Traditional Therapies

Traditional therapies may fail to help adolescents with depression. Adolescent and their resistance to therapy is so strong. However, if the therapist enters the adolescent’s depressive world view by offering art as a means of communication, there is a great possibility of creating some alternatives. Art therapy provides practical treatment for adolescents, giving them another lens for viewing their perceptions through their own illustrations and narratives. Because adolescents tend to act out their depression, there is an opportunity for an active therapy to be effective. Art Therapy is an action that can be used therapeutically and can be conformed to the needs of the client.
In a study conducted by Reynolds in 2000, the effectiveness of weekly art therapy compared to a control activity was investigated. He used a randomly selected group of adolescents from a special education class. Results showed that adolescents in the art therapy group had a significant reduction in the level of depression than did the control group. There are several developmental factors that make art therapy particularly
However, if we shift our clinical thinking to allow us to enter the adolescent depressive world view, with their perceptions there is a good possibility of offering some alternative visions to these despondent adolescent. Riley (1999) argued that art therapy is able to reach these young people and can support the development of positive self-identity and self-esteem. Art therapy possesses many unique qualities not found in other treatment modalities. It is client-driven and non-threatening which can be attractive to an adolescent client. Art therapy is an effective means of engaging adolescents who may otherwise feel threatened and disempowered in traditional