Children’s Mental Health and Creative Therapies
11th February 2022
For Children's Mental Health Week, Demelza's Creative Services Lead, Victoria Swan has shared a blog discussing the role of Creative Therapies at Demelza in supporting children's mental health:
"At Demelza, we have a dedicated Creative Arts Therapy Team that provide individual, family and group sessions, ensuring that children are supported in a way that is accessible to all babies, children and young people who access our services.
"Music and art therapy use creative experiences to target specific therapeutic outcomes. We enable feelings that cannot be put into words to be expressed and supported through music, art and play.
"We offer this specialist creative arts therapy service six days a week, through digital platforms, by visiting children in their own homes, in schools and hospitals, and at our dedicated spaces at the hospice sites in Kent, South East London and East Sussex.
"Creative arts therapists have rigorous training in the form of a Masters in Art or Music Therapy. We are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, and need to adhere to their standards of proficiency, keeping an accurate log of all the further training we complete to maintain our Continuing Professional Development log, in order to continue to practice."
Creative Arts Therapists at Demelza
"Creative Arts Therapists at Demelza will always concentrate on what a child can do rather than on what they are unable to do.
"It is important to remember that children may not have the words to express their feelings, whether that is due to a disability, illness, age or it may be too difficult to put such big feelings into words.
"Creativity through music, art and play enables children to express themselves and reduces barriers to communication. Children might write and record a song about their feelings, or create a piece of art to make their emotions visible. Creative spaces allow children the opportunity to escape the chaos of the medical environment by offering a sense of normality, providing positive experiences and memories.
"The use of particular interventions is individualised to each child based on a thorough assessment of their needs after meeting the child, talking to their parents/carers, and their educational and medical teams when needed."
As Children’s Mental Health Week comes to an end, we continue to focus on this vital work, supporting therapeutic opportunities for children who access Demelza’s services.
