Melchiorre 1

Christina Melchiorre
Mrs. DeBock
English IV Honors
March 18, 2015
Art Therapy and Adolescents
As an adolescent, there are many trials and tribulations that one has to face. Whether
these obstacles are from school or ones home environment, every adolescent must go through
these challenges and triumph through them. When adolescents do go down these paths, they can
become riddled with feelings of anxiety or stress. It can sometimes be hard to find a way to
handle these emotions, and a majority of adolescents turn to substances to ease their pain. Instead
of turning to these substances, different therapies can be used to help adolescents deal with their
stress. One of the least sought out forms of therapy, but is proving to be one of the most
effective, is art therapy. Art therapy is extremely beneficial to helping adolescents deal with their
stress as they embark on the process of changing from a child to an adult.
Art therapys usage is virtually limitless, and because of its versatility, art therapys range
has broadened to what it can be used to treat. Art therapy has proven effective for numerous
situations including traumatic brain injuries, schizophrenia, sexual abuse, cancer, post-traumatic
stress disorder, anxiety, and depression (Bitonte 18). A study was conducted with patients who
suffered from depression and anxiety, and the results showed that four of six subjects had a
decrease in depression, three of six had a decrease in anxiety, and five of six had a decrease in
stress (Bitonte 18). Adolescents can benefit from the treatment of art therapy, and this test is a

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prime example of how effective art therapy can be when chosen as an alternative method for
treatment.
A majority of the aforementioned disorders or illnesses can be treated with medications,
but most families can either not afford to pay for them, or if their child suffers from the latter
two disorders, they simply do not want to subject their child to taking medication. Furthermore,
this can potentially lead to substance abuse or addiction. By using art therapy, adolescents are
able to separate or distance themselves from the problems or issues they face because it is a less
threatening form of communication that they can control (McGlasson 19). After art therapy helps
adolescents to separate themselves from their negative emotions, it becomes easier for them
accept the positive feelings that have been suppressed for so long. This can lead to them learning
to strengthen their trust and social-interaction skills because it has allowed them to freely open
up (McGlasson 20). With school being one of the most prominent aspects of an adolescents life,
which contains a majority of their daily social interactions, implementing art therapy through
school counselors would be the next step to helping adolescents cope with the stress they
currently face.
As an adolescent grows and progresses through school, they start to develop their own
individuality. Through this process, the factors that affect the development of a childs emotional
health and self-expression can cause stress to occur (Kahn 2). Whatever these factors may be, art
therapy can be used, especially in a school environment, to help adolescents manage their stress
as they advance through their teenage years. As Kahn states in her article, Art therapy aids
adolescents in accomplishing the developmental tasks of individuation and separation from the
family via: (a.) providing students control over their expressions, (b.) stimulating creativity
through the process, (c.) providing a pleasurable experience, and (d.) using media which depict

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personal and age/group symbols and metaphors. With school being a place where a significant
amount of negative feelings can be found, it is important that adolescents have a way to escape
those emotions for a while (Kahn 3). For example, if a teenager were having a bad day, they
could go down to their student counselor and, by using art therapys methods of having them
express themselves without talking, their mood could improve tremendously. Art therapys use in
school provides a way for adolescents to express themselves in a trusting environment where
they will not feel judged.
When an adolescent is faced with stress as they go through their teenage years, art
therapy can be used to help ease this trying time. Many adolescents are diagnosed with
depression and anxiety which only make their lives harder. The option of medication is always
available, but in some cases, the parents of these adolescents either cannot afford them or simply
do not want their child on medication. As an alternative, art therapy is chosen to allow them to
have a sort of escape by giving them an outlet where they do not need to verbally communicate
their emotions, but to instead display how they are feeling. This form of therapy has not been
chosen by many, but when it has been used, the results it procures are promising. It has even
helped some adolescents who have chosen to use substances as a form of relief when dealing
with stress, anxiety, and depression. Art therapy has enough untapped potential to carry it into the
future and to quite possibly become one of the leading methods used when helping adolescents
live a stress free life.

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Works Cited
Bitonte, Robert A., and Marisa De Santo. "Art Therapy: An Underutilized, Yet Effective
Tool." Mental Illness (2036-7457) 6.1 (2014): 18-19.Academic Search Complete. Web. 12
Mar. 2015.

Kahn, Beverly B. "Art Therapy With Adolescents: Making It Work For School
Counselors." Professional School Counseling 2.4 (1999): 291.MasterFILE Premier. Web.
10 Mar. 2015.

McGlasson, Terry D.1, tmcglass@uwsuper.edu. "Listening Clearly: Alternative Treatments For

Adolescent Depression." Prevention Researcher19.4 (2012): 18-20. Education Full Text
(H.W. Wilson). Web. 11 Mar. 2015.