Jennifer Schwartz Art Therapy
Child Sexual Abuse
Therapy and Parent Support
after your child has been sexually abused
Art Therapy is developmentally appropriate for children and youth in that it allows for non-verbal expression in symbol, metaphor and character. This often counters feelings of resistance and anxiety. Innermost feelings, self-perceptions and fantasies surface as children are playing and being creative. Younger children often don't recognize the connection between their art expressions and their lives and they sometimes work through issues without ever linking them to real life experiences.
​
These themes inform the therapist and parents to better understand what is happening for the child so they can better meet their needs. When young children try to make sense of the sexual abuse experience they create misconceptions and internalizations about themselves, the world and others. It is these underlying misconceptions and internalizations that are worked with in the therapy.
​
The process of art making also meets other important needs:
- control and mastery
- creative thinking and problem solving
- frustration tolerance
- processing difficult emotions
-reclamation of fragmented memories and parts
​
Jennifer works in a time limited (12 sessions) manner and works closely with parents and caregivers.​​​
Post Traumatic Growth through
Ongoing Connection and Communication
​
As a parent of a child who has been sexually abused you might be faced with resistance when you try to check-in or talk to your child about how the abuse is effecting them. They might say they are "fine" or " I don't want to talk about it". This happens a lot. As a parent you also might feel some resistance and not want to talk about it as well.
​
I encourage you to cultivate post traumatic growth by deepening your relationship with your child and ensuring that "Heart to Hearts" are ongoing. Child sexual abuse occurs in a relationship and is healed in a safe relationship. The distress and challenges that your child is experiencing will feel more manageable if you feel them together. ​​​​​​
This book is for parents and children to read together after a child has been sexually abused. The story is designed to provide parents with a map of what to do when they notice that their child is distressed. Both parent and child can empathize with the difficult feelings of the dark cloud and Kitty Kelly's fears. This allows the child to connect with their own feelings. Mama kitty responds with warmth and understanding and Kitty Kelly is able to release some tears. This book is a resource that can be read again and again to deepen connection, create understanding and foster resilience.
Click on image to follow link to purchase
Click on video to listen to the story read aloud