Do Something.

vol-un-teer:

A person who performs or offers to perfom a service at free will.

vol-un-teered:

To give or offer to give voluntarily.

vol-un-teer-ing:

To do charitable or helpful work without pay.

                 Volunteer.  This word used to be painful to me.  It was like hearing nails on a chalkboard... being asked to do something without getting paid?  Pssssh.  Paaahlease. Or even the most simple things like taking the trash out when being asked to.  I couldn't even stand to hear the word "volunteer".  Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful for the way I was raised and the way I grew up- my parents were and are amazing parents, but now that I am into adulthood, I look back and sometimes... well, sometimes I get a little disappointed in myself.  I catch myself reminiscing all the time lately, especially with the holidays here.  My siblings and I were blessed with the best gifts and the best family, but there was always some sort of bittersweet bliss that went along with it- because God forbid... someone got something better than I did.
               Slowly but surely as I grow, my eyes open more- and I'm more aware of the community, the state and even the world.  But recently as I started my internship as a therapist (with adolescents), it was as if the door I had been waiting for flew open and smacked me right in the face, which left my eyes permanently, well...open. When I started to see firsthand how families live without heat, electricity, or love and compassion, I felt like the most selfish person in the world.  The day I stepped into that facility, was the day that I decided I needed to give back to the community. 
              Why give back you say?  Well, when you start to give back to the community and when a parent, kid or whoever thanks you, you will know what I am talking about. Most of the time you are gaining way more than you give when you're a volunteer; a chance to share your passion, meet people, and experience one of the most unique feeling a person can ever feel. I can not explain WHY someone should go out and give back in simple sentences.  This is not because it is so hard to extract the benefit from it, but rather because it is so hard to cover everything you could possibly gain.  We are all reliant on each other in one way or another in a community, state, country...world.  By benefiting someone else, you are improving the condition in your own life.  This my friends... is the fruit of volunteering. 


"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart." 
                            -Elizabeth Andrew

Art as Healing: Adolescents.

         In the stages of Adolescence, there are many changes throughout the human body.  Adolescence is a transitional period of the body from youth and puberty to maturity.  Not only does the body change physically, but mentally as well.  It is common during adolescent stages for teens to experience dramatic change in behavior towards peers, adults, and especially their parents.  Reason for this is, they are starting to distance and separate themselves from their parents and become more independent.  Around this time, kids are more aware of their own surroundings and other kids their age, and desperately trying to fit in.  

Understanding teenagers is a challenge at best, and a teen who is struggling with emotional crisis, psychological stress, or just ill in general is beyond challenging.  Doctors usually treat the physical problems and aspects, but are often struggled with trying to find a therapeutic treatment for this age category.  Adolescents, unlike adults, more often than not need more original and fresh ways to express themselves than through “talk therapy”.  Thus, being one of the greatest struggles for a teen is their resistance to authority and diminishing trust in the adult world.  Though tough, these stages in adolescent development are completely normal, but they do not occur simultaneously with the long-established forms of verbal therapy.  As teenagers mature and develop, they gain the ability to comprehend abstract concepts and to form judgments.  There is a desire to find themselves and who they are as an individual. 

Art as an expressive language helps guide adolescents into self discovery and communicate difficult feelings and thoughts through different art mediums.  It can also be used in assisting in problem solving, building social skills, behavioral management and increasing self-esteem.  Art, as a language can provide a lead into a relationship with teens by digging into their creativity and expanding a form of communication that is nonthreatening and where the adolescent has control over the situation.  When teens are welcomed to an art therapy room, there are materials available to what they would prefer to use which enables them to draw anything they choose, and even make a statement in images that represents who they are or what they are going through in their treatment process.   Every treatment has a plan and art therapy can help adolescents map their therapeutic journey from beginning to end, helping them see how they have come along the way.  

Many therapists and counselors work in groups where there is no particular starting or ending point and they always welcome new members.  Teenagers work well in groups, simply being that they are used to being in groups.  They are introduced to groups in school, social groups such as friends, and even sports.  Thus, group therapy is a familiar setting and most teens find it a safe and familiar atmosphere.  Majority of teens are being transferred to therapy because of difficulty with interpersonal relationships between peers, parents, and teachers (authority figures in general). It is theorized that adolescents learn by each other and watching each other interact, which is another benefit of group therapy and help with these struggles with interpersonal skills.  The group setting helps with practicing all of these skills and at the same time, providing a safe space for the teen.  

The art that adolescents construct can help the therapist obtain some insight on the teens life and concerns, especially situations where they (teens) feel that it is too risky or embarrassing to reveal verbally.  Although working with teens is a difficult task and requires a little extra work, they are conducting an accomplishment to the therapist as well, in a more personal way.