The process of creating art is an endeavor that evokes creativity, problem solving, and self-expression. The process of creating art is also healing and comforting, which makes the field of art therapy necessary. Art therapy successfully combines artistic creation and reflection in a way that helps a variety of populations heal, grow, and see their world in a new and positive perspective. This semester at Adrian College, I was extremely fortunate to delve into the field of art therapy with an internship opportunity to personally witness the effects art therapy has on an assortment of populations. Internship locations took place at: Lenawee Medical, a long-term care facility for seniors; Maurice Spears Campus, a detention and treatment facility for troubled youth; and for one session, Catherine Cobb, a shelter for victims of domestic violence. Through this art therapy internship, I was able to learn more about the field, such as how to handle difficult situations, appropriately assign activities to specific groups, and actively engage others in a satisfying art experience. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay My semester began with art therapist Shannon Miller at the Lenawee medical care facility with elderly patients. The patients at Lenawee Medical surprised me positively and were thrilled that we would come to visit them every week to create art with them. The main change I witnessed in older adults was their willingness to produce art and be creative. Initially, many patients were reluctant to begin assigned activities and expressed statements regarding their lack of artistic ability. However, over the weeks, the patients began to open up and lose their “not being artistic” attitude. I have noticed that we have had more success with older adults in more structured activities with a pleasant end result. When our activities were more “imaginative,” older adults often became confused and quickly lost focus. By having a set structure for a session, seniors were able to focus on the steps they needed to take to reach the finished product. Although the activities had guidelines to help them, the seniors were given complete control over the color, image and further personal choices. I believe that older adults benefited from the combination of structure and personal expression because it helped them focus on a task but also gave a sense of control that patients often lose due to the stage of life they are experiencing. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for Lenawee Medical patients to live in an environment that resembles a hospital, to be away from family and the homes they grew up in, and to submit to others doing the daily tasks they once did for themselves. One activity I particularly enjoyed with Lenawee Medical patients was creating a group “fall tree.” Each patient created a tree branch out of crumpled newspapers and coffee filter “leaves.” After creating a branch with colorful leaves, patients were able to write their favorite autumn memory on the piece. This project induced many memories in the patients and also triggered a group connection about the memories they shared. Reminiscence is important in this population, because many patients suffer from dementia, Alzheimer's disease, or another type of memory loss. Finally, the branches have been gathered onto a large tree trunk and the tree isbeen left on display in their common lounge area. Even after we left the session, the tree served as a reminder of the group's unity and even inspired other patients' favorite autumn memories. Shannon Miller said that one of the most important goals to focus on in art therapy is to ensure that the impacts of the session always last even after the session ends; I believe this activity was able to, successfully, benefit patients long after we had left the building. Perhaps the most useful lesson I learned at Lenawee Medical was how certain materials and tools affect patients' moods. Messy art materials such as oil pastels and chalk pastels made patients more worried about getting their fingers and clothes dirty and took their attention away from making art. Controlled and clean materials such as markers, crayons and color sticks were most preferred; they were also easier to use for patients who had problems with fine motor movements. Additionally, I learned that bright colors were best for this population because many older patients had poor vision and could see bright colors better. Overall, I have learned to judge situations appropriately, when to assist a patient in artistic creation (such as cutting paper), and when to let him create on his own. The second half of the semester took place on the Maurice Spears Campus with Erin Nicol, creating art with troubled youth. Maurice Spears is divided into two units, male and female, and I was very fascinated to see how different genders would respond to art therapy. Overall, both the boys and girls units benefited enormously from art therapy and I was amazed by their transformations from the beginning to the end of the semester. At the start of the term, we unexpectedly had an art therapy session with the girls' unit on a Saturday when we heard that the boys were out for the day. The session focused on the girls making an “inside-out” mask; on the outside, the mask had to reflect how others see the individual; on the inside, the mask is intended to show how the individual actually feels "inside". We had never worked with the women's unit before, so it was interesting to experience their first reaction to art therapy. My strongest memory is of my interactions with Megan, a girl I had tried to connect with to inspire conversations and reflections on the project. Immediately, Megan shut down when I tried to talk to her, I made it clear that she hated the project and didn't want to engage in expressing her feelings. During the group discussion while making the masks, Megan was still “sullen” and expressionless. When I returned for the second half of the semester to work with the girls on Thursday nights, I recognized Megan, but something had changed; she was open, expressive and actively created art without fighting! The girls had only experienced art therapy for a short period of time with the other placement group, but it was obvious how much it had already benefited them! Working with the men's unit, I noticed similar changes over the course of the placement. The kids became more expressive over time, they reflected more deeply on their lives and they always tried to think of new projects to do in the future. My favorite experience with the kids came during the session where they were asked to create a “self symbol” using pictures from magazines, paper and markers. I sat next to a guy who looked frustrated and wasn't working on his project. I attempted to start a conversation and asked him what he would include in his self-symbol; he replied, “I am notjust in the mood for it" and refused to look me in the eye. I assume he hoped I would leave him alone, but I stayed and began flipping through magazines, asking him if he liked certain pictures. After a few minutes his poor attitude changed and he accepted my help; together we worked to find images that he liked. The boy created a collage composed of images of animals, because he missed his pets and expressed the good feelings that arose in him in the past. caring for another living creature. This young man tested my patience, but I could see that sometimes all it takes is a little encouragement to get patients to participate and release emotions that need to be let go. Overall, I feel like Maurice Spearsha's youth I have benefited enormously from art therapy Through our various self-reflection (i.e. self-symbol, three-point-of-view self-portrait) and group unity projects (i.e. bridge-building, turkey-making, broken squares). , patients were able to learn more about themselves and how they also connect their personalities successfully in larger group collaboration. I have high expectations for the young people of Maurice Spears and hope that the lessons they have learned in art therapy stay with them for a lifetime. Only through patient artwork was I able to capture the traumatic and heartbreaking experiences these young individuals faced. However, every time I left campus, I felt exceptionally inspired and happy because the boys and girls were always laughing, smiling, and eager for our next art therapy session. Another experience I had this semester was at the Catherine Cobb domestic violence shelter. with the Art Therapy Club. During our session at Catherine Cobb, we used Crayola Model Magic clay with children aged nine months to fourteen years to create any object they wanted. Our stay at Catherine Cobb lasted a short hour; however, we were able to learn so much from these children just from the way they interacted with the clay. At first, the kids were hesitant to start creating, but once they started creating, they aggressively pounded the clay with a force I didn't expect. The children pounded the clay with their fists, arms, feet and even their heads. The children did not seem interested in creating any objects with their clay, and if they did, they would quickly destroy it. The aggressive behavior I witnessed in these young children hinted at the possibility that they needed a quick release from the harmful emotions repressed within them. I also noticed that the children were more focused on making an impression and connecting with us than on creating an object out of clay. They formed relationships extremely quickly and begged us not to leave once the session was over. It was evident that these children have difficulty forming appropriate boundaries and relationships with others. I would like to see the Art Therapy Club return to Catherine Cobb in the near future because I believe these children needed more than one art therapy experience to release their built-up emotions. In comparison, the Lenawee Medical, Maurice Spears, and Catherine Cobb groups The dynamics were completely different, but all groups managed to achieve positive results at the end of the art therapy sessions. One contrast I noticed most during the internship was the use of “art processing therapy” and “art as therapy” with patients. “Artistic processing therapy” has been used mostly at Maurice Spears and a few times at Lenawee Medical; involves a discussion about.