By Meghan Vivo

As many therapists can attest, teenagers aren’t always the easiest patients to reach. A therapist may sit in a room with an adolescent for weeks without making any progress, and even when they finally make a breakthrough, they have to wonder whether the teen was manipulating the conversation or avoiding the real issues.

Wilderness therapy, in contrast, is highly effective in helping teens focus on their core issues in an environment that decreases defenses, is difficult to manipulate, and appeals to teens struggling with learning, emotional or behavioral issues. Even treatment-resistant teens begin to show who they are and what they’re struggling with when living in the wilderness.

One tool some wilderness programs use to reach struggling teens is art therapy. For teens who have been disconnected from their emotions for some time, it can be intimidating to reflect on their feelings and choices in therapy. Art therapy is a creative way to get insights into what’s happening with a child who may be closed off to conventional therapeutic approaches.

At SUWS of the Carolinas, a wilderness therapy program for youth ages 10 to 17, art therapy is one of many approaches available to meet the diverse needs of its students. In art therapy, the focus is not on the aesthetic appearance of the artwork. In fact, students don’t have to display their work or even keep it. The important part is that teens find creative ways to express themselves.

“Art therapy is a wonderful catalyst for communication,” said Kelly Moore, LPC, ATR, NCC, a field supervisor and registered art therapist at SUWS. “The projects we work on take the direct focus off of the student and put it onto something external – the artwork – which frees them to express themselves in a new way.”

Combining Art and Nature

Art therapy and wilderness therapy promote introspection and self-discovery, and are natural complements to one another. Because teens aren’t sitting in an office using their words to tell a therapist what they want to hear, both art therapy and wilderness therapy can be considered “back door” approaches to therapy.

“Being able to express yourself through art can be healing for anyone,” explained Moore. “Art is a doorway to emotion and connects with all different people and learning styles.”

Nature provides an inspirational backdrop for creating art and can even be used in the creation of a piece of art, such as building a structure using sticks, plants and stones. The outdoor setting enhances personal introspection by providing students with an opportunity to engage in therapy with fewer distractions.

Appealing to Different Learning Styles

People learn in different ways, and art therapy appeals to various types of learning styles, including visual, abstract and hands-on learners. Moore works extensively with students in the 10- to 14-year-old age group and finds that because of their stage of development, they tend to be more concrete in their thinking than older adolescents.

“Pre-teens do best with tangible, hands-on learning,” she said. “The metaphors that we use in wilderness therapy need to be concrete for younger teens, while older teens may benefit from concepts that are more abstract.”

Art in the Wilderness

In her work with the students at SUWS, Moore creates treatment goals and then plans art therapy activities based on those goals. By bringing a variety of materials into the woods and using natural materials, Moore has the flexibility to introduce projects that are most likely to facilitate the therapeutic process. After every activity, the students process the experience with Moore.

Different art materials serve different purposes in an art therapy session. For example, Moore may start with pens and markers with a teen who can’t open up in order to stimulate the cognitive side of brain, and then move to looser materials like paint to encourage them to share their emotions. If a teen is highly emotional but struggling to connect cognitively, Moore might start with paint and gradually move toward more restrictive materials to help focus the student.

The following are some examples of art therapy exercises Moore leads in the wilderness.

Masks
One of the art therapy activities at SUWS is creating masks. On one side of the mask, Moore asks the students to depict how they present themselves to the outside world or how the world sees them, and on the other how they feel inside.

“We all wear masks in different situations and around different people,” explained Moore. “In art therapy, we use the mask as a tool to reflect on the way we view ourselves and fit into the world around us.”

Mandalas
Moore has also worked with the students at SUWS to create mandalas. Loosely translated from Sanskrit to mean “circle,” mandalas have been used throughout history in different cultures and religions as a representation of wholeness, centeredness and focus.

Creating mandalas can be particularly beneficial for children with ADHD who may struggle to focus on a conversation with a therapist unless they are using their hands or have something external like art to focus on. Mandalas can also help center and ground students who are having a hard time opening up or are highly emotional.

Create Your Own Island
In this art therapy exercise, Moore lays out a tarp which represents the ocean and asks the students at SUWS to choose a location, create their own island and build a bridge to another island. The choices the teens make about where they place their island and which island connects to their island offer helpful insights into the group dynamics. The issues that emerge can be the start of a constructive conversation as a group.

Guided Imagery
Another art therapy exercise Moore utilizes is a “safe place” drawing. She asks the students to close their eyes and go to a safe place in their minds, describing the smells, colors and people there, and then open their eyes and draw what they saw.

Through this type of guided imagery, the students develop a clear image of a safe place where they can go if they are struggling at home, at school or in the field. If a student is angry or highly emotional, Moore may also use relaxation activities like free drawing to help them get settled back into their group.

Family Dynamics
Art therapy can also help students work through family issues. Family drawings or sculptures, in which students choose symbols for each person in their family, can indicate whether a student feels a sense of belonging or isolation. These projects can serve as the basis for a deeper conversation about family dynamics.

Transitions
When the students are preparing to transition home or on to their next placement, Moore invites them to draw or create a bridge out of natural materials. The bridge then becomes a symbol of their journey before SUWS to life after SUWS. The project helps students prepare for the transition by starting a conversation about where each student is on the bridge, what obstacles are on the way across the bridge and what could help them along the way.

Students also mark their transition out of wilderness therapy by making a special piece of art that they can take with them. This artwork provides a sense of closure and creates a lasting memory of the lessons learned at SUWS.

Although people may imagine that an art therapist critically analyzes every aspect of a student’s artwork or tells the student how to interpret the art, Moore’s approach is to let each teen make their own connections.

“Art is subjective and means different things to different people,” said Moore. “My goal isn’t to analyze every detail of what a student creates, but instead to ask them questions and let them come to their own conclusions.”

You can’t force teens to participate in therapy, but you can invite them to open up in ways that are comfortable for them. For many teens, wilderness therapy and art therapy can make reflection and self-expression feel natural, resulting in greater personal growth and a more unified family.