Art Therapy is a mental health profession used to help individuals, families, and groups safely express emotions, gain insights, process trauma, decrease stress and anxiety, and increase self-confidence through the creative process. Art therapy is for people of all ages and artistic abilities. Art therapists are master’s-level clinicians who are trained in utilizing art making as a tool in the therapeutic process. While there may be components of art education in art therapy sessions, the focus is not on developing artistic abilities and skills. Art therapy focuses on art making for self-expression, emotional exploration, processing feelings related to the hospital experience, connecting with others, and engaging in positive coping.

Art therapy is prioritized based on doctor referral, but requests for a referral can be directed to any member of your child’s care team.

Art Therapy Goals

In the pediatric medical setting, art therapy can be used by patients and their families to:

• Promote self-expression surrounding feelings, thoughts and experiences related to illness, injury or hospitalization
• Build verbal and non-verbal communication skills
• Provide opportunities for choice and control in all aspects of art making
• Develop and strengthen positive coping strategies
• Support pain management
• Facilitate exploration of identity and formation of self-esteem
  
  

Dance/movement therapy uses movement to enhance the physical, emotional, social, and cognitive integration of individuals of all ages and abilities. In a pediatric medical setting, Dance/movement therapy functions as a support intervention that compliments conventional medical treatment. Dance/movement therapy is more about the movement than it is about dancing, and you don’t need to be a dancer to participate in or enjoy dance/movement therapy.

Dance/movement therapists are master’s-level clinicians who are trained in the use of movement interventions to facilitate emotional and physical expression and healing with individuals, families, and groups.

The Dance/Movement Therapy Program at Primary Children’s is proud to be funded in part by Drea's Dream, a dance therapy/expressive movement program for children funded by the Andrea Rizzo Foundation. To contact us please email PC-DanceTherapy@imail.org.

In the pediatric medical setting, Dance/Movement therapy can be used by patients and their families to:

• Facilitate emotional expression through movement
• Provide opportunities for choice and control
• Facilitate and support positive coping through use of the body
• Increase self-awareness through integration of the mind and body
• Help patients build/re-build a positive relationship with their body

Music therapy is an established health care profession that uses specifically designed music interventions to address the unique physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals of all ages, across the lifespan. In a pediatric medical setting, board-certified music therapists are trained to design and implement individualized interventions to address the needs of each child and family.

At Primary Children's Hospital our music therapists are highly trained to harness the therapeutic qualities of music and to enable children of all ages to work toward their physiological, cognitive, emotional and social goals. Music therapy is prioritized based on doctor referral, but requests for a referral can be directed to any member of your child's care team.

To contact us please email PC-MusicTherapy@imail.org

Music Therapy Goals

In the pediatric medical setting, music therapy can be used by patients and their families to:

• Improve neurological development
• Improve speech and language
• Develop fine and gross motor development
• Improve coping skills
• Normalization of environment
• Eliminating or decreasing sedation for procedures
• Legacy creation/memory making
• Procedural support
• Pain management
• Increasing control over environment
• Emotional self-expression

People of all artistic and musical abilities who are willing to participate can benefit from expressive therapies.

Expressive therapies are for people of all ages. At Primary Children’s, our art therapists provide services to children ages 2 -19 and our dance/movement and music therapists provide services to children ages 0 -19. At times , the team also provides expressive therapies services to siblings, parents and caregivers as well.

Yes! Our services can involve and benefit the whole family.

Expressive Therapies are referral based and can be requested by talking to any member of your child’s care team.

While these services are not art, dance, or music education, there are aspects of education in sessions. An art therapist may instruct a participant about how to best use materials or provide brief tutorials on art - making techniques. Similarly, a music therapist may provide instruction on an instrument as part of the therapeutic process. The goal is not to teach these skills, but to use art/dance/music to achieve therapeutic goals such as providing room for emotional expression, positive coping, exploration of life experiences, and normalization of the hospital experience.

An art therapist must complete a master's program from an accredited art therapy program that combines counseling and the use of art making in the therapeutic process. The American Art Therapy Association (AATA) requires students from accredited art therapy programs to complete a minimum 700 hours of practicum and internship work before receiving their degree. Art therapists can then go on to earn a Registered Art Therapist (ATR/ATR-BC) credential by completing 1000 hours of direct client care supervised by a board-certified art therapist (ATR-BC). Art therapists are also eligible for counseling licensure (ACMHC/CMHC) in Utah.

Similarly, a dance/movement therapist must complete a master's program from an accredited dance/movement therapy program. The American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) requires students from accredited dance therapy programs to complete a minimum 700 hours of practicum and internship work before receiving their degree. Registered dance/movement therapists (RDT) can then go on to earn a Board Certification (BC-DMT) credential by completing 2000 hours of direct client care supervised by a board-certified dance/movement therapist. Dance/movement therapist are also eligible for counseling licensure (ACMHC/CMHC) in Utah.

Music therapists must complete a bachelor’s program from an accredited music therapy program. The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) requires students from accredited music therapy programs complete a minimum of 1040 hours of internship work before receiving their degree and sitting for the board certification exam. Music therapists can then receive their music therapy board certification (MT-BC).