horticulture) Therapy: Gardening can make you feel more peaceful and content. Focusing your attention on the immediate tasks and details of gardening can reduce negative thoughts and feelings and can make you feel better in the moment. Just spending time around plants eases stress for many people.

Self-esteem is how much you value and feel positively about yourself. Helping a plant grow is a big feat. When you see your work pay off with healthy plants, your sense of pride gets a boost. By building self-confidence, your teen will make better choices.

5. Music Therapy: Research shares that music therapy has had the power to help teens overcome chronic depression music therapy increases communication, socialization and memory in children and teens. Because music therapy bridges the gap between art and science, and the artistic nature of the therapy allows teenagers to open up and explore their feelings. It also helps them cope with their mental health issues.

Music therapy provides teens with a positive, creative, and fun outlet. They can build a strong identity of themselves focused on who they can become versus their past choices. Teens involved in music therapy will also be discovering new interests and perhaps even a greater talent that needs to be nurtured.

Animal, art, horticulture and music therapy are typically offered in residential treatment in addition to talk therapy. These therapies are excellent alternatives to help reach your teenager that is refusing talk therapy at home.

Also read:

How to Convince Your Teen to Attend Therapy

How Boxing Helps Teenage Mental Health

The post How to Help My Teen Without Talk Therapy? first appeared on Help Your Teens.

The post Success of Animal Therapy for Troubled Teens first appeared on Help Your Teens.