Art Therapy

Art Therapy, Healing the Hurt For Children Who Have Witnessed/Experienced Domestic Violence

In 2005, the Community Learning Council, Inc. (CLC) developed an Art Therapy program to help children overcome the terror and trauma of witnessing domestic violence. The CLC works with licensed clinicians and professionals with years of experience in mental health, domestic violence issues, and art therapy to offers individual and group sessions for children and adolescents from ages 5 through 17.

The purpose of this program is prevention. The Art Therapy program at the CLC is not an art class, but a six-month ( 24 week) educational and therapeutic process, which uses art to help children and adolescents become aware of and discuss the feelings and behaviors associated with witnessing and/or experiencing abuse in their homes. Each child can learn helpful and positive coping and life skills as he/she works with a licensed counselor, a knowledgeable and educated art therapist, and other professionals/educators in a small group setting.

Sessions are 1.5 hours once a week for 6 months. The children use various media (canvas, paint, oil pastels, colored crayons, markers, clay, plaster-of-paris, paper mâché, etc.) to create a weekly project. The Art as Therapy model accommodates children ages 5 through 12 and encourages expression through the use of various art media.  In every session, the children are asked to make a presentation to the rest of the group about their artwork. Through this process each child further explores his/her feelings with the therapist.  Each art project was carefully designed to support and promote problem-solving skills, appropriate ways to deal with anger, increase group and individual decision-making, enhance self-esteem and improve social skills, encourage self-exploration, a sense of accomplishment, and process conflict.  The Art in Therapy model assists adolescents (13 through 17 years of age) in processing his/her feelings by integrating talk therapy with the art making process.

Our Staff:

Clinical Director: Tama Cochran, MSW, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Art Therapist: Jenny Gaspard, MS, Licensed Professional Counselor, Registered Art Therapist
Administrator/Educator: Ginger Decoteau, M.S. Sociology, M.Ed. Adult Education
Administrative Assistant/Art Assistant/Volunteers

The following statistics can be found on the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault website.  Visit (www.ocadvsa.org/dv_children.htm) for more information.

Quick Facts on Domestic Violence and Children:

• The risk of sexual abuse is 7 times greater for girls whose fathers batter their mothers.
• 75% of boys who witness domestic violence have been found to have demonstrable behavioral problems.
• 50% to 70% of men who assault their partners also abuse their children.
• Male children who witness partner violence are 3 times more likely to abuse their partners as adults.
• Research results suggest that battering is the single most common factor among mothers of abused children.
• In one study, 27% of domestic homicide victims were children.
• When a child is killed during a domestic dispute, 90% are under age 10, 56% are under age 2.

Boys from homes where domestic violence is present are:

• 4 times more likely to abuse in a dating relationship
• 25 times more likely to commit rape as an adult
• 6 times more likely to commit suicide
• Have a 74% greater chance of committing crimes against others.
• Have a 24% greater chance of committing a sexual assault as an adult.
• AND 1000 times more likely to commit violent acts against their own children.