The atmosphere of violence - its tensions, sights, smells, and sounds - has a profound impact on victims. In the aftermath of trauma, women and children can often find it difficult to verbalize their feelings about the abuse they suffered or witnessed. Through Expressive Art Therapy at The Julian Center, both Counseling Center clients and Shelter residents are able to:

Powerfully express the impact of abuse on their lives

Envision their own unique healing process

Find ways to transform traumatic images and negative self-perceptions

Express feelings and experiences through art media

Work creatively with the wounded dimensions of their lives - body, mind, and spirit

In a spacious, professional quality art studio, clients work with a diverse assortment of art materials including paints, clay, fabric, and supplies for drawing, collage, and mosaic. They also incorporate music, storytelling, and poetry into the healing process, finding new, therapeutic means of expressing their experiences of trauma and abuse.

Art therapy is provided to Julian Center clients in several ways.  The Counseling Center offers the use of art therapy techniques as part of the psychotherapeutic process with individual clients.

For examples of how Expressive Art Therapy can promote survivors' healing and educate the community about the impact of abuse, see the The Mosaic Project.

To learn more about Expressive Art Therapy, call The Julian Center at 317.941.2200.